Super Formula was forced to cancel Sunday’s second race at Fuji Speedway owing to dense fog.
The decision was made to abandon the 10th round of the season at around 3:35pm local time amid a lack of visibility, with conditions at the Toyota-owned venue taking a turn for the worse just before the reconnaissance laps were due to start.
It follows a Saturday race that was cut short due to rain without any green flag running taking place.
JRP President Yoshihisa Ueno stated in a press conference after the race was cancelled that the series is considering whether a replacement round could be held at either Fuji or Suzuka, where the final double-header is due to be held on November 22-23.
Qualifying took place as normal in the morning on a mostly dry track, albeit with some damp spots remaining, as Tadasuke Makino claimed his second pole of the season.
Dandelion Racing driver Makino, who had been fastest in the dry during practice on Friday, beat Nakajima Racing’s Igor Fraga to the top spot by just 0.076 seconds.
Sho Tsuboi, VANTELIN TEAM TOM’SS
Photo by: Masahide Kamio
Kakunoshin Ohta qualified third in the second Dandelion car, with the single bonus point moving him level on points with Ayumu Iwasa, and ahead on countback owing to his three wins so far this season versus the Team Mugen driver’s one.
Championship leader Sho Tsuboi (TOM’S) only qualified seventh, but maintains a 14.5-point advantage over Ohta and Iwasa.
Makino’s three bonus points for pole means he faces a 23.5-point deficit to Tsuboi.
Tomoki Nojiri (Mugen), who qualified fourth and scored no bonus points, is the only driver still in mathematical contention for the championship if no replacement race is held.
Saturday race winner Sacha Fenestraz (TOM’S) was due to take the start from down in 18th after a lock-up at Turn 1 – a possible consequence of an off-track moment on the previous lap – meant he was eliminated in his Q1 group with only the ninth-fastest time.
Zak O’Sullivan meanwhile would have taken the start from last due to an issue with his Kondo Racing machine that prevented him from leaving the garage in Q1.
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