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Tadasuke Makino Triumphs in Super Formula Season Opener at Suzuka
Tadasuke Makino emerged victorious in the opening round of the Super Formula season, leading a dominant performance for Dandelion Racing at the Suzuka Circuit. His teammate, Kakunoshin Ohta, however, suffered a setback as he was penalized and fell out of the points.
In a race that concluded under the safety car, Makino crossed the finish line first, ahead of Ohta. The 31-lap race was halted following a collision involving rookie Zak O’Sullivan from Kondo Racing at Turn 2. O’Sullivan’s incident occurred after contact with Seita Nonaka, a substitute driver for Team Impul, forcing the deployment of the safety car.
During the race, Ohta was handed a five-second penalty related to an earlier clash with Ayumu Iwasa. The incident occurred as Ohta maneuvered past Iwasa after both drivers had completed their pit stops. While Ohta initially maintained a strong position, he was ultimately demoted due to the penalty.
Makino, on the other hand, chose to delay his pit stop until lap 20. After experiencing a brief setback with cold tires, he managed to regain his lead over Ohta on lap 24, thanks to better traction from his new set of tires.
As the race progressed towards its conclusion, Ohta faced pressure from TOM’S driver Sho Tsuboi, who had also pitted on lap 20 and was showing notable pace. However, with the safety car period triggered by O’Sullivan’s crash, Ohta could not defend his position and slipped down to 12th place by the end of the race.
The race results saw Tsuboi elevated to second place, while Iwasa secured the final podium position after starting from second and leading the first lap. Following the race, both Dandelion cars were investigated for a possible breach of safety car protocols, as Makino appeared to overtake the safety car on its way into the pits. However, after thorough review, he retained his victory.
Tomoki Nojiri finished in fourth place after Ohta’s penalty allowed him to move up from pole position, while Brazilian driver Igor Fraga rounded out the top five in his debut weekend with Nakajima Racing. His teammate, Ren Sato, adopted a different strategy and secured sixth place, also posting the fastest lap of the race.
Other notable finishers included Toshiki Oyu from Inging in seventh place, Shyn Koide, a rookie from B-Max Racing in eighth, Kamui Kobayashi from KCMG in ninth, and Kazuya Oshima from Rookie Racing in tenth. Meanwhile, Sacha Fenestraz from TOM’S struggled to finish in 16th, hindered by an early pit stop and subsequent traffic behind Sena Sakaguchi of Inging.
Following this round, Ayumu Iwasa leads the championship standings with 30 points, ahead of Sho Tsuboi with 23 points and Kakunoshin Ohta with 22 points. Tadasuke Makino currently holds fourth place with 21 points after securing his victory.
Race Results Overview:
1. Tadasuke Makino (Dandelion Racing) – Winner
2. Sho Tsuboi (TOM’S) – Runner-Up
3. Ayumu Iwasa (Team Mugen) – Third Place
4. Tomoki Nojiri (Dandelion Racing) – Fourth Place
5. Igor Fraga (Nakajima Racing) – Fifth Place
6. Ren Sato (Nakajima Racing) – Sixth Place
7. Toshiki Oyu (Inging) – Seventh Place
8. Shyn Koide (B-Max Racing) – Eighth Place
9. Kamui Kobayashi (KCMG) – Ninth Place
10. Kazuya Oshima (Rookie Racing) – Tenth Place
Race Highlights from O’Sullivan’s Challenging Debut
Source
www.autosport.com