Super Formula 2019 Okayama Preview

Super Formula is back in action this weekend as the series heads to the Okayama International Circuit for the penultimate round of the 2019 season.

The championship battle

New Zealand’s Nick Cassidy currently leads the championship having finished third in the last two races, while his nearest title rival, Naoki Yamamoto has finished outside the points in the last two rounds.

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Despite Yamamoto’s recent non point scoring races, he is only one point behind Cassidy heading into this weekend’s race.

Behind the top two

Behind Cassidy and Yamamoto is Spain’s Alex Palou who is eight points behind Cassidy. He has had a good couple of races having qualified in pole position in Fuji and Motegi and finishing inside the top four in the two most recent races.

A point behind Palou is Kamui Kobayashi who after a difficult two opening rounds has managed to finish inside the top six in the last three races, this includes finishing second in Sugo and Motegi.

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There is a further seven point gap between Kobayashi and fifth placed Sho Tsuboi and sixth placed Nirei Fukuzumi who are both on twelve points. Fukuzumi is perhaps the most consistent having finished fifth three times so far this season, but Tsuboi has achieved a higher finishing position, second in Fuji.

Tsuboi and Fukuzumi are part of a group of eight drivers all within five points of each other. This includes Yuhi Sekiguchi, who won in Autopolis and Ryo Hirakawa who won last time out in Motegi.

With a maximum of twenty five points still available from the remaining two races of the season there are currently sixteen drivers who could mathematically still win the championship.

This weekend’s race will cull those sixteen down to something smaller ahead of the final round of the season.