Engine trouble hampers Vandoorne's debut Super Formula test
McLaren protege Stoffel Vandoorne was only 17th quickest in his first run in the Japanese Super Formula series, with engine issues cutting into his programme.
Photo by: GP2 Series Media Service
Driving for the Honda-powered Docomo squad, Vandoorne managed only 20 laps in the morning session - much less than anybody else in the field - and had no chance of improving his time in the afternoon due to rain.
He finished the morning session in 17th, and was eighth-quickest in the wet.
The Belgian will sit out the second part of the test tomorrow as he will be travelling to Yas Marina for the GP2 season finale.
Formula Renault 3.5's Jazeman Jaafar and Japanese F3 champion Nick Cassidy finished right ahead of Vandoorne in the day's overall rankings, while GP2 rival Richie Stanaway was immediately behind.
Stanaway, however, was fifth in the afternoon, with IndyCar's Stefano Coletti, taking over from Jaafar, posting the 11th-best time.
As for the series regulars, the day's proceedings were topped by 2010 champion Joao Paulo de Oliveira, ahead of 2013 champion Naoki Yamamoto and 2015 champion Hiroaki Ishiura.
Super GT regular Yuhi Sekiguchi posted the quickest time in the rain.
Combined test results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | AM | PM |
| 1 |  Joao Paulo de Oliveira |
Lenovo Team Impul | 1'37.831 | 1'49.990 |
| 2 |  Naoki Yamamoto |
Team Mugen | 1'38.331 | 1'53.126 |
| 3 | Hiroaki Ishiura |
Inging | 1'38.574 | 1'57.501 |
| 4 | Koudai Tsukakoshi |
Real Racing | 1'38.749 | 1'52.155 |
| 5 | Takashi Kogure |
Drago Corse | 1'38.794 | 1'53.154 |
| 6 | Yuji Kunimoto |
Inging | 1'38.862 | 1'58.953 |
| 7 | Yuhi Sekiguchi |
Lenovo Team Impul | 1'38.948 | 1'46.873 |
| 8 | Daisuke Nakajima |
Nakajima Racing | 1'38.951 | 1'58.031 |
| 9 | Yuichi Nakayama |
KCMG | 1'38.963 | 2'00.253 |
| 10 |  Andre Lotterer |
Petronas Team TOM'S | 1'38.969 | 1'47.353 |
| 11 | Kamui Kobayashi |
Team LeMans | 1'39.005 | 1'56.228 |
| 12 |  James Rossiter |
Kondo Racing | 1'39.258 | 1'58.581 |
| 13 | Ryo Hirakawa |
Team LeMans | 1'39.282 | 1'57.385 |
| 14 | Kazuki Nakajima |
Petronas Team TOM'S | 1'39.417 | 1'56.860 |
| 15 |  Jazeman Jaafar |
Docomo Team Dandelion | 1'39.422 | No Time |
| 16 |  Nick Cassidy |
Kondo Racing | 1'39.721 | 1'58.547 |
| 17 |  Stoffel Vandoorne |
Docomo Team Dandelion | 1'39.904 | 1'52.615 |
| 18 | Richie Stanaway |
Team Mugen | 1'40.252 | 1'51.757 |
| 19 | Bertrand Baguette |
Nakajima Racing | 1'40.503 | 1'50.916 |
| 20 | Toshihiro Kaneishi |
Real Racing | 1'41.615 | No Time |
| 21 | Takuya Izawa |
Real Racing | No Time | 1'51.843 |
| 22 |  Stefano Coletti |
Docomo Team Dandelion | No Time | 1'54.260 |
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