Suzuka – Race 1: Otha first winner of the season ahead of Iwasa

• The first round of the 2025 Super Formula season was decided by a hair's breadth in the final laps of the race at Suzuka! In a fiercely contested duel between Kakunoshin Ohta and Ayumu Iwasa, it was the former who emerged victorious and won the inaugural event of the championship. The gap at the finish? Less than two tenths between the Team Dandelion driver and the Team Mugen driver!
• Starting from the second row, Kakunoshin Ohta took advantage of the second Safety Car, deployed on lap 10 when the pit stop window opened, to gain a position and move into 2nd behind Ayumu Iwasa, before overtaking him on the restart thanks to the Overtake System (a temporary power boost to help with overtaking). Despite a third safety car, the Team Dandelion driver was able to resist the clan's protégé Red Bull until the last moments. Kakunoshin Ohta signs his fourth victory in Super Formula… and his fourth on the Suzuka circuit since 2023! No doubt: Suzuka is his garden.
• After scoring a quadruple in qualifying, with pole position for Tomoki Nojiri ahead of Ayumu Iwasa, Kakunoshin Ohta and Tadasuke Makino, Honda took a hat-trick for this first round of the season thanks to Ren Sato's 3rd place. The poleman was trapped during the second Safety Car and during his pit stop: forced to wait behind Ayumu Iwasa, who stopped at the same time as him under the safety car, the double champion of the discipline fell to 7th place in the standings.
• After an unsuccessful two-season experience in Formula E, Sacha Fenestraz is making his big comeback in Japan and in Super Formula. For his return to TOM'S, the Franco-Argentine failed to score points, despite a great comeback in the race. Starting in last position after going off the track in qualifying, the Annecy native was able to take advantage of the safety cars to get back into the points zone, but found himself in difficulty at the end of the race and finally finished in 12th place.

Super Formula – Suzuka
Race 1 – Ranking

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