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54-410: The team was created with the objective of developing drivers that could compete in the highest levels of F1 racing. In addition to competing in racing competitions such as Formula Nippon and Super GT , the team also holds its youth kart racing competition, the "ARTA Challenge," to find the next generation of competitive race drivers. Toshihiro Kaneishi , a driver who received support from ARTA, won

108-608: A fifth at Detroit. He finished no better than 13th in IndyCar Series points in his four years in the series. Also in 2007, Aguri signed Japanese driver Hideki Mutoh to run in the Indy Pro Series developmental league. Mutoh won 2 races, finished second in Pro Series points, and made his IndyCar debut at the final race of the 2007 season, finishing 8th and recording the fastest race lap. For 2008, Mutoh took on

162-595: A new Formula Two series from 1988 . However, all entrants ran Formula 3000 cars in 1987 . So, the 1987 Formula Two Championship was cancelled due to no entry of any cars for that format. Switching to the open Formula 3000 standard in 1987, the All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship officially started in 1988. During the late 1980s, a number of factors contributed to a surge in popularity for Japanese Top Formula racing. Honda -powered Formula One teams began winning multiple championships. The Japanese Grand Prix

216-650: A new generation of Japanese talents, led by 1988 champion Aguri Suzuki , and 1991 champion Ukyo Katayama - who would each go on to enjoy significant tenures in Formula One. The prosperous conditions within All-Japan F3000 also attracted many promising young drivers outside of Japan to compete in the series. Among those drivers included future Formula One Grand Prix winners Jean Alesi , Johnny Herbert , Eddie Irvine , and Heinz-Harald Frentzen . The most notable of these young drivers from outside Japan, however,

270-401: A platform to prove their ability in an attempt to move to Formula One or elsewhere. The bulk of the grid consists of Japanese drivers, most of whom have the goal of forging successful long-term careers in the series. Foreign drivers have always been regular participants in the series, and there have been several drivers to come from a Japanese Top Formula drive to a prominent Formula One role;

324-499: A race. The Dallara SF23 , a slightly modified version of the SF19, was unveiled on December 13, 2022, and has been used since the 2023 season. It has upgraded aerodynamics to improve overtaking and wheel-to-wheel racing. Source: Source: Dallara SF23 Specifications (2023–present) In terms of drivers, Super Formula is a high-level series where the field is composed mainly of professional factory drivers who are paid to race. It

378-591: A record by completing all 3,305 possible laps, the first IndyCar driver in modern history to do so. This season was the last to feature an all oval tracks schedule, which was part of the concept that led to the creation of the Indy Racing League . By 2005, road and street courses started to appear in the schedule by a mainstream scheduling method, and by 2015, there were more races run on road/street courses than on oval tracks. BOLD indicates Superspeedways. Note: All races ran on Ovals/Speedways. This race

432-555: A stepping stone into Formula One including the aforementioned de la Rosa, Ralf Schumacher , Shinji Nakano , Toranosuke Takagi , and Ralph Firman . But by the late 2000s, Formula Nippon's status as a pathway into Formula One had diminished, and the series was greatly effected by the Lehman Shock (the term used in Japan to describe the 2007-08 global financial crisis ) - going from 20 cars in 2008 to 13 in 2009 . On 5 August 2012,

486-515: Is unanimously regarded as the highest level of formula racing in Japan and Asia, and although opinions on its exact global position vary, it is generally considered to be a higher level series than Formula 2 , but slightly below IndyCar and to a larger extent Formula One . Super Formula is a top-level national series and not a feeder or junior category, as there is no series directly above it and many professional drivers compete in it until they retire. Some drivers, mostly foreign, have used it as

540-608: The All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship . For the most part, these Japanese racing series closely followed their European counterparts in terms of technical regulations. The JRP was established in 1995, and began managing the series in 1996, under its new name, the Formula Nippon Championship . This began what is commonly known as the modern era of the series, which has seen it become more independent with regard to technical regulations. The series' name

594-660: The German Formula Three Championship in 2001. As of 2007, the team competed in, or offered support to other drivers who competed in the following categories: The team maintained a close relationship with Aguri Suzuki's F1 team, Super Aguri F1 , before they were forced to withdraw from Formula One in 2008. ARTA is currently the largest racing team in Japan . The team participated with the Nissan Skyline GT-R from 1998 to 1999. In 2000,

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648-642: The Toyota MR-S , and became series champion in 2002 with drivers Morio Nitta and Shinichi Takagi. In 2003, ARTA participated with the ASL Garaiya , which had been developed by Autobacs. The machine showed good cornering, but the Nissan SR engine lacked power, resulting in a poor finish. In 2004, the team switched over to the Nissan VQ engine , and won two consecutive races. However, they failed to win

702-951: The FN09 chassis that was introduced in 2009, and used until 2013. Also, in 2009, a new 3.4 litre V8 engine formula was introduced, a common engine that would be used in Formula Nippon and the GT500 class of Super GT, as well as a "push-to-pass" overtake system that is still used today. The Dallara SF14 was used between the 2014 to 2018 season, and featured at least 30% components manufactured in Japan. Changed regulations both in Super Formula and Formula 1 resulted in closest gap ever between lap times: in 2014 season in Round 1 at Suzuka Circuit in Q2 André Lotterer did 1:36.996 which

756-466: The GT300 championship that year. ARTA first entered the IndyCar Series in 2003 , backing a car driven by Japanese-American Roger Yasukawa that was prepared by Fernandez Racing . This car was called "Super Aguri Fernandez Racing" and Aguri Suzuki was listed as a team owner. Despite the partnership, Autobacs Racing Team Aguri didn't have de facto ownership stake with Fernandez Racing. In 2004 , Yasukawa

810-581: The Garaiya to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the start of ARTA, and the team renewed its participation in the series with the same lineup as 2005. The Garaiya won the 3rd race at Fuji Speedway but crashed in all of the proceeding races and was forced to retire from the competition. The Garaiya was replaced by the Honda CR-Z GT for 2013 (with the car renumbered from #43 to #55), followed by BMW M6 GT3 in 2016 and Honda NSX GT3 in 2019, winning

864-833: The JAF approved the use of purpose-built racing engines from manufacturers such as Mitsubishi Motors . In 1976, the FIA modified the Formula Two regulations to allow the use of purpose-built racing engines. With this change, the reasoning behind the name "Formula 2000" had disappeared, which led to the series being renamed the All-Japan Formula Two Championship from 1978. These early years of formula racing in Japan were led by drivers such as Kunimitsu Takahashi , Kazuyoshi Hoshino , Masahiro Hasemi , Keiji Matsumoto , and Satoru Nakajima , who would go on to become

918-807: The JRP announced that the series would change its name from Formula Nippon to Super Formula in 2013, stating a "desire to establish the series on an equal footing with the FIA Formula One World Championship and the IZOD IndyCar Series as the undisputed, standard-bearer top formula racing in Asia." The series experienced renewed international interest when 2015 GP2 Series champion, Stoffel Vandoorne , entered full-time in 2016 with Docomo Team Dandelion Racing. Vandoorne would finish his season with two race victories before making

972-582: The Japanese single-seater pyramid. Honda Performance Development (now Honda Racing Corporation US) offered a US$ 600,000 annual scholarship to the winner of the Formula Regional Americas Championship towards a Honda-powered seat in Super Formula beginning in 2021. 2022 series champion Raoul Hyman was the only driver to accept the scholarship before it was discontinued. Super Formula races are traditionally held at

1026-518: The Panasonic and Formula Dream sponsorship and moved to Andretti Green Racing , winning Rookie of the Year honors. However, the entry was no longer branded as an ARTA project. Formula Nippon The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series held primarily in Japan . It is considered to be the pinnacle of single-seater racing in Japan or Asia as a whole, making it one of

1080-551: The Suzuka Formula 2000 Championship) was held concurrently at all events staged at Suzuka Circuit , to compete against the Fuji Grand Champion Series . During its existence from 1977 to 1986, it was considered to be of equal prestige to the All-Japan Formula 2 Championship. When European Formula Two ended in 1984 , its Japanese counterpart did not follow suit immediately. The JAF considered starting

1134-424: The best-known of these include Michael Schumacher , Eddie Irvine , Ralf Schumacher , Pedro de la Rosa , Stoffel Vandoorne , Pierre Gasly , and Liam Lawson . Conversely, several foreign drivers have built long careers in Japan; examples of such drivers include André Lotterer , Benoît Tréluyer , Loïc Duval , and João Paulo de Oliveira . Most drivers in the series are contracted to either Honda or Toyota –

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1188-567: The calendar every year since. Sportsland Sugo has been on the calendar every year since its current configuration was opened in 1987. Miné Circuit (formerly Nishinihon Circuit), was a regular fixture of the calendar until it closed for spectator events after the 2005 season. Autopolis , in Kyushu , and Okayama International Circuit , in the Chūgoku region , have since replaced Miné as the westernmost venues that Super Formula visits, though as of 2021

1242-421: The competition by a margin of 1 point. In 2005, the team was leading in points at the 7th race, ( Autopolis ) but lost in the final race to place 3rd in the final standings. The team director had announced during the season that the team would be dissolved if they failed to become champion, leading ARTA to end its participation in the GT300 series. However, in 2007, Aguri Suzuki announced that he would like to race

1296-440: The engines along with Cosworth and Judd . Bridgestone , Yokohama , and Dunlop supplied teams with tyres. However, the series began adopting more spec components. Bridgestone became the series' sole tyre supplier beginning in 1997, and in 1998, Mugen-Honda became the sole engine supplier (though open tuning was still allowed). Chassis remained an open formula until 2003, after Reynard declared bankruptcy and G-Force withdrew from

1350-658: The first Japanese driver to compete full-time in the Formula One World Championship . During the transition from Formula 2000 to Formula 2, a number of foreign drivers from the European F2 circuit began competing in and winning races in the Japanese series. 1981 European F2 champion Geoff Lees became the series' first non-Japanese champion when he won the All-Japan F2 title in 1983. The Suzuka Formula Two Championship (established in 1977 as

1404-474: The other hand, formula car racing had a more difficult time being established in the nation's motorsport landscape. The inaugural JAF Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in 1969 was Japan's first major single-seater race. And in 1971, the Japanese Grand Prix was reformatted into an event centered around formula car racing. Neither event managed to be as popular with spectators as the Japanese Grand Prix

1458-445: The pole position several times. The team did win the 4th race at Sepang . Team Honda Racing was dissolved in 2007, and ARTA participated in the competition with the same lineup as 2006. They won 3 races during the season on their way to championship victory. For 2008 Firman is joined by class newcomer Takuya Izawa while former driver Daisuke Ito left the team to drive for ENEOS TOYOTA Team LeMans. The team made its debut in 2001 with

1512-418: The race winner in standard events. The points system reverted back to a top-eight format from 2009–2019, though some rounds would have special points payouts. Until 2002, Formula Nippon was an open formula category, where a variety of chassis builders, engine manufacturers, and tyre manufacturers could compete. Chassis were supplied by Lola , Reynard , and G-Force . Mugen-Honda supplied the vast majority of

1566-606: The series no longer races at Okayama. Tokachi International Speedway in Hokkaido briefly hosted the series from 1995 to 1996. Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia hosted the first and only championship round outside of Japan when it was part of the 2004 calendar. The series planned to race at Inje Speedium in South Korea during the 2013 season and again in 2025, but both events were cancelled. * The ( ) indicates

1620-539: The series' two engine manufacturers since 2006 – for whom they also typically compete in the Super GT sports car series, Japan's other top motorsport category. The primary feeder series for Super Formula is Super Formula Lights , which was known as the Japanese Formula 3 Championship prior to 2020. The Formula Regional Japanese Championship and F4 Japanese Championship sit below Super Formula Lights in

1674-421: The series. The Lola B03/51 became the series' spec chassis thereafter. In 2006, Formula Nippon underwent a drastic revision of its technical regulations. The new Lola FN06 chassis was introduced, while new three-litre V8 engines by Toyota and Honda were introduced, based on the same engine blocks that the manufacturers used in the 2005 IndyCar Series . American racecar manufacturer Swift Engineering produced

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1728-588: The six major national racing circuits in Japan. Suzuka Circuit , the traditional home of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix , has staged more rounds than any other venue and has been on the calendar every year since the formation of the series in 1973. Suzuka typically hosts two rounds per season: The Suzuka 2&4 Race, a joint event staged with the All-Japan Road Race Championship , is typically held in

1782-651: The spring. The JAF Suzuka Grand Prix , Japan's oldest national formula racing event, is typically held at the end of the season in the autumn. Fuji Speedway did not host any racing in 2004 while the circuit underwent a wholesale renovation, but otherwise, it has been part of the calendar in almost every Super Formula season including the very first season of the All-Japan F2000 Championship in 2002. Mobility Resort Motegi (known as Twin Ring Motegi until 2022) opened in 1997 and has been part of

1836-492: The step up to F1 with McLaren in 2017 . A year later, 2016 GP2 Series champion Pierre Gasly entered the series, bringing Red Bull sponsorship with him to Team Mugen. Gasly finished 2017 as the Rookie of the Year, with two wins, and finished runner-up in the standings by half a point. Felix Rosenqvist , Álex Palou , and Patricio O'Ward later became IndyCar Series race winners after racing in Super Formula. Palou, who

1890-640: The team joined up with Honda , and began using the Honda NSX . Owner Aguri Suzuki and Keiichi Tsuchiya drove in the first year with Honda, and Katsutomo Kaneishi replaced Aguri in 2001. In 2003, Kaneishi moved on to participate in the DTM series, and his cousin, Toshihiro Kaneishi, took over as driver. Tsuchiya also announced his retirement the same year. Katsutomo Kaneishi returned from DTM in 2004, and became driver along with Daisuke Ito . Tsuchiya became team director this year, but various mechanical failures caused

1944-417: The team to win only 2 points in the entire competition. In 2005, ARTA became a Honda team (Team Honda Racing), along with Takata Dome NSX . Aguri returned as team director, with Ito and Ralph Firman as drivers. The team took pole position 3 times, and was competitive all season. The team won the 7th race at Autopolis . ARTA kept the same drivers for 2006, but was unable to win the competition despite taking

1998-461: The top drivers in Formula Nippon continued to race in sports cars and touring cars as their predecessors had done in years past. Pedro de la Rosa became the first "double champion" of Japan in 1997 when he won both the Formula Nippon and All-Japan GT Championship GT500 titles in the same calendar year. Satoshi Motoyama and Richard Lyons would later accomplish the same feat in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Drivers continued to use Formula Nippon as

2052-700: The top motorsport series in the region. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and managed by Japan Race Promotion (JRP). As of 2024, Super Formula is the second fastest racing series in the world, after Formula One . The first Japanese Top Formula championship was held in 1973 as the All-Japan Formula 2000 Championship . In 1978, the series transformed into the All-Japan Formula Two Championship , and again in 1987, into

2106-728: The tyre (since 1997), chassis (since 2003), or engine (1998–2005) was a spec part that all competitors used for that season.   Indicates active driver, team, and manufacturer. After the 2024 season. 2004 in IRL The 2004 IRL IndyCar Series was dominated by two teams, Andretti Green Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing . While there was great parity in 2003 between Honda and Toyota powered teams, in 2004 Honda began to outshine Toyota bringing their teams Penske Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing down with it, leaving Scott Dixon winless and in 10th place in his attempt to defend his 2003 championship. Season champion Tony Kanaan set

2160-468: Was 4.49 seconds slower than Nico Rosberg 's pole time of 1:32.506 for the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and was not only inside 107% rule but could potentially placed him 21st in F1 grid in front of two cars of Kamui Kobayashi (1:37.015) and Max Chilton (1:37.481). In 2016, Yokohama Rubber replaced Bridgestone as the series' sole tyre supplier. The Dallara SF19 , which was used from the 2019 to 2022 season,

2214-407: Was changed again in 2013, to Super Formula (officially Japanese Championship Super Formula until 2016). In Japan, touring and sports car racing was very popular throughout the 1960s. The Japanese Grand Prix was originally held as an event for touring and sports cars, and was immediately established as the largest motor racing event in the country during its original run between 1963 and 1969. On

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2268-588: Was during its time as a sports car race. In 1973, the Japan Automobile Federation established the All-Japan Formula 2000 Championship as the first top-level formula racing series in Japan, to promote the sport of formula car racing in the country. The series was based on the European Formula Two Championship . But unlike European F2, which only allowed the use of racing engines based on mass production models,

2322-436: Was established by Fuji Television , and became the new promoter and organising body of Japanese top formula racing, recognised by the JAF. As F3000 went down the path of a spec formula series abroad, the JRP opted to continue with the previous F3000 regulations which allowed for open chassis and engine competition. For 1996, the first full season under the management of JRP, the series changed its name to Formula Nippon. Many of

2376-514: Was future seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher , who made a one-off appearance at Sportsland Sugo in 1991. The eventual burst of the bubble economy led to a decline in the series' popularity during the early to mid 1990s. Japanese and European regulations paralleled one another until 1996, when the International Formula 3000 series became a one-make format to lower costs. In 1995, Japan Race Promotion (JRP)

2430-446: Was held at Chicagoland Speedway on September 12. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. This race was memorable due to a scary crash involving Buddy Rice with 15 laps remaining as he slid down the backstretch upside down. Adrián Fernández won the race, despite having a broken on-board pneumatic air jack. His pit crew had to use a manual jack to service his car during pit stops, losing several seconds each time. Top ten results This race

2484-450: Was held at Homestead-Miami Speedway on February 29. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at Phoenix International Raceway on March 21. Dan Wheldon won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at Twin Ring Motegi on April 17. This was Honda's first win in the annual oval race held at their own track. Dan Wheldon won the pole. Top ten results The 88th Indianapolis 500-mile (800 km) race

2538-405: Was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 30. Buddy Rice sat on pole. The race was shortened to 180 laps (450 miles) due to rain. Top ten results This race was held at Texas Motor Speedway on June 12. Dario Franchitti won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at Richmond International Raceway on June 26. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. Top ten results This race

2592-495: Was held at Kansas Speedway on July 4. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at Nashville Superspeedway on July 17. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at the Milwaukee Mile on July 25. Vítor Meira won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at Michigan International Speedway on August 1. Tony Kanaan won the pole. Top ten results This race

2646-478: Was held at Kentucky Speedway on August 15. Buddy Rice won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at Pikes Peak International Raceway on August 22. Tony Kanaan won the pole. Top ten results This race was held at Nazareth Speedway on August 29. Hélio Castroneves won the pole. The race was heralded as the series' 100th event. This was also the final IndyCar race at the track which closed down following this race. Top ten results This race

2700-503: Was reintroduced to the Formula One calendar in 1987, and that same year, Satoru Nakajima began competing full-time in F1. Fans began following the series through Fuji Television 's broadcasts of Formula One, resulting in an increased interest in all forms formula racing. Combined with the asset-driven bubble economy of the 1980s, the All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship attracted several entrants and investors. Veteran drivers such as Hoshino, Hasemi, Takahashi, and Matsumoto were succeeded by

2754-461: Was replaced by Kosuke Matsuura , who won rookie of the year honors for both the Indianapolis 500 and the league, and finishing fourth at Kentucky. Matsuura continued with Aguri in 2005 and 2006, scoring several top 10s but no top 5s. In 2007 , ARTA and Aguri switched their support from Fernandez to Panther Racing , bringing Matsuura with them. He scored a fourth-place finish at Michigan and

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2808-481: Was the 2019 Rookie of the Year, went on to win the IndyCar Series championship in 2021 , 2023 , and 2024 . In 2020, Super Formula adopted a new top-ten scoring system similar to the one used in Super GT, awarding 20 points to the race winner. Bonus points were given to the top three qualifiers in every round; three points for pole position, two for second place, and one for third place. A top-six points system

2862-659: Was unveiled at Suzuka Circuit in October 2017. It weighed 670 kilograms (including the driver), and was powered by a two-litre single turbo-charged engines built by Honda and Toyota under the Nippon Race Engine (NRE) formula. The engines used in Super Formula have been detuned compared to their counterparts used in Super GT (GT500), but continue to allow for the use of the "push-to-pass" style Overtaking System (OTS) that allows for an additional five kilogrammes per hour (5 kg/h) of fuel burn for up to 200 seconds during

2916-409: Was used in All-Japan F3000 and Formula Nippon from 1988 to 2006, inspired by the contemporary Formula One points system . Beginning in 2007 , the series followed Formula One once again and paid out points to the top eight finishers. A bonus point was awarded to the polesitter starting in 2008 , during which the regular points system was changed again to award the top ten finishers and give 15 points to

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