Nissan’s Sasaki double podium with 2nd and 1st, Takaboshi grabs top order finishes

October 11th -12th Fuji Speedway (Shizuoka)
Rounds 14-15 of the All Japan F3 Championship, last of the season, were held in conjunction with the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji Speedway where #23, Daiki Sasaki, of the Nissan Driver Development Program (NDDP), took pole position in both races, finished 2nd in round 14 and then went on to grab victory in round 15 to make 2 consecutive podium finishes. Furthermore, #22, Mitsunori Takaboshi, finished 4th and 5th in rounds 14 and 15 respectively to finish the season at 3rd place in the rankings.

On Friday two one-hour exclusive runs were held and for each session both drivers improved their times. The pair got off to a great start with both drivers setting second session times that were approximately 1 second faster than their first session. Sasaki ultimately recorded the top time and Takaboshi the 2nd fastest. Sasaki maintained this momentum in Saturday’s qualifying sessions and secured pole position for both rounds 14 and 15. Although Takaboshi qualified 4th for round 14, he steadily adjusted his driving and went on to take 2nd place on the grid for round 15. Thus the pair of NDDP drivers were set to dominate the front row.

The final race for round 14 began at 2:50pm on the 10th (Sat). Sasaki was unfortunately a little slow out of the blocks and fell back to 3rd. Takaboshi then cleared the first corner behind him as if they were in formation. For a short time Sasaki would carefully observe the movements of the leading 2 cars while at the same time recording the fastest lap in lap 4, adding more points to the points he gained in qualifying. When the pace of his rivals began to drop in the middle stages, he opened up a fierce assault and in lap 11, at 100R, he moved up to 2nd place. He then began to gradually reduce the difference between himself and the lead car, which at that point was close to 3 seconds, and towards the end of the race was right on its tail. They would be side-by-side right at the finish but he was just unable to make up that last 7 thousandth of a second and passed the checkered flag in 2nd. As for Takaboshi, he successfully defended his position and came home in 4th.

The final race for round 15, the last of the season, began early in the morning on the following day (11th) at 8:00am. With an air temperature of 13°C and a road surface temperature of 16°C, it would be a battle held under unprecedented cool conditions. Having let victory slip through his fingers despite beginning in pole position due to a poor start in round 14, Sasaki was even more focused than usual. As a result he would surge into the first corner in the lead and after just one lap would have a margin of approximately 1 second. Although until the mid-point of the race there were two cars to his rear, from that point on he would begin to surge ahead. Showing unparalleled speed and ability, this would mark his second time to grab 2 consecutive podium finishes this season (the last time being in rounds 6 and 7)

On the other hand, although it was hoped that Takaboshi would be able to stand together with Sasaki on the podium, he was immediately on the defense after the race began, found himself without room to maneuver at the first corner and then fell back to 4th. He would go on to be overtaken by one more car at Dunlop corner. After this he concentrated on maintaining his position and successfully managed to finish the race in 5th.

Following the race, team principal Hasemi commented, "Sasaki had a good race today. It was especially good that he could get pole position for both races. Takaboshi has also come away from the season having a built up a lot of valuable experience and finishing 3rd in the rankings is not bad at all."

Daiki Sasaki (Round 14: 2nd, Round 15: 1st)
"Up until now I’ve learned quite a lot in terms of maintaining a pace that does not put too much of a burden on the tires, especially in the last half. However, I’ve tended to struggle with the short bursts in qualification so it’s great that I could overcome this and take pole for both rounds. I had a fairly good race in round 14 and in round 15 I concentrated really hard on achieving a good start and, after that, pulling away from the competition. I think I had a really good race. To be able to display a good speed not just in the final race but also in qualifying sessions is the culmination of this entire year’s work. I’m ecstatic to be able to take victory in the last round of the season."

Mitsunori Takaboshi (Round 14: 4th, Round 15: 5th)
"These being the last rounds we went into things with a bit of a gamble but the settings we came in with didn’t match the road surface and from Friday we couldn’t achieve a sufficient pace. After that we completely overhauled the settings and went into qualifying. With these rounds being held in conjunction with the WEC, the road surface conditions were different than usual and we continued to suffer from insufficient grip, which left me unable to raise my position as much as I wanted to. This is the end of my first season competing in the F3. I’ve been able to take pole position as well as grab 3 podium finishes so I think I’ve been able to prove that I’m capable of competitive speeds. Next year I want to take advantage of all the experience I have accumulated and achieve even more success."

• All-Japan Formula 3 Championship Round 14
• All-Japan Formula 3 Championship Round 15
• All Japan F3 Championship Team Point Standings 2014
• All Japan F3 Championship Team Point Standings 2014

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