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Seita Nonaka grabs lead at restart to become the first winner of 2024 season - superformula lights en

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Seita Nonaka grabs lead at restart to become the first winner of 2024 season

2024/05/19

野中誠太（PONOS Racing TOM'S 320 TGR-DC）Seita Nonaka（PONOS Racing TOM'S 320 TGR-DC）

After four practice sessions for two days a qualifying for Rd four and Rd five races of 2024 Super Formula Lights championship got underway at 11:05 am on Saturday at Autopolis with both air and track temperatures rising from the morning.

Unlike in the previous years when cars often warmed up before setting out for attacks for two to three laps many of the cars this time came out of the pits some time after the track was opened, and then did a single lap.

Claiming the first pole position of the season was a SFL rookie Rikuto Kobayashi driving Mobility Chukyo TOM’S 320 TGR-DC, who posted 1m37.276. TOM’S locked out the front row of the grid as Seita Nonaka in PONOS Racing TOM’S 320 TGR-DC qualified second with a time of 1m37.383.
Third went to Rin Arakawa (TEAM DRAGON 324).

第4戦　スタートStart of Round.4

■An accident occurs just after the race start

When the round four race began at 3:30 pm after a pitwalk and a Super Formula’s qualifying each car embarked on its first race of the season for the longest 21 laps of the race weekend, relying data collected from the practice sessions.

Kobayashi stalled his engine on the formation lap, but was able to immediately recover to the front of the field.

Both front-row sitters would recall they didn’t do well at the start, but the two each had kept their top positions before the safety car was called, even though there was a moment when Nonaka got alongside Kobayashi going into the first corner.

Souta Arao (HFDP WITH TODA RACING) bogged down in sixth on the grid.

At Turn four fifth-starting Shun Koide (HFDP WITH B-MAX RACING) and a fourth-starting Yuga Furutani (Deloitte, HTP TOM’S 320) slightly went off the track after fighting a fierce battle though the first bends just behind the race leaders. A little further back Jin Nakamura (Mobility Chukyo TOM’S 320) also suffered an off and smashed into the barriers, which brought out the safety car.

When the Nakamura’s car was cleared and the race restarted on lap three Nonaka overtook Kobayashi at the second hairpin and proceeded to push on to build a gap.

小林利徠斗（モビリティ中京 TOM'S 320 TGR-DC）Rikuto Kobayashi（Mobility Chukyo TOM'S 320 TGR-DC）

■Nonaka holds on for a season-opening victory

Nonaka continued to open up his lead over Kobayashi, with Arakawa following them about a second behind, whilst a little further back a scrap over fourth spot was fought among Kaylen Frederick (Pilot ONE Racing with B-MAX) and the pair of Koide and Furutani who had managed to return to the track.

From here the tyre-consuming Autopolis saw all the cars lapping at over 1m 40secs at lap six and then 1m 42 secs at lap 10, and the race came to an end with no order changes.
Nonaka became the first winner of 2024 season with 7.272secs ahead of Kobayashi. Arakawa finished third.

The close scrap over fourth place came down to the very final lap with Frederick fending off Koide and Furutani. Arao missed out on points as he placed seventh.
Nobuhiro Imada (JMS RACING TEAM) kept his good pace throughout the race to beat DRAGON (TEAM DRAGON 324) to take master class win.

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