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Makino Secures Victory at Motegi as Dandelion Racing Shines
Tadasuke Makino clinched his second Super Formula win of the current season during Saturday’s race at the Motegi circuit, marking a continued success for Dandelion Racing.
This victory heralded Dandelion’s first 1-2 finish since 2012, with Makino finishing ahead of his teammate Kakunoshin Ohta. With this performance, Makino also ascended to the top of the championship standings.
From the outset, Dandelion Racing established dominance by locking out the front row. Makino led the initial lap, with Nakajima Racing’s Igor Fraga quickly moving into second place after overtaking Ohta. Fraga even made a brief attempt to challenge Makino on the outside but ultimately settled into the second spot.
As the race progressed, Ohta became the first among the leading trio to pit during the opening window on lap 10, while Fraga opted to pit later, at lap 17. Makino responded to Fraga’s challenge by entering the pits on the next lap. Although Ohta temporarily grabbed the lead via an undercut, he was soon caught by Makino once the latter’s tires warmed up sufficiently.
The decisive moment came on lap 22 at Turn 1, where Makino executed a clean pass for the lead, pulling away to secure his victory with a margin of 2.6 seconds.
Ohta managed to fend off Fraga for second place, allowing the Brazilian driver to achieve his first Super Formula podium finish in only his third race.
Ayumu Iwasa, the reserve driver for Racing Bulls Formula 1, advanced from sixth place to fourth position but had to retire his Mugen car on lap 28, ceasing the race prematurely. Iwasa had started the weekend at the top of the championship standings and his exit left him visibly frustrated.
The misfortune of Iwasa allowed reigning champion Sho Tsuboi of TOM’S to rise to fourth place, executing a commendable recovery after a challenging qualifying session that left him in 12th. Nirei Fukuzumi rounded out the top five for KCMG, while Sena Sakaguchi (Inging) and Kenta Yamashita (Kondo Racing) followed. Yamashita, who started in fourth, lost momentum due to a slow pit stop.
Sacha Fenestraz marked his return to Super Formula with a strong performance, finishing in eighth after overtaking Tomoki Nojiri’s struggling Mugen car. Nojiri managed to maintain a hold on ninth, while Kazuya Oshima from Rookie Racing finished in tenth.
Seita Nonaka, substituting for Kamui Kobayashi at KCMG, finished the race in 11th, ahead of Zak O’Sullivan in another Kondo entry. Meanwhile, Rikuto Kobayashi marked his debut by finishing 16th in place of Oliver Rasmussen at Team Impul.
The race was briefly interrupted by a safety car incident on the opening lap when Toshiki Oyu collided with Ren Sato as they approached Turn 1.
Heading into the second race on Sunday, Makino carries a five-point lead in the championship over Ohta, with Tsuboi positioned third, trailing by 13 points.
Race 1 Results:
Source
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