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.

2010 Japanese Formula 3 Championship
Previous: 2009 Next: 2011
Yuji Kunimoto won ten of the first eleven races of the season to secure the championship.

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 Class Chassis[N 1] Engine Rounds
Petronas Team TOM'S
TOM'S Spirit		 1 Yuji Kunimoto[3] C F308 Toyota 1AZ-FE All
36 Rafael Suzuki[4] C F308 1–7
37 Naoya Gamou[3] N F306 Toyota 3S-GE All
Toda Racing 2 Alexandre Imperatori[3] C F308 Mugen-Honda MF204C All
Hanashima Racing 5 Hiroki Yoshida[3] C F308 Toyota 1AZ-FE 1–2
Katsuaki Kubota[3] 3–4
Hideki Yamauchi[3] 5–8
6 Katsuaki Kubota[3] N F306 Toyota 3S-GE 7
Hiroki Yoshida[3] 8
HFDP Racing 7 Kazuki Miura[5] N F307 Toyota 3S-GE All
8 Takashi Kobayashi[5] N F307 All
ThreeBond Racing 12 Yuhi Sekiguchi[3] C F308 Nissan SR20VE All
Aim Sports 18 Tsubasa Mekaru[3] N F307/305 Toyota 3S-GE 1–3
Achievement by KCMG 19 Yoshitaka Kuroda[3] N F307 Toyota 3S-GE All
20 Gary Thompson[6] N F306 All
21 Hajime Oonami[3] N F305 1–3
Yousuke Morishita[7] 4, 7
Team Nova 22 Daiki Sasaki[3] N F306 Toyota 3S-GE All
23 Kimiya Sato[3] N F306 All
Denso Team Le Beausset 62 Koki Saga[3] C F308 Toyota 1AZ-FE All
63 Katsumasa Chiyo[3] N F305 Toyota 3S-GE All
CMS Motor Sports Project 77 Hiroshi Koizumi[3] N F306 Toyota 3S-GE 1, 4–5
Tatsuru Noro[3] 2–3, 7
Icon Class
C Championship
N National
Notes
  1. 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
R2 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
R2 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
R2 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
R2 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
R2 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
R2 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
R2 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
R2 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
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate (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
  1. "Can Kunimoto join Japan's best F3 champions?". Castrol Driver Rankings. Castrol; Autosport. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  2. 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.
  3. "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.
  4. 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.
  5. "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.
  6. 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.
  7. "Implacabile Kunimoto". ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian). Inpagina. 2010-07-17. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2010-07-17.
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