The unique schedule meant that the day started with qualifying for Round 11 at 8:00 a.m. with cold air and track temperatures of 13°C and 14°C respectively. A challenging task for the drivers, who showed their masterful craftsmanship to get their Yokohama ADVAN tires up to temperature. Iwasa set the first benchmark by topping Q1 Group A with a 1:36.693. In the same group, Kazuya Oshima (docomo business ROOKIE) made it to Q2 with the sixth fastest time on his final SUPER FORMULA weekend. The fight for the remaining six Q2 spots was an equally fierce contest in Q1 Group B, as Kakunoshin Ohta (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) stayed ahead of the competition by setting the fastest time of 1:36.433. After being overall fastest in Q1, Ohta was the favorite for pole position going into the Q2 shootout, which determines the top 12 positions on the grid.
However, after changing the timing when to leave the pits to beat the on-track traffic for the 7-minute long session, it was Iwasa who was able to even further increase his pace, setting an impressive 1:35.736 to take his second pole position of the season and with it three important bonus points for the championship fight. Iwasa beat teammate Nojiri by 0.209 seconds, making it a TEAM MUGEN 1-2. Rookie Igor Omura Fraga (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) was the overall fastest driver during Friday’s practice day, and continued his strong performance with P3 in qualifying ahead of his PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING teammate Ren Sato. Ohta led the other title contenders with the fifth quickest time ahead of Sacha Fenestraz (VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S) and his DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING teammate Tadasuke Makino. Championship leader Sho Tsuboi (VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S) only managed to take P9 on the grid, causing a big upset. After making his first Q2 appearance this year, Kazuto Kotaka (KDDI TGMGP TGR-DC) scored his best qualifying result of the season with P10.
Due to Sunday featuring two races, Round 12 as well as the replacement for the weather-cancelled Round 10 at Fuji Speedway, qualifying for Sunday’s final race of the 2025 season, the 24th JAF Grand Prix Suzuka, started only about an hour later at 10:05 a.m. With the sun shining brightly over Suzuka Circuit, the temperatures significantly improved, with the air and track temperatures now measuring 16°C as well as 22°C respectively. Topping Q1 Group A was once again Iwasa, who continued his strong performance from the Round 11 qualifying with a 1:36.027 — 0.456 seconds faster than second in the group Makino. Following Kotaka’s first Q2 appearance, his KDDI TGMGP TGR-DC teammate Seita Nonaka managed to do the same, by getting out of Q1 for the first time this year with the fifth quickest time, giving the newcomer team a lot of momentum for the season finale.
Once Q1 Group B got underway, it was once again Ohta who looked like the driver to beat. But in the very last seconds, Sato who snuck past the title contender, taking the top spot of the group by a mere 0.047 seconds following his 1:36.244 lap time. Also advancing to Q2 were Nojiri, Syun Koide (San-Ei Gen with B-Max), Tsuboi as well as Sena Sakaguchi (SANKI VERTEX PARTNERS CERUMO･INGING).
With the sun hiding behind the clouds for Q2, TEAM MUGEN once again perfectly strategised the timing when to send both of their drivers out. Nojiri was the first to set a benchmark of 1:35.937, but ultimately had to once again give way to his teammate Iwasa, who in a thrilling conclusion lapped the 5.807 km circuit 0.067 seconds faster to take his third pole position of the season as well as another three bonus points. After being fastest in his Q1 group, Sato qualified in P3, sharing the second row with title contender Ohta. Makino completed the top 5. Reigning champion Tsuboi set the seventh quickest time behind Fraga. Nirei Fukuzumi (Kids com Team KCMG) secured P8 on the grid, followed by Fenestraz and Sakaguchi.
Originally scheduled to be contested for 27 laps, the length of Round 11 had get shortened by one lap following a DNS by Kotaka, who was forced to stop on the back straight during the formation lap when smoke emerged out of his car. Following a 15-minute delay, the race finally went underway at 14:45 p.m. — and ended just one corner later for Iwasa. After losing the acceleration duel against his teammate Nojiri, the polesitter got sent into the sponge barriers due to contact with Fraga. Race control looked into the situation, but ultimately ruled it a racing incident.
This led to the first of two safety car interruptions. The second would follow only three laps later, when Zak O’Sullivan (KONDO RACING) lost the rear while trying to overtake Oliver Rasmussen (ITOCHU ENEX WECARS TEAM IMPUL) on the outside of the first corner. The second SC intervention meant that all teams decided to fulfil their mandatory pit stop once the pit window opened after lap 10, leading to a couple of double stack pit stops. This put Sato in a disadvantage, who was running in P3 behind Fraga at this point, but had to wait in line behind his teammate. The time loss meant that Sato dropped back to 15th for the restart on lap 13. After a difficult qualifying, Tsuboi gained a lot of positions at the start of the race. Emerging out of the pits behind the SC, he almost got the jump on Makino, but the latter managed to stay ahead to ultimately secure the final spot on the podium.
One of the biggest movers after the restart was Ohta, who at first lost seven positions at the start due to his car going into anti-stall. Emerging out of the pits in 8th, Ohta showed a heartfelt battle, even impressing her Highness Princess Yohko of Mikasa, who was watching the race with great interest. When the DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING pilot overtook both Fukuzumi and Oshima for P6 and P5 respectively, he immediately took chase of championship leader Tsuboi. Ohta rapidly closed the gap, but a slight error in the Astemo Chicane on the penultimate lap meant that he finished only 0.955 seconds behind Tsuboi in 5th.
After the second restart, a fierce battle between Nojiri and Fraga emerged for the race lead, with the latter putting the pressure on the two-time champion. The stakes were high for both, as Fraga wanted to take his maiden victory in his rookie season, while Nojiri was in a must-win situation for the championship fight. At the end, Nojiri managed to put a tight gap of only 1.159 seconds between him and his pursuer to score his first win of the season. Fraga’s career-best finish in second meant that he won the Rookie of the Year award with two races to go, as none of the other newcomers are no longer in a mathematical position to catch up to the Brazilian driver. Makino completed the podium in third ahead of Tsuboi, who fended off Ohta’s late-race charge. Oshima saw the checkered flag in his third-last SUPER FORMULA race in 6th. Fukuzumi and Fenestraz finished P7 and P8 respectively, followed by Sato, who recovered from his bad luck with the pit stop following the second safety car intervention. Atsushi Miyake (ThreeBond Racing) was the biggest mover of the race, gaining a stunning 12 positions to score his best result of the season in 10th after passing Kenta Yamashita (KONDO RACING) on the final lap.
Tsuboi (112.5 points) is heading into the final two races of the season with a 16.5 point advantage over Ohta (96 points), who’s equal on points with Iwasa (96 points). Makino (92 points) is fourth in the standings, one position ahead of Nojiri (87.5), who’s now trailing Tsuboi by 25 points. With a total of 40 more points up for grabs, it means that Fenestraz (50 points) is now out of mathematical contention.
Sunday morning will feature the replacement race for the weather-canceled Round 10, which was originally scheduled to be held at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture. Since qualifying already took place at Fuji Speedway, said results will determine the starting grid, putting Makino on pole position ahead of Fraga and Ohta. Sunday afternoon will then see Round 12, the 24th JAF Grand Prix Suzuka, the final race of the season. Who’s going to win the 2025 championship and get to toss the Drivers’ Championship trophy as well as the Princess Yohko Cup, presented by her Highness Princess Yohko of Mikasa, into the air?
