Lotterer takes his third win of the season in Formula Nippon25/09/2011
Sportsland SUGO, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Formula Nippon Round 6
Round six of the Formula Nippon 2011 championship took place at Sportsland SUGO last weekend (Sunday 25 September) and 12,700 spectators attended on race day.
Andre Lotterer (PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S) started from second on the gird and made a fine start, leading throughout the race and scoring his third win of the season. Hiroaki Ishiura (Team KYGNUS SUNOCO) and the winner’s team-mate Kazuki Nakajima (PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S) finished second and third respectively.
PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S have now secured the 2011 teams’ title and Bridgestone’s Potenza tyres showed off their consistent performance in Sugo.
Qualifying
The weather was fine all day for Saturday’s qualifying. In the knock out system, a red flag interrupted the Q1 and Q3 sessions, so the drivers were required to warm-up their tyres quickly and bring out the grip in a short time. Kazuya Oshima (Team LeMans) got pole position for the second time in Formula Nippon. Lotterer qualified second and Kodai Tsukakoshi (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) was third.
Race
Pole sitter Oshima was not able to make as good a start as Lotterer who led into the first corner. Lotterer established a gap after his two compulsory pit stops to change tyres and went on to win the race. JP de Oliveira started 11th and drove well to finish second but he was then disqualified due to a technical violation.
Winning Driver
Andre Lotterer: “Thank you to the team for preparing a good car and I am happy to score my third win on consistent Bridgestone tyres. I hope the guests that attended from the disaster area in Japan enjoyed my race. I now go into the final round leading the drivers’ championship. I strive to be crowned Champion in Motegi.”
Bridgestone senior technical advisor: Yasuo Teranishi
“It was a perfect race for Lotterer and his team after a fine start. We knew that the German driver was in good shape after his strong performance in Saturday’s free practice and his good tyre wear. His victory proved his high level of performance in this race.”
