Following the conclusion of Japanese Formula 3 at the end of 2019, the Formula Regional Japanese Championship was created. However, different from what was originally expected, the championship isn’t the direct springboard to Super Formula, as its rival series Super Formula Lights secured that spot. FR Japan never had a large grid, but the number of drivers entering the first round in 2024 is almost twice as much as last year’s average. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about the 2024 Formula Regional Japanese Championship season.

By Finjo Muschlien 

Formula Regional Japan will support Super Formula races on three occasions this year. It is the first time in history that the series is on the Super Formula support bill. 

Last year’s championship saw just two drivers compete full-time, and it was Sota Ogawa who won the championship in a battle against Liam Sceats, after having taken four wins and eight more podium finishes. Ogawa secured the title in his third season of FR Japan. 

This year, the championship’s grid has had a reshuffle compared to 2023. Last years’ only full-time drivers Ogawa and Sceats won’t return for this season. While Ogawa’s plans for this year haven’t been announced yet, Sceats was announced as a driver for TJ Speed Motorsports in the opening round of USF Pro 2000. However, most guest starters from 2023 are not listed in the first round’s entry list, either, and the number of different nationalities rises from five in 2023 to six for just the first round of 2024. 

The reason that FR Japan is attractive for drivers from Japan and all around the world, despite the low attendance, is the amount of FIA Super Licence points. The winner of FR Japan gets 18 points added to their tally, three more than the champion of Super Formula Lights receives.

The calendar

FR Japan will have just two, instead of four, triple-race rounds this year, with the calendar shrinking from 16 to 14 races. Rounds two, four, five and six will have two races each. The season kicks off at Suzuka in early March with the first triple-race round and concludes at Fuji in October. A pre-season test, consisting of two 45-minute sessions took place on 21 February. 

• Round 1: Suzuka Circuit (09-10 March) (triple-race round)
• Round 2: Sportsland SUGO (11-12 May)
• Round 3: Okayama International Circuit (29-30 June) (triple-race round)
• Round 4: Mobility Resort Motegi (3–4 June)
• Round 5: Fuji Speedway (24-25 August) 
• Round 6: Fuji Speedway (12-13 October)

The format

Race weekends start with two to three 30-minute practice sessions, and the exciting action starts on Saturday morning with two 15-minute qualifying sessions. The grid for the first race will be set by the results of the first qualifying session, and the grid for the second race will be formed by the results of the second qualifying session. If a race weekend has three races, the grid order of the third race will be formed with special regulations. 

The series uses the standard FIA system of 25 points for the winner down to one point for tenth place, but no bonus points for the fastest laps are awarded. 

The teams’ championship scoring system is slightly different. Only the best finishing driver of each team contributes points to the team’s championship points tally.

Where to watch

FR Japan streams all qualifying sessions and races on YouTube. Live timing of practice sessions is also live streamed. However, the streams often start 20-30 minutes before the races start, sometimes even without any pre-race show, so make sure to check the weekly weekend schedule by Feeder Series on Instagram. 

Teams and drivers

Note: The teams and drivers in the following list are based on the entry list of the first round. Based on last year’s experience, expect to see multiple driver changes during the season.

Sutekina Racing Team

2023 teams’ champions Sutekina return for this year’s season of FR Japan. Their main driver Sceats may not have won the drivers’ championship, but with the team’s championship points-scoring regulations and Sutekina’s guest starters winning five out of 17 races along with Sceats’ three race wins, the team was able to win the teams’ championship. 

Sutekina fields Jiei Okuzumi (#3) for the first round of the season. The 20-year-old previously raced in three rounds of FR Japan in 2023, winning three races and securing three further podium finishes. He finished the season in third, behind the two only full-time drivers. However, Okuzumi didn’t take part in the pre-season test. 

Bionic Jack Racing

The team may have produced the drivers’ champion of 2023, but they missed out on the teams’ championship, finishing second. Bionic Jack Racing was one of two teams to participate in every round and won a total of six races last year. Both of the teams’ drivers participated in the pre-season test, finishing fifth and sixth in both sessions.

Kizuku Hirota (#51) joins Bionic Jack Racing for 2024, after already driving in the championship in the final round of 2023. The 33-year-old previously raced in the Japanese F3 championship in 2016, in which he finished a season-best 11th on two occasions. 

Alongside the domestic driver, Aussie Jesse Lacey (#53) will be racing for the team. Having previously competed in the US F4 championship in 2023, in which he finished fourth overall after winning one race and finishing on the podium on five more occasions, he is expected to compete in the full FR Japan season. Lacey is part of the M2 Competition Management programme.

PONOS Racing

Having participated in the opening two and closing two rounds of the championship last year, PONOS Racing remains on this year’s grid, fielding a returning driver, after finishing last year’s championship in third.

Yorikatsu Tsujiko (#45) is not just the chairman of the management board at PONOS, but also a race car driver. Since 2021, he has raced part-time in every FR Japan championship and also took part in the 2023 24 hours of Le Mans with Kessel Racing. Tsujiko participated in the 2024 pre-season test, finishing 11th in the morning session. 

HELM Motorsports

After finishing fourth in last year’s teams’ championship, winning one race, HELM Motorsports returns to the series after missing the final three rounds of the 2023 season. 

Anna Inotsume (#62) will be racing with the team in FR Japan, in what will be her first full season of single-seaters. She previously contested in one round of FR Japan at Fuji, finishing fifth and fourth. Inotsume is the 2023 TCR Japan Touring Car Series champion. She took part in the pre-season test, finishing 10th in the afternoon session.

Rn-sports

Rn-sports competed in every round of the 2023 season, except for the season-opening round at Fuji. The team fielded two master-class drivers and was the team of master-class champion Yoshitsugo Kondo, who won all six races in the master-class he qualified for. The team finished fifth in the team’s championship.

The other driver, who was with the team is MOTOKI (#11). He competed in four races in 2023, winning three of them in the master class and finishing third in the other race. MOTOKI finished ninth in both sessions of the pre-season test and will be the team’s only driver entering the first round.

TOM’S Formula 

After fielding Enzo Trulli, son of former F1 driver Jarno Trulli, in two races last year, TOM’S is expected to race the full season of FR Japan this year, after finishing sixth in last year’s teams’ championship.

Yoshiaki Nakamura (#28) joins TOM’S in FR Japan this year, following his Japanese F4 campaign with the team in 2023. Nakamura didn’t score any points in his 2023 campaign and finished 26th in the overall drivers’ championship, scoring a best result of 14th at Fuji, Autopolis and Motegi. He took part in the 2024 pre-season test at Suzuka, finishing fourth in both sessions.

N-Speed 

N-Speed fielded just one driver in the 2023 championship, who competed in the opening round and penultimate round at Fuji last year. N-Speed finished 10th in the teams’ championship in 2023.

YUGO (#23) has competed part-time in every FR Japan season since 2020. Except for 2021, YUGO just participated in races that took place at Fuji and scored a best result of fourth in the master-class championship with a best race result of second in the master-class in 2023. 

SKY Motorsports

The team fielded Chinese driver Sky Chen in the final two rounds of 2023, but Chen just qualified for the penultimate round at Fuji, where he finished fifth and third in the master class in the two races. SKY Motorsports finished 13th in the 2023 teams’ championship.

Wang Zhongwei (#36) joins the team after his 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship campaign, in which he competed in the opening three rounds with R&B Racing. His best result in the championship was 13th place, secured in the first race of the second round at Kuwait. He switched to FR Japan for a guest start at Okayama later in 2023, scoring a best result of sixth. Zhongwei did not take part in the official pre-season test.

Birth Racing Project 

Birth Racing Project, or BRP for short, is one of three debutant teams joining the 2024 FR Japan grid. The team fields two international drivers, who either have gained experience in European F4 championships or Formula Ford championships.

Swiss-Japanese racer Michael Sauter (#5) steps up from F4 to a full campaign of FR Japan this year. The 19-year-old previously competed in ADAC F4 in 2021 and 2022 and F4 CEZ in 2023, in which he finished third in the drivers’ championship. He made his debut in FR Japan in the fourth round of the season at Motegi last year and won the final race of the season. Sauter finished second in both sessions of the pre-season test.

Sebastian Manson (#55) will partner Sauter at BRP this year. The 16-year-old is the 2024 South Island Formula Ford champion of New Zealand. 

The Kiwi skips F4 racing, as he made the step from Formula Ford to Formula Regional Oceania and FR Japan this year. Manson, who is part of the M2 Competition management programme, also took part in the pre-season test, finishing eighth in the afternoon session.

Abbey Racing

Debutant team Abbey Racing fields one domestic driver, who is set to compete in the master class in 2024.

AKITA (#16) joins the team for the debut season of FR Japan. AKITA took part in the pre-season test at Suzuka and finished eighth and 10th in the two sessions.

ES oneFormulaPHL  

ES oneFormulaPHL will field one international driver in FR Japan. Neither the team nor its driver have taken part in the pre-season test, as they are entering their debut season of FR Japan.

Juancho Brobio (#29) participated in the opening two rounds of the 2024 F4 Saudi Arabian Championship. The Philippine finished in the points three times, with a best result of eighth so far.

Header photo credit: Bionic Jack Racing