Lotterer, Nakajima top Super Formula test at Suzuka
Andre Lotterer and Daisuke Nakajima finished on top of the timesheets in the two-day Super Formula pre-season test at Suzuka.
Photo by: Audi Communications Motorsport
On a wet Monday, Lotterer's time of 1m58.761s set in the morning session was enough to keep the TOM'S driver on top.
The German was followed by ex-F1 star Kamui Kobayashi, a further 1.456s away, with last year's champion Hiroaki Ishiura completing the top three.
With the afternoon session cancelled due to heavy downpour, teams and drivers would get their first representative runs on Tuesday, when Daisuke Nakajima's Honda-powered car was fastest from Kobayashi and Ishiura.
Lotterer was fourth on Tuesday, while British driver James Rossiter finished fourth and sixth in the two days respectively.
McLaren's reserve Stoffel Vandoorne survived a spin on Monday to finish 17th, improving to 10th on Tuesday with a best timed lap of 1m37.232s.
Former Williams F1 driver Kazuki Nakajima ended up seventh and 12th in the two days, with India's Narain Karthikeyan 11th and 19th - the latter not setting a time on Tuesday's afternoon session.
Honda protege and McLaren development driver Nobuharu Matsushita also appeared in a Honda test car preparing for his GP2 title assault with ART Grand Prix.
Monday saw a major crash involving Koudai Tsukakoshi and Takashi Kogure, both reportedly escaping unharmed, but with Tsukakoshi unable to take part on Tuesday.
Full day 1 results:
| Po. | Driver | Team / Engine | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Andre Lotterer |
VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S TOYOTA RI4A |
1'58.761 | - |
| 2 |  Kamui Kobayashi |
SUNOCO Team LeMans TOYOTA RI4A |
2'00.226 | 1.465 |
| 3 | Hiroaki Ishiura |
P.MU / CERUMO · INGING TOYOTA RI4A |
2'00.264 | 1.503 |
| 4 |  James Rossiter |
KONDO RACING TOYOTA RI4A |
2'00.264 | 1.503 |
| 5 |  Bertrand Baguette |
NAKAJIMA RACING HONDA HR-414E |
2'00.472 | 1.711 |
| 6 | William Buller |
KONDO RACING TOYOTA RI4A |
2'00.513 | 1.752 |
| 7 | Kazuki Nakajima |
VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S TOYOTA RI4A |
2'00.727 | 1.966 |
| 8 | Daisuke Nakajima |
NAKAJIMA RACING HONDA HR-414E |
2'01.110 | 2.349 |
| 9 | Koudai Tsukakoshi |
REAL RACING HONDA HR-414E |
2'01.317 | 2.556 |
| 10 | Yuichi Nakayama |
KCMG TOYOTA RI4A |
2'01.985 | 3.224 |
| 11 |  Narain Karthikeyan |
SUNOCO Team LeMans TOYOTA RI4A |
2'01.998 | 3.237 |
| 12 | Yuhi Sekiguchi |
ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL TOYOTA RI4A |
2'03.093 | 4.332 |
| 13 |  Joao Paulo de Oliveira |
ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL TOYOTA RI4A |
2'03.165 | 4.404 |
| 14 | Yuji Kunimoto |
P.MU / CERUMO · INGING TOYOTA RI4A |
2'03.238 | 4.477 |
| 15 | Takuya Izawa |
REAL RACING HONDA HR-414E |
2'03.314 | 4.553 |
| 16 | Takashi Kogure |
DRAGO CORSE HONDA HR-414E |
2'03.675 | 4.914 |
| 17 | Stoffel Vandoorne |
DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING HONDA HR-414E |
2'03.848 | 5.087 |
| 18 | Tomoki Nojiri |
DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING HONDA HR-414E |
2'03.910 | 5.149 |
| 19 | Naoki Yamamoto |
TEAM MUGEN HONDA HR-414E |
2'04.967 | 6.206 |
| 20 | Nobuharu Matsushita |
Honda Test Car HONDA HR-414E |
8'47.935 | 6'49.174 |
Full day two results:
| Po. | Driver | Team / Engine | Time (AM) | Time (PM) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daisuke Nakajima |
NAKAJIMA RACING HONDA HR-414E |
1'37.569 | 1'36.706 |
| 2 | Kamui Kobayashi |
SUNOCO Team LeMans TOYOTA RI4A |
1'37.567 | 1'36.728 |
| 3 | Hiroaki Ishiura |
P.MU / CERUMO · INGING TOYOTA RI4A |
1'37.894 | 1'36.771 |
| 4 | Andre Lotterer |
VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S TOYOTA RI4A |
1'37.360 | 1'36.773 |
| 5 | Tomoki Nojiri |
DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING HONDA HR-414E |
1'37.788 | 1'36.942 |
| 6 | James Rossiter |
KONDO RACING TOYOTA RI4A |
1'38.067 | 1'37.011 |
| 7 | Joao Paulo de Oliveira |
ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL TOYOTA RI4A |
1'38.187 | 1'37.015 |
| 8 | Yuji Kunimoto |
P.MU / CERUMO · INGING TOYOTA RI4A |
1'37.664 | 1'37.106 |
| 9 | Takashi Kogure |
DRAGO CORSE HONDA HR-414E |
1'38.281 | 1'37.262 |
| 10 | Stoffel Vandoorne |
DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING HONDA HR-414E |
1'37.708 | 1'37.322 |
| 11 | Yuichi Nakayama |
KCMG TOYOTA RI4A |
1'38.969 | 1'37.413 |
| 12 | Kazuki Nakajima |
VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S TOYOTA RI4A |
1'37.671 | 1'37.446 |
| 13 | Yuhi Sekiguchi |
ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL TOYOTA RI4A |
1'37.786 | 1'37.490 |
| 14 | Takuya Izawa |
REAL RACING HONDA HR-414E |
1'37.655 | 1'37.784 |
| 15 | Nobuharu Matsushita |
Honda Test Car HONDA HR-414E |
1'38.776 | 1'37.862 |
| 16 | Bertrand Baguette |
NAKAJIMA RACING HONDA HR-414E |
1'38.370 | 1'37.959 |
| 17 | Naoki Yamamoto |
TEAM MUGEN HONDA HR-414E |
1'40.822 | 1'38.259 |
| 18 | William Buller |
KONDO RACING TOYOTA RI4A |
1'38.295 | 1'38.623 |
| 19 | Narain Karthikeyan |
SUNOCO Team LeMans TOYOTA RI4A |
1'39.219 | no time |
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Mahindra hurt by 'bad grid position' in Qatar Moto3
Kornfeil puts Peugeot in Top 3 on final Moto3 test day
Dalla Porta takes charge for Mahindra on Day 2 in Moto3 test
Kobayashi 'joke' triggered Nakajima's Toyota WEC reserve return
Nakajima appointed Toyota WEC reserve for 2023 season
Retiring Nakajima explains Super Formula test appearance
Shanghai F1 grass fire mystery remains; emergency team on standby
F1 live: Follow the Chinese GP Sprint race as it happens
2024 F1 Chinese GP sprint qualifying results: Lando Norris takes pole
The Haas F1 updates that have bucked a sprint race trend
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments