2012 Formula Nippon Championship Explained

The 2012 Formula Nippon Championship was the fortieth season of the premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing series. The series for Formula Nippon racing cars was contested over seven rounds with a non-championship final round at Fuji Speedway as part of the JAF Grand Prix. The two-time Le Mans winner André Lotterer was the defending champion.

This was also the final season run under the name Formula Nippon, the series would be renamed into Japanese Championship Super Formula, a name selected by public, in 2013.^[1]

Teams and drivers

Team		Driver	Engine	Rounds
Petronas Team TOM'S	1	André Lotterer^[2]	Toyota RV8K	All
Petronas Team TOM'S	2	Kazuki Nakajima	Toyota RV8K	All
Kondō Racing	3	Hironobu Yasuda	Toyota RV8K	All
Team LeMans	7	Kazuya Oshima	Toyota RV8K	All
Team Kygnus Sunoco	8	Loïc Duval	Toyota RV8K	All
HP Real Racing	10	Toshihiro Kaneishi	Honda HR12E	All
HP Real Racing	11	Yuhki Nakayama	Honda HR12E	4–5
Team Mugen	15	Takuma Sato^[3]	Honda HR12E	6–7
Team Mugen	16	Naoki Yamamoto	Honda HR12E	All
SGC by KCMG	18	Ryo Orime	Toyota RV8K	All
Team Impul	19	João Paulo de Oliveira	Toyota RV8K	All
Team Impul	20	Tsugio Matsuda	Toyota RV8K	All
Nakajima Racing	31	Daisuke Nakajima	Honda HR12E	All
Nakajima Racing	32	Takashi Kogure	Honda HR12E	All
Project μ/cerumo・INGING	38	Kohei Hirate	Toyota RV8K	All
Project μ/cerumo・INGING	39	Yuji Kunimoto	Toyota RV8K	All
Docomo Team Dandelion Racing	40	Takuya Izawa	Honda HR12E	All
Docomo Team Dandelion Racing	41	Koudai Tsukakoshi	Honda HR12E	All
Le Beausset Motorsports	62	Koki Saga	Toyota RV8K	All

Note:All drivers (except Yuhki Nakayama) also participated the non-Championship JAF Grand Prix.

Race calendar and results

All races will be held in Japan. A non-championship round, entitled JAF Grand Prix Super GT and Formula Nippon Sprint Cup 2012, will be held at the conclusion of the season.^[4]

Round	Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	Suzuka Circuit	15 April	Takuya Izawa	João Paulo de Oliveira	Kazuki Nakajima	Petronas Team TOM'S
2	Twin Ring Motegi	13 May	André Lotterer	João Paulo de Oliveira	André Lotterer	Petronas Team TOM'S
3	Autopolis	27 May	Koudai Tsukakoshi	Hironobu Yasuda	Koudai Tsukakoshi	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing
4	Fuji Speedway	15 July	Kazuki Nakajima	João Paulo de Oliveira	André Lotterer	Petronas Team TOM'S
5	Twin Ring Motegi	5 August	João Paulo de Oliveira	Hironobu Yasuda	João Paulo de Oliveira	Team Impul
6	Sportsland SUGO	23 September	Takuya Izawa	Loïc Duval	Takuya Izawa	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing
7	Suzuka Circuit	4 November	Tsugio Matsuda	Takuya Izawa	Takuya Izawa	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing
7	Suzuka Circuit	4 November	João Paulo de Oliveira	Kohei Hirate	Kazuki Nakajima	Petronas Team TOM'S
NC	Fuji Speedway	18 November	Koudai Tsukakoshi	João Paulo de Oliveira	Takuya Izawa	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

Scoring system:

Round	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	Pole
1–6	Points	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1	1
7	Points	8	4	3	2.5	2	1.5	1	0.5	1

Pos	Driver	SUZ	MOT	AUT	FUJ	MOT	SUG	SUZ		FUJ	Points
1	Kazuki Nakajima	1	3	5	2	4	5	12	1	7	46
2	Koudai Tsukakoshi	2	5	1	9	3	2	3	3	Ret	43
3	Takuya Izawa	6	4	2	13	5	1	1	6	1	41.5
4	André Lotterer	5	1	Ret	1	2	10	5	8	DSQ	35.5
5	João Paulo de Oliveira	3	2	Ret	6	1	6	4	Ret	2	34.5
6	Loïc Duval	9	11	3	4	6	3	7	2	3	25
7	Kazuya Oshima	4	8	6	3	Ret	4	8	7	10	21.5
8	Tsugio Matsuda	8	6	4	5	7	Ret	2	Ret	5	20
9	Kohei Hirate	10	NC	7	7	8	8	9	5	6	8
10	Takashi Kogure	15	Ret	10	10	13	Ret	6	4	11	4
11	Naoki Yamamoto	7	7	9	12	Ret	14	15	Ret	8	4
12	Toshihiro Kaneishi	12	13	12	Ret	11	7	14	14	12	2
13	Yuji Kunimoto	14	9	8	8	10	13	11	12	4	2
14	Hironobu Yasuda	11	12	13	16	9	11	13	9	16	0
15	Takuma Sato						9	17	10	13	0
16	Daisuke Nakajima	16	10	11	11	12	12	10	11	9	0
17	Koki Saga	13	14	Ret	14	Ret	15	16	13	14	0
18	Yuhki Nakayama				15	14					0
19	Ryo Orime	17	15	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	18	15	15	0
Pos	Driver	SUZ	MOT	AUT	FUJ	MOT	SUG	SUZ		FUJ	Points

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

Teams' Championship

Pos	Team	No.	SUZ	MOT	AUT	FUJ	MOT	SUG	SUZ		FUJ	Points
1	Docomo Team Dandelion Racing	40	6	4	2	13	5	1	1	6	1	78.5
1	41	2	5	1	9	3	2	3	3	Ret		78.5
2	Petronas Team TOM'S	1	5	1	Ret	1	2	10	5	8	DSQ	76.5
2	2	1	3	5	2	4	5	12	1	7		76.5
3	Team Impul	19	3	2	Ret	6	1	6	4	Ret	2	51.5
3	20	8	6	4	5	7	Ret	2	Ret	5		51.5
4	Team Kygnus Sunoco	8	9	11	3	4	6	3	7	2	3	25
5	Team LeMans	7	4	8	6	3	Ret	4	8	7	10	21.5
6	Project μ/cerumo・INGING	38	10	NC	7	7	8	8	9	5	6	10
6	39	14	9	8	8	10	13	11	12	4		10
7	Nakajima Racing	31	16	10	11	11	12	12	10	11	9	4
7	32	15	Ret	10	10	13	Ret	6	4	11		4
8	Mugen	15						9	17	10	13	4
8	16	7	7	9	12	Ret	14	15	Ret	8		4
9	HP Real Racing	10	12	13	12	Ret	11	7	14	14	12	2
9	11				15	14						2
10	Kondō Racing	3	11	12	13	16	9	11	13	9	16	0
11	Le Beausset Motorsports	62	13	14	Ret	14		15	16	13	14	0
12	SGC by KCMG	18	17	15	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	18	15	15	0
Pos	Team	No.	SUZ	MOT	AUT	FUJ	MOT	SUG	SUZ		FUJ	Points

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

External links

2012 Japanese Championship Formula Nippon

Notes and References

News: Forumula Nippon to be renamed Super Formula starting 2013, possible expansion in Asia. Response.jp. IID.Inc. 6 August 2012. 25 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121028210242/http://en.responsejp.com/article/2012/08/06/179174.html. 28 October 2012. dead.
Web site: Entry List. Japan Race Promotion Company, Ltd.. Formula Nippon. 23 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120501084229/http://f-nippon.co.jp/fn/en/race/2012/1201/1201_entry.shtml. 1 May 2012. dead.
News: Takuma Sato will join TEAM MUGEN to challenge Formula NIPPON Round6 SPORTSLAND SUGO, Round7 SUZUKA CIRCUIT, and JAF GP FUJI SPRINT CUP. Mugen Power. Mugen Motorsports. 14 June 2012. 14 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20140530030630/http://www.mugen-power.com/english/news/2012/20120615/index.html. 30 May 2014. dead.
Web site: 2012 International Sporting Calendar. 20 April 2012. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. FIA.com. 23 April 2012. 6.