Winners and losers from Super Formula's Suzuka finale
A look at who was up and who was down in last weekend's final two rounds of the Super Formula season at Suzuka... (Photos: JRP)
WINNER: Kakunoshin Ohta
There’s something about the combination of Suzuka in the autumn and the #6 Dandelion Racing machine that just seems to work. Think Nirei Fukuzumi’s strong showings in 2019-20, then Hiroki Otsu’s second-place finish in 2022, and now an incredible three victories for Ohta across last year’s finale and this year’s.
It would be fair to say that Ohta arrived at Suzuka with an extra spring in his step, perhaps buoyed by memories of his success last year, and knowing he had nothing to lose with his title hopes having long since evaporated. There’s also the small matter of him having been selected by HRC to test the Acura LMDh car at Daytona this weekend, which could well lead to a chance to contest next January’s Rolex 24.
Either way, Ohta’s weekend was about as close to perfect as he could have hoped for: a maiden pole on Saturday, which he duly converted into an easy win together with fastest lap, and then another dominant showing on Sunday. That time he came from second on the grid, but squeezed poleman Tomoki Nojiri on their way into Turn 1, no doubt fired up by the accusations of blocking in qualifying that the Team Mugen driver made to the media on Saturday. Ohta was clearly stung that Nojiri chose to air his dirty laundry in public and didn’t hide his feelings the following day.
The two wins left Ohta fourth in the drivers’ standings, helping Dandelion claim the teams’ championship, and leaves you wondering what might have been had he not suffered that throttle issue at Motegi while leading and the alternator problem that gave him a DNS in the July Fuji round. It’s a stretch to say he would have beaten Sho Tsuboi to the title without those misfortunes, but he may not have been far off.
