Home Formula 4 Makino doubles up in Japanese F4 opener

Makino doubles up in Japanese F4 opener

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
Photo: FIA F4 Japanese Championship

Photo: FIA F4 Japanese Championship

Tadasuke Makino remains the only race winner in Japanese F4, having picked up the win in the second race at Okayama.

Fifth on the grid, Makino watched the rivals ahead of him rule themselves out of contention, caught out by the treacherous conditions on a very wet track.

After a safety car start, the standing water on-track claimed its first victim in poleman Tsubasa Mekaru, who spun and tagged second-placed Shintaro Kawabata.

Shinnosuke Yamada then took the lead, only to spin out in the hairpin, handing first place to Makino.

The race for the win was basically over at that point as the championship leader began to storm away from the rest, finishing ten seconds in the clear.

Shou Tsuboi picked up a second consecutive runner-up finish, with Honda Dream Project’s Hiroki Ohtsu claiming third.

Having started in 14th, James Munro made it up to sixth and was moved up to fourth when Yuichi Mikasa and a recovering Mekaru collided ahead of him.

Yuta Kamimura took fifth, while Nicolas Costa and Mizuki Ishizaka took the flag behind him, only to be penalized for overtaking under yellows.

As such, Yuki Shiraishi and Yuya Hiraki were promoted to sixth and seventh, while Noa Satomi, Katsuhide Kaneishi and Yuki Nemoto rounded out the top ten.

Race results
Pos. Driver Team Time/Gap
1 Tadasuke Makino RN-S 15 laps in 30:27.088
2 Shou Tsuboi TOM’S Spirit +10.200
3 Hiroki Ohtsu Honda FDP +14.150
4 James Munro KCMG +15.612
5 Yuta Kamimura Honda FDP +23.374
6 Yuki Shiraishi Team A-One +45.296
7 Yuya Hiraki RS Fine +54.336
8 Noa Satomi Le Beausset Motorsports +58.438
9 Katsuhide Kaneishi Honda FDP +1:01.581
10 Yuki Nemoto KCMG +1:02.295
11 Takahiro Ban Sutekina Racing Team +1:15.963
12 Ryo Yamada Garage Chabatake +1:17.793
13 Yoshiaki Katayama ma with SARD +1:18.958
14 Yuya Tezuka Field Motorsport +1:23.588
15 Nicolas Costa VSR Lamborghini +1’23.592
16 Mizuki Ishizaka Honda FDP +1:24.975
17 Riku Hashimoto Skill Speed +1:26.740
18 Takuro Shinohara VSR Lamborghini +1:31.166
19 Junpei Kato ma with SARD +1:34.865
20 Shunsuke Kouno RS Fine +1:37.849
21 Takashi Hata Field Motorsport +1 lap
22 Katsuaki Kubota Hanashima Racing +1 lap
23 Masanori Yonekura Yonekura +2 laps
24 Yugo Tabe N Speed / S2R +2 laps
Not classified
Yuichi Mikasa B-MAX Racing +5 laps
Tsubasa Mekaru Media Do Kageyama +5 laps
Shintaro Kawabata Succeed Sports +13 laps
Shinnosuke Yamada B-MAX Racing +13 laps