All four Super Formula Lights champions proved to be highly mature and competitive racers in Japan’s highest ranked feeder series, with three of them making the step up to the pinnacle of Japanese single–seater racing – Super Formula. Indeed, 2023 SFL champion Iori Kimura impressed with a 12th place finish in his Super Formula debut, while 2020 SFL champion Ritomo Miyata went on to win the 2023 Super Formula title in an action-packed fight against Liam Lawson and Tomoki Nojiri. 2024 will see perhaps SFL’s most competitive and balanced grid yet, with three Japanese F4 champions competing in the series. Feeder Series tells you all you need to know about the 2024 season.

By Finjo Muschlien

Introduced in 2020, Super Formula Lights was one of two racing series to replace Japanese Formula 3, which concluded in 2019. It is often seen as the ideal series for Japanese talents stepping up from Japanese F4 or for international Formula 3-level drivers (and formerly ex-Formula One driver Roberto Merhi) who search for new challenges on an alternative career path. A shocking contrast, however, is the series’ grid sizes in the past years, with just eight drivers out of 14 entries competing in every race of last year’s season.

Despite the few entries in 2023, the grid was competitive and balanced, with the championship being decided in the penultimate race of the season. B-Max’s Kimura edged his rivals Hibiki Taira of TOM’S and Toda Racing’s Syun Koide to the title, despite not leading the championship for most of the second half of the season.

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As a result of winning the championship, Kimura is stepping up to Super Formula in 2024, staying with B-Max Racing. The Japanese-Russian racer is the only SFL graduate this year, however, this is rather given the competitiveness of this and last year’s Super Formula grids and the limited number of seats.

What’s new in 2024?

The series introduces a new car in the Dallara 324 this year. This car is the successor to the Dallara 320 which has been used in SFL and Euroformula Open since 2020. However, it was the new car that caused a delay to the start of the season. Just two weeks ahead of the first scheduled race weekend, the Super Formula Lights Association released a statement, in which it was announced that cracks in the bellhousings were found and therefore the season opening round at Motegi, which was scheduled to take place from 26-28 April, couldn’t go ahead. 

Along with the new car, new engines and tyres will be introduced. The series will introduce a spec Toyota TGE33 engine in 2024, after being a multi-engine championship since SFL’s first season in 2020 and Japanese F3’s first season in 1979. All cars will be running Kumho tyres, replacing the Yokohama tyres used in previous years.

The calendar

Pre-season testing took place at Motegi from 11-12 March and 26-27 March at Fuji. All sessions were topped by either B-Max or TOM’S drivers and 2023 SFL champion Kimura contested all tests, despite not being eligible to race in the championship this year. 

As in 2023, the season starts at Autopolis. The series plans on hosting six rounds consisting of three races each, with four rounds in support of Super Formula after supporting three rounds in 2023. The sixth round is yet to be confirmed, however it is expected that the sixth round will take place at Motegi but won’t be the season finale, as the organisers presumably want both Super Formula and SFL to conclude at the same event. 

• Round 1: Autopolis International Racing Course (17-19 May)
• Round 2: Sportsland SUGO (21-23 June)
• Round 3: Fuji Speedway (19-21 July)
• Round 4: Okayama International Circuit (13-15 September) 
• Round 5: Suzuka Circuit (08-10 November)
• Round 6: TBA

The format

Each round starts with four two-hour free practice sessions, of which two take place on Thursday and two on Friday ahead of the race weekend. Saturday then sees two ten-minute qualifying sessions. The first session sets the grid for the first race of the weekend and the second session sets the grid for the second race. The grid of the third race is formed by the race result of the first race.

All rounds will have three races, with the first race having a maximum duration of 40 minutes and the second and third races being 30 minutes long. Each pole position is awarded with a bonus point, as is the fastest lap of the race. Points for positions will be awarded as such:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	Pole Position	Fastest Lap
Points	10	7	5	3	2	1	1	1

This points format is also used for the teams’ championship, although only the best scoring driver of each team contributes to the team’s points tallies.

Where to watch

All races will be live streamed on the series’ official YouTube channel. Live timing will be available at sfl.racelive.jp.

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Teams and drivers

Before the entry list of the first round at Autopolis was announced, B-Max was expected to field their six announced drivers into one entering team. However, that changed, and B-Max was split into four entering teams, meaning that just two drivers will drive for last year’s championship winning team. 

B-Max Racing Team

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Three drivers from three different teams were involved in 2023’s championship fight, but it was B-Max Racing’s Kimura who came out on top.

Kimura was present for B-Max in the 2024 pre-season tests at Motegi and Fuji, however, his seat will be occupied by Kaylen Frederick (#1) in 2024. The American racer is the only non-Japanese driver that was announced to be racing in the series this year and he makes the switch from FIA F3 with ART Grand Prix. Frederick had a disappointing season in 2023, finishing just 21st overall with a best result of seventh in the sprint races of Melbourne and Spielberg. The move to Japan could be exactly what he needs to regain momentum in his career.

Alongside Frederick will be SFL’s highest placed returning driver, Syun Koide (#50). The Honda Formula Dream Project member and 2022 Japanese F4 champion makes the switch from Toda Racing to B-Max Racing. He missed out on the 2023 driver’s title, finishing third in the standings and collecting four winner’s trophies to become top rookie. 

TOM’S

After coming second in last year’s teams’ standings, TOM’S will undoubtedly be aiming to be back at the top of the standings in 2024. The team have won every teams’ championship except in 2023, and this year’s lineup makes them look very strong.

The team welcomes two rookies, and they are none other than 2023 Japanese F4 champion Rikuto Kobayashi (#38) and runner-up Jin Nakamura (#35). The Toyota Gazoo Racing Driver Challenge Program members were involved in the four-way title fight, which wasn’t decided until the final race of the season. Kobayashi, who contested his second season of Japanese F4, led the championship for the majority of the season and won the title by 12 points over Nakamura, after taking five wins and four more podium finishes. Nakamura, who also contested his second year in the series, was in fourth position in the driver’s championship for the majority of the season but made up ground in the final two rounds to secure second position overall. Nakamura won three races and finished on the podium on six more occasions. 

Alongside the rookies, TOM’S will field two more returning drivers. Seita Nonaka (#36) enters his fourth full season of SFL in 2024. The 2021 Japanese F4 champion had a lacklustre season in 2023, finishing just seventh overall and finishing on the podium on four occasions. 2024 may be Nonaka’s make or break season, and his final chance of making the step up to Super Formula. Another former champion TOM’S fields in 2024 is Yuga Furutani (#37). The 23-year-old is the 2021 Formula Regional Japanese champion and enters his third SFL season with TOM’S. Like Nonaka, Furutani had a difficult 2023, scoring less points than he did in 2022 and finishing just eighth overall. 

Toda Racing

Toda Racing came third in the teams’ championship in 2023 and fielded just one driver in Koide. The team will continue to be a one-car entrant in 2024 and despite losing Koide to B-Max, they will field a Honda Formula Dream Project member and one of Japan’s most promising talents. 

Former Red Bull junior Souta Arao (#2) returns to his home country after a difficult second year in Europe. The 18-year-old was signed by Red Bull for the 2022 season and competed in that year’s French F4 championship, where he finished a solid third overall after taking two wins. He then stepped up to the GB3 championship but wasn’t able to transition his good form and finished just 17th overall, taking a best result of fifth at Zandvoort and Donington. Arao lost his membership to the Red Bull Junior Team ahead of the 2024 season and hopes to recover from a difficult year.

JMS Racing Team

B-Max will split their seven entering drivers into four teams, two of which are single-driver entrants. Nobuhiro Imada (#4) will race for the JMS Racing Team entrant in 2024. The 59-year-old is a three-time masters’ class champion in Super Formula Lights, having won the separate championship in 2021, 2022 and 2023. 

GNSY Racing

GNSY Racing will be B-Max’s other single-driver team entrant in 2024. Yasuhiro Shimizu (#8) will enter his first season in the SFL championship. The 41-year-old won the 2009 and 2010 Porsche Carrera Cup Japan and competed in Super GT’s GT300 class in 2011. 

Team Dragon

Last but not least, B-Max’s fourth team in the 2024 SFL championship will be Team Dragon.

Team owner Ryuji Kumita, also known under his pseudonym Dragon (#30), will enter his fifth full season of SFL in 2024. The 2020 masters’ class champion will be one of three full time participating masters’ class drivers in 2024. 

A fourth masters’ class driver will be Makoto Fujiwara (#13). Fujiwara raced in the Japanese F4 championship in 2023, where he became the Independent Cup champion and previously also contested various GT championships in Asia. Fujiwara will not compete in the full season.

He will also not attend the opening round of the season, with his seat being occupied by Rin Arakawa (#13). The 24-year-old finally makes the step up to SFL in 2024, after competing in the Japanese F4 championship since 2019. B-Max previously announced that Arakawa won’t be attending all races in 2024 and Fujiwara’s absence from the opening round hint that this car will be shared between the two drivers this season.

Header photo credit: Super Formula Lights