Formed after Japanese F3 came to an end in 2019, Formula Regional Japan was created as the next step on the FIA junior single-seater ladder for Japanese drivers moving up from Japanese F4. But with an average of eight drivers per race in 2023 and only two full-time entrants, Formula Regional Japan had the smallest grid in its four-year history, a sharp contrast from the stable grid of rival series Super Formula Lights.

By Finjo Muschlien

Just two drivers, Bionic Jack Racing’s Sota Ogawa and and Sutekina Racing’s Liam Sceats, competed in every round of this year’s championship. Along with plenty of Japanese drivers, including Euroformula Open race winner Yu Kanamaru, international drivers Michael Sauter, Enzo Trulli, Wang Zhongwei, Kaleb Ngatoa and Sky Chen also contested rounds, making this season the first in which multiple foreign drivers competed in the series.

Round 1: Fuji

Ogawa, a veteran of Japan’s junior single-seater scene and last year’s championship runner-up, kicked off the season off well at Fuji by taking a triple pole position in qualifying. Yuya Hiraki led off the start but lost the position to Ogawa on lap six of 15. However, Hiraki reclaimed the lead just before the end of the race to secure the win as Ogawa came home second.Championship rival Sceats, who was competing outside his native New Zealand for the first time, finished fourth following a battle with eventual third-place finisher Ryunosuke Sawa and Yugo Iwasawa.

A lock up at the start of the second race saw Ogawa drop from first to fourth. But he climbed back up to second and secured 18 important points as Sceats entered pit lane on the second lap and retired following a big lock-up entering turn one.

In race three, Ogawa had to fend off an attack from Hiraki into the first turn at the start. He successfully did so and then went on to win by three seconds, giving him a three-point lead over Sawa and a 39-point lead over fifth-place finisher Sceats, who was sixth in the points.

Round 2: Suzuka

As torrential rain hit Suzuka on race day, the first race of two was suspended following two laps behind the safety car. Half points were awarded, so as polesitter Kazuki Oki took victory, Ogawa received nine points for finishing second and Sceats 7.5 for third.

The second race was also affected by wet weather, but this time there was actually green-flag running. Ogawa got away well from pole and built up a gap of several seconds over the first lap to Sceats in second, but that was the extent of the racing. New Zealand racer Ngatoa went into the gravel at the Degner curves and caused a safety car, which was then followed by a red flag as the rain intensified. Ogawa won ahead of rival Sceats, who got his first podium of the season. Half points were again awarded, and Ogawa’s gap over Sceats, who sat fifth overall, grew to 44 points.

Round 3: Okayama

Ogawa took another triple pole in qualifying at Okayama, but Sceats had a brilliant start from second in the first race, going alongside polesitter Ogawa at the start and pressuring him over the first lap. But on lap three, the 17-year-old briefly went into the gravel trap and dropped to fourth behind Iwasawa and Yu Kanamuru as Ogawa won the race.

Ogawa also started from pole in the second race and got another strong launch to create a gap of more than five seconds by lap three. But on lap 15, he was passed by a rapid Iwasawa and had to settle for second position as Sceats again finished the race in fourth.

A good start in the third race saw Sceats steal the lead from Ogawa at the opening turn and keep it until the end of the race. Despite several attacking attempts by Ogawa, Sceats kept his cool and secured his first win of the season by less than half a second over Ogawa. The gap between the pair sat at 56 points as Sceats rose to second overall in the points at the season’s halfway point.

Round 4: Motegi

Having taken a hat-trick of poles again, Ogawa built up a comfortable lead over Jiei Okuzumi and Sceats off the start in race one. But on lap 12, Ogawa made his first major mistake of the season, going into a gravel trap at turn nine and retiring from the lead. Okuzumi won ahead of guest starter Trulli and Sceats, who gained 15 crucial points in the drivers’ championship.

Ogawa had a clean start off the line in race two ahead of Trulli, but the Italian stayed close to Ogawa the whole race. On the 16th and final lap, he even attempted to overtake Ogawa, going alongside him through the final corners but came second asthe pair crossed the line in a photo finish. Okuzumi finished third, as Sceats only finished in fourth, losing much of the ground in the championship he made up in race one.

Trulli took the lead from polesitter Ogawa going into the first turn of race three, but he lost it a few laps later as Sceats overtook him halfway through the race. Ogawa had fallen to fourth on the opening lap, but he recovered from his difficult start and re-passed Trulli at turn one on lap 10. Sceats won the race ahead of Ogawa and Trulli, putting the New Zealander 47 points behind in the championship hunt.

Round 5: Fuji 2

The series returned to Fuji for the penultimate round, which had two races instead of three. Sawa started from pole in the wet-weather first race, but it was second-place starter Ogawa who took the lead going into the first turn. He remained in the lead until Sawa regained the place with two laps to go. Mizuki Ishizaka finished behind Ogawa in third, ahead of Sceats in fourth.

Ogawa started from pole in the second race of the weekend and kept his lead in the opening stages, but he spun off on lap six and had to retire his car. Sceats took the lead and won the race, finishing ahead of Ishizaka and Sawa and making up another 25 points to Ogawa to close the championship gap to 28 points.

Round 6: Sugo

Entering the final round of the season, Sceats had chances to steal the championship from Ogawa at the last minute. Polesitter Trulli didn’t get away well at the start of the first race, losing the lead to Japanese-Swiss driver Sauter before getting taken out by Oki in the second turn and retiring. Sauter crossed the line first but received a 10-second time penalty post-race and dropped to fourth, so Okuzumi won ahead of Sceats and Ogawa.

Sauter started from pole in the second race, but a bad start saw him drop to fourth before he retired from the race in the pits after just five laps. Okuzumi won again in the second race at Sugo from Oki and Sceats as championship leader Ogawa finished fourth. Entering the third race, Ogawa had 22 points in hand over Sceats, who needed a victory and a retirement for his rival to claim the title.

Sauter again lost the lead off the start but this time stayed close to leader Okuzumi and re-passed him for the lead on lap five. He went on to take his first actual win in the series, with Okuzumi finishing in second and Oki in third. Despite having his weakest weekend yet, Ogawa became champion by finishing fourth as Sceats only managed fifth position.

Header photo credit: Masahide Kamio / Norihiko Suzuki via FRJC