2010 Japanese Formula 3 Championship

The 2010 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was the 32nd edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. It commenced on April 17 at Suzuka and ended on October 17 at Autopolis after 16 races held at eight race meetings.

All the Championship Class titles were secured at the Okayama meeting in September, with Yuji Kunimoto securing the drivers' title with five races to spare. The TOM'S driver had recorded a series record ten consecutive wins to start the season before finishing second to team-mate Rafael Suzuki in round 11 to secure the title.^[1] Despite not winning another race after clinching the title, Kunimoto still finished 58 points ahead of closest rival Yuhi Sekiguchi of ThreeBond Racing. Sekiguchi failed to win a race, but finished eleven races on the podium and overhauled Suzuki for the runner-up position. Suzuki had taken three wins in succession – two at Okayama and one at Sugo but failed to take part in either race at the final round at Autopolis in order to prioritise his commitments for the Macau Grand Prix the following month.^[2]

Koki Saga finished fourth, taking his first two victories in Formula Three at the final meeting at Autopolis, while Alexandre Imperatori finished fifth. The only other race-winner was Hideki Yamauchi, who took six podium finishes – including a win at Sugo – in his eight starts. Suzuki's first win at Okayama also gave TOM'S the teams title and the engine tuners championship, having amassed a maximum score up to round 14. ThreeBond Racing finished runners-up in the teams' championship, while Hanashima Racing's Toyota engines finished second in the tuners' championship.

In the National Class, the championship battle revolved around two drivers, HFDP Racing's Takashi Kobayashi and TOM'S Spirit driver Naoya Gamou, with the championship race going down to the final meeting at Autopolis. Kobayashi's sixth win of the season in the first race of the weekend, coupled with a Gamou retirement allowed Kobayashi to clinch the title with a race to spare. Gamou took eight wins on the season – including seven in succession at Fuji along with doubles at Motegi, Okayama and Sugo – but finished three points in arrears of Kobayashi. Third place went to Team Le Beausset's Katsumasa Chiyo, who won at the first Motegi meeting and fourth went to the other race-winner, Team Nova's Kimiya Sato, who won at the second Fuji meeting. As well as Kobayashi's drivers' championship, HFDP Racing clinched the teams' championship by five points ahead of TOM'S Spirit.

Teams and drivers

The provisional entry list for the series was released on March 10, 2010.^[3] All teams were Japanese-registered.

Team	No	Driver	Chassis^{[N 1]}	Engine	Rounds
Championship Class
Petronas Team TOM'S TOM'S Spirit	1	Yuji Kunimoto^[3]	F308	Toyota 1AZ-FE	All
Petronas Team TOM'S TOM'S Spirit	36	Rafael Suzuki^[4]	F308	Toyota 1AZ-FE	1–7
Toda Racing	2	Alexandre Imperatori^[3]	F308	Mugen-Honda MF204C	All
Hanashima Racing	5	Hiroki Yoshida^[3]	F308	Toyota 1AZ-FE	1–2
		Katsuaki Kubota^[3]			3–4
		Hideki Yamauchi^[3]			5–8
ThreeBond Racing	12	Yuhi Sekiguchi^[3]	F308	Nissan SR20VE	All
Denso Team Le Beausset	62	Koki Saga^[3]	F308	Toyota 1AZ-FE	All
National Class
Hanashima Racing	6	Katsuaki Kubota^[3]	F306	Toyota 3S-GE	7
Hanashima Racing	6	Hiroki Yoshida^[3]	F306	Toyota 3S-GE	8
HFDP Racing	7	Kazuki Miura^[5]	F307	Toyota 3S-GE	All
HFDP Racing	8	Takashi Kobayashi^[5]	F307	Toyota 3S-GE	All
Aim Sports	18	Tsubasa Mekaru^[3]	F307/305	Toyota 3S-GE	1–3
Achievement by KCMG	19	Yoshitaka Kuroda^[3]	F307	Toyota 3S-GE	All
	20	Gary Thompson^[6]	F306		All
	21	Hajime Oonami^[3]	F305		1–3
	21	Yousuke Morishita^[7]	F305		4, 7
Team Nova	22	Daiki Sasaki^[3]	F306	Toyota 3S-GE	All
Team Nova	23	Kimiya Sato^[3]	F306	Toyota 3S-GE	All
Petronas Team TOM'S TOM'S Spirit	37	Naoya Gamou^[3]	F306	Toyota 3S-GE	All
Denso Team Le Beausset	63	Katsumasa Chiyo^[3]	F305	Toyota 3S-GE	All
CMS Motor Sports Project	77	Hiroshi Koizumi^[3]	F306	Toyota 3S-GE	1, 4–5
CMS Motor Sports Project	77	Tatsuru Noro^[3]	F306	Toyota 3S-GE	2–3, 7

Notes

^ All drivers competed in Dallara chassis; model listed.

Race calendar and results

All races were held in Japan, and were in support of Formula Nippon at all rounds except the first Fuji round and Okayama.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning driver	Winning team	National Class winner
1	R1	Suzuka Circuit	17 April	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Takashi Kobayashi
1	R2	Suzuka Circuit	18 April	Koki Saga	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Takashi Kobayashi
2	R1	Twin Ring Motegi	22 May	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Katsumasa Chiyo
2	R2	Twin Ring Motegi	23 May	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Takashi Kobayashi
3	R1	Fuji Speedway	12 June	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Takashi Kobayashi
3	R2	Fuji Speedway	13 June	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Takashi Kobayashi
4	R1	Fuji Speedway	17 July	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Kimiya Sato
4	R2	Fuji Speedway	18 July	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Naoya Gamou
5	R1	Twin Ring Motegi	7 August	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuhi Sekiguchi	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Naoya Gamou
5	R2	Twin Ring Motegi	8 August	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Yuji Kunimoto	Petronas Team TOM'S	Naoya Gamou
6	R1	Okayama International Circuit	4 September	Hideki Yamauchi	Yuhi Sekiguchi	Rafael Suzuki	Petronas Team TOM'S	Naoya Gamou
6	R2	Okayama International Circuit	5 September	Rafael Suzuki	Rafael Suzuki	Rafael Suzuki	Petronas Team TOM'S	Naoya Gamou
7	R1	Sportsland SUGO	25 September	Hideki Yamauchi	Yuhi Sekiguchi	Rafael Suzuki	Petronas Team TOM'S	Naoya Gamou
7	R2	Sportsland SUGO	26 September	Hideki Yamauchi	Yuji Kunimoto	Hideki Yamauchi	Hanashima Racing	Naoya Gamou
8	R1	Autopolis	16 October	Hideki Yamauchi	Koki Saga	Koki Saga	Denso Team Le Beausset	Takashi Kobayashi
8	R2	Autopolis	17 October	Hideki Yamauchi	Koki Saga	Koki Saga	Denso Team Le Beausset	Naoya Gamou

Championship standings

Drivers' Championships

Points were awarded as follows:

1	2	3	4	5	6	PP	FL
10	7	5	3	2	1	1	1

Pos	Driver	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG		AUT		Pts
Championship Class
1	Yuji Kunimoto	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	4	3	4	5	Ret	139
2	Yuhi Sekiguchi	5	4	2	3	2	3	2	4	2	2	3	2	Ret	11	3	2	81
3	Rafael Suzuki	4	3	5	4	3	2	3	2	6	4	1	1	1	3			78
4	Koki Saga	2	2	4	7	5	5	5	5	4	6	4	5	15	2	1	1	68
5	Alexandre Imperatori	3	17	3	2	4	4	4	3	5	5	5	6	4	5	4	3	52
6	Hideki Yamauchi									3	3	8	3	2	1	2	Ret	45
7	Hiroki Yoshida	6	5	6	14													5
8	Katsuaki Kubota					8	9	16	11									4
National Class
1	Takashi Kobayashi	7	6	8	5	6	6	8	7	8	11	7	8	7	10	6	Ret	124
2	Naoya Gamou	12	8	Ret	6	7	7	10	6	7	7	6	7	5	6	Ret	4	121
3	Katsumasa Chiyo	8	7	7	10	14	Ret	7	9	12	9	11	9	9	9	9	5	66
4	Kimiya Sato	10	11	Ret	8	9	DSQ	6	8	10	13	12	11	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	43
5	Gary Thompson	13	12	10	9	10	10	9	13	13	8	10	14	11	8	Ret	7	33
6	Kazuki Miura	9	13	9	Ret	12	Ret	12	12	11	14	9	10	8	12	Ret	6	31
7	Daiki Sasaki	11	10	11	Ret	11	Ret	13	10	9	10	13	12	6	Ret	10	Ret	29
8	Yoshitaka Kuroda	16	9	12	11	13	11	11	16	14	12	Ret	13	10	13	7	9	18
9	Hiroki Yoshida															8	8	7
10	Tsubasa Mekaru	15	14	14	12	16	8											6
11	Hajime Oonami	17	16	13	13	15	12											1
12	Yousuke Morishita							14	14					12	14			0
13	Tatsuru Noro			Ret	Ret	17	13							13	16			0
14	Hiroshi Koizumi	14	15					15	15	15	Ret							0
15	Katsuaki Kubota													14	15			0
Pos	Driver	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG		AUT		Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

Teams' Championships

Points were awarded for both races as follows:

1	2	3	4	5	6
10	7	5	3	2	1

Pos	Team	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG		AUT		Pts
Championship Class
1	Petronas Team TOM'S	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	5	Ret	137
2	ThreeBond Racing	5	4	2	3	2	3	2	4	2	2	3	2	Ret	11	3	2	78
3	Denso Team Le Beausset	2	2	4	7	5	5	5	5	4	6	4	5	15	2	1	1	65
4	Toda Racing	3	17	3	2	4	4	4	3	5	5	5	6	4	5	4	3	52
5	Hanashima Racing	6	5	6	14	8	9	16	11	3	3	8	3	2	1	2	Ret	49
National Class
1	HFDP Racing	7	6	8	5	6	6	8	7	8	11	7	8	7	10	6	6	114
2	TOM'S Spirit	12	8	Ret	6	7	7	10	6	7	7	6	7	5	6	Ret	4	109
3	Denso Team Le Beausset	8	7	7	10	14	Ret	7	9	12	9	11	9	9	9	9	5	64
4	Team Nova	10	10	11	8	9	Ret	6	8	9	10	12	11	6	7	10	Ret	59
5	Achievement by KCMG	13	9	10	9	10	10	9	13	13	8	10	13	10	8	7	7	44
6	Hanashima Racing													14	15	8	8	7
7	Aim Sports	15	14	14	12	16	8											5
8	CMS Motor Sports Project	14	15	Ret	Ret	17	13	15	15	15	Ret			13	16			0
Pos	Team	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG		AUT		Pts

Engine Tuners' Championship

Points were awarded for both races as follows:

1	2	3	4	5	6
10	7	5	3	2	1

Pos	Engine	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG		AUT		Pts
1	Toyota-TOM'S	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	5	Ret	137
2	Toyota-Hanashima	2	2	4	7	5	5	5	5	3	3	4	3	2	1	1	1	82
3	Nissan-Tomei	5	4	2	3	2	3	2	4	2	2	3	2	Ret	11	3	2	78
4	Mugen-Toda	3	17	3	2	4	4	4	3	5	5	5	6	4	5	4	3	52
Pos	Engine	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG		AUT		Pts

References

^ "Can Kunimoto join Japan's best F3 champions?". Castrol Driver Rankings. Castrol; Autosport. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
^ Durante, Rafael (14 October 2010). "Rafael Suzuki confirma presença nos GPs de Macau e da Coréia do Sul". esportesite.com.br (in Portuguese). Esporte Site. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "2010 Achievement Japanese Formula 3 Entry List (tentative)". Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Japanese Formula 3 Association. 2010-03-10. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
^ Martins, Victor (2010-03-01). "Suzuki assina contrato com Tom's e vai disputar F3 Japonesa em 2010". iG (in Portuguese). Internet Group. Archived from the original on 2010-03-04. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
^ ^a ^b "2010年Hondaモータースポーツ活動の概要". honda.co.jp (in Japanese). Honda. 2010-02-19. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
^ Anderson, Ben (2010-02-17). "Ireland's Thompson joins Japan F3". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 23 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-18. Gary will be a fantastic asset to the team and it's fantastic to have an Irish driver racing in Japan. These are exciting times for KCMG. We have added a third car to our F3 team this season and we are also moving into Formula Nippon with support from Toyota Motorsport, providing a factory supported academy for our drivers to progress through.
^ "Implacabile Kunimoto". ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian). Inpagina. 2010-07-17. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2010-07-17.