JF3000/JF3: Suzuka results

• Mitsuhiko Ishii
• MNI - Motorsport News International
• Mon Jul 8 23:37:43 EDT 1996

Formula Nippon Round 5 Race Results
July 7,1996
Suzuka Circuit (5.86403km) 
Weather Conditions: Occasional Rain
 
Pos No Driver             Car                Tire  Laps Time/Delay                  
 1  64 Toranosuke Takagi  Reynard96D Mugen   BS    35   1:03.28'642(193.99km/h)
 2  65 Takuya Kurosawa    Reynard96D Mugen   BS    35    -10.733
 3  24 Naoki Hattori      Reynard96D Mugen   BS    35    -15.150
 4  25 Ralf Schumacher    Reynard96D Mugen   BS    35    -15.780
 5  19 Kazuyoshi Hoshino  LolaT96/52 Mugen   BS    35    -16.463
 6   8 Shinji Nakano      Dome F104i Mugen   BS    35    -22.319
 7  55 Katsutomo Kaneishi Reynard95D Mugen   BS    35    -34.958
 8  10 Norberto Fontana   LolaT96/51 Mugen   BS    35    -35.668
 9   1 Toshio Suzuki      LolaT96/52 Mugen   BS    35    -56.210
10   6 Hidetoshi Mitsusada LolaT94/50 Judd   YH    35  -1'09.419
11  21 Michael Krumm      Reynard95D Mugen   BS    35  -1'10.349
12  56 Satoshi Motoyama   Reynard95D Mugen   BS    35  -1'13.761
13  12 Yukihiro Hane      LolaT94/50 Mugen   BS    34     -1 lap
14   5 Marco Apicella     Reynard95D Judd    YH    34     -1 lap
15  17 Taichiro Onishi    LolaT94/50 Mugen   BS    34     -1 lap
16  27 Masahiko Kageyama  Reynard96D Mugen   BS    34     -1 lap
17   7 Masami Kageyama    LolaT95/50 Mugen   YH    34     -1 lap
18  30 Eiichi Tajima      LolaT94    Mugen   BS    33    -2 laps
19  72 Atsushi Kawamoto   LolaT93    Ford    BS    33    -2 laps
20  31 Hideki Okada       LolaT95/50 Mugen   BS    31    -4 laps
DNF 
    28 Masahiko Kondo     Reynard94D Mugen   BS    29    -6 laps
     9 Pedro de la Rosa   LolaT96/51 Mugen   BS    27    -8 laps
    73 Tetsuji Tamanaka   LolaT93    Ford    BS    11   -24 laps
    20 Andrew Gilbert-Scott Reynard96D Mugen BS     9   -26 laps
     2 Katsumi Yamamoto   Dome F104i Mugen   BS     6   -29 laps

Fastest Lap:  8 Shinji Nakano  1'47.018 (197.26km/h) on Lap 35
Championship Standings:  Schumacher 27, Hoshino 19, Fontana 16, Takagi/Hattori 14,
                                  Masami Kageyama 8, Nakano 7, Kurosawa 6, etc.
Attendance: 39,000
Next Round: Aug 3-4, Sugo

In the middle of the rainy season here in Japan, the difficult weather
conditions gave the teams lots of thinking before the start of the
Formula Nippon race number five.

First there was a drizzle during the lunch break but it soon let up.
When they went out to line up on the grid, the track was still damp and
the skies looked a little threatening. The PIAA Nakajima team of Takagi
and Kurosawa, who shared the front row, dared to make a radical move.
The tires were changed from rain to dry, and the setup was converted
likewise.

Most of the teams, such as the Team Le Mans of Hattori and Schumacher,  
didn't go that far. They put on slicks with the setup unchanged.        

The start saw a brilliant getaway by Hattori but it was Takagi who
took the first corner first. Too much drag on his X-Japan Reynard made
Hattori's job really tough to keep up with Takagi and there was a
massive four second gap between the two at the end of lap one.

On lap 13 Hattori had to surrender the second position to Kurosawa.
Tackling the adverse setup on the track which turned completely dry
by then, the only thing he could do now was to fend off the charging
Hoshino and Schumacher who had their share of bad handling.

A few people did the rain dance in vain on Sunday.



1996 All Japan F3 Championship Rd.5 Race Results (Top 10)
July 7, 1996
Suzuka Circuit

Pos No Driver             Car           Engine         Lap  Time/Delay
 1   8 Juichi Wakisaka　　Dallara F396  Mugen MF204A   17   35'45.415(167.27km/h)
 2  64 Koji Yamanishi     Dallara F395  Mugen MF204    17      -1.098
 3   4 Keiichi Nishimiya  Dallara F395  Opel C20       17      -2.115
 4   7 Tom Coronel　      Tom's 036F    Toyota 3S-G    17      -6.403
 5   2 Shigekazu Wakisaka Dallara F395  Mugen MF204    17     -20.331
 6  16 Takeshi Tsuchiya   Dallara F395  HKS 310E       17     -24.769
 7   6 Shota Mizuno       Tom's 036F    Toyota 3S-G    17     -31.170
 8  45 Hiroshi Furuichi   Dallara F395  Toyota 3S-G    17     -32.249
 9  65 Haruki Kurosawa    Dallara F396  Mugen MF204    17     -32.588
10  12 Taku Utagawa       Dallara F396  Toyota 3S-G    17     -53.493

Fastest Lap:  64 Koji Yamanishi  2'04.642 (169.36km/h) on Lap 9
Championship Standings:  J.Wakisaka 34, Yamanishi 26, Coronel 24, 
                                  S.Wakisaka 13, Nishimiya 11, Mizuno 5, etc.
Next Round: Aug 3-4, Sugo

The Dome F3 driver Juichi Wakisaka took advantage of the disastrous start by
pole sitter Yamanishi to claim the third win of the season.