Sekiguchi wins his duel against Hirakawa in Motegi

At the end of a thrilling duel, Yuhi Sekiguchi won Race 2 in Motegi ahead of Ryo Hirakawa. Sacha Fenestraz took 6th place.

Published on 21/08/2022 à 09:12

Dorian Grangier

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Sekiguchi wins his duel against Hirakawa in Motegi

In Motegi, Yuhi Sekiguchi took his first victory since 2019 © Team Impul

A seventh different winner in eight races! It's Yuhi Sekiguchi's turn to put his name among the winners in Super Formula this season. The Team Impul driver was able to resist the pressure from his teammate Ryo Hirakawa behind him to win at Motegi, in the second race of the weekend. This is his first victory since 2019 in the Japanese championship. The Impul team achieves the first double this season for all teams and its first since 2008.

Despite completely opposing strategies, Sekiguchi and Hirakawa found themselves first and second respectively in the final laps and battled for victory. Team Impul decided not to use team instructions, even though Hirakawa is still in contention for the title. The pilot Toyota en WEC was unable to capitalize on his new tires and had to settle for 2nd place behind Yuhi Sekiguchi. The Japanese had not won a race since 2019.

Tadasuke Makino (Team Dandelion) took the last step of the podium in 3rd position. Championship leader Tomoki Nojiri moved one step closer to a second consecutive title. With a 4th place, the Team Mugen driver is now 32 points ahead of Sacha Fenestraz (Kondo Racing), who finished 6th. The Frenchman was not helped by the strategy despite finishing 2nd on the grid at Motegi and conceded three more points to Nojiri. With two races remaining at Suzuka and 46 points to hand, the task of winning the championship looks daunting for Fenestraz.

Giuliano Alesi (TOM'S), who almost did not start the race due to technical problems on his car, had to return to the pits and retire 11 laps from the finish.

The classification of Race 2 at Motegi: 

ALSO READ > New podium for Sacha Fenestraz in Motegi

Dorian Grangier

A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.

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