2008 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Explained

The 2008 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was the 30th edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Dutchman Carlo van Dam took the main title,^[1] ^[2] with Hideki Yamauchi taking the National Class.^[2] TOM'S took their eighth constructors title in a row.^[2]

Teams and drivers

Team	No	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Rounds
Championship Class
Team TOM'S	1	Carlo van Dam	F308	Toyota-TOM'S	All
	36	Keisuke Kunimoto	F308		All
	37	Takuto Iguchi	F308		All
Toda Racing	2	Daisuke Nakajima	F308	Mugen-Honda	All
Team Real	7	Naoki Yamamoto	F308	Mugen-Honda	All
Team Real	8	Yuhki Nakayama	F308	Mugen-Honda	All
ThreeBond Racing	12	Hironobu Yasuda	F308	Nismo Nissan	All
Now Motor Sport	33	Kei Cozzolino	F308	Toyota-TOM'S	All
Denso Team Le Beausset	62	Koki Saga	F308	Toyota	All
National Class
Hanashima Racing	5	Takashi Nagase	F306	Toyota-TOM'S	1–5
Hanashima Racing	5	Katsuaki Kubota	F306	Toyota-TOM'S	6–9
Aim Sports	18	Masaki Matsushita	F307/305	Toyota-TOM'S	All
PTRS	19	Zahir Ali	F307	Toyota-TOM'S	All
PTRS	20	Alexandre Imperatori	F307	Toyota-TOM'S	All
TOM'S Spirit	38	Hideki Yamauchi	F306	Toyota-TOM'S	All
Denso Team Le Beausset	63	Hideto Yasuoka	F305	Toyota	All
Exceed Motor Sports	74	Motoki Sakurai	F306	Toyota-TOM'S	All

Notes:

Race calendar and results

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning driver	Winning team	National Class winner
1	R1	Fuji Speedway	5 April	Takuto Iguchi	Takuto Iguchi	Takuto Iguchi	Team TOM'S	Hideki Yamauchi
1	R2	Fuji Speedway	6 April	Takuto Iguchi	Takuto Iguchi	Takuto Iguchi	Team TOM'S	Masaki Matsushita
2	R1	Autopolis	26 April	Takuto Iguchi	Takuto Iguchi	Takuto Iguchi	Team TOM'S	nowrap	Alexandre Imperatori
2	R2	Autopolis	27 April	Carlo van Dam	Takuto Iguchi	Keisuke Kunimoto	Team TOM'S	Hideto Yasuoka
3	R1	Suzuka Circuit	10 May	Hironobu Yasuda	Keisuke Kunimoto	Hironobu Yasuda	nowrap	ThreeBond Racing	Hideki Yamauchi
3	R2	Suzuka Circuit	11 May	Hironobu Yasuda	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Hideki Yamauchi
4	R1	Twin Ring Motegi	24 May	Carlo van Dam	Keisuke Kunimoto	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Hideki Yamauchi
4	R2	Twin Ring Motegi	25 May	Carlo van Dam	Kei Cozzolino	Hironobu Yasuda	ThreeBond Racing	Alexandre Imperatori
5	R1	Okayama International Circuit	7 June	Takuto Iguchi	Takuto Iguchi	Naoki Yamamoto	Team Real	Zahir Ali
5	R2	8 June	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Alexandre Imperatori
6	R1	Suzuka Circuit	12 July	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Hideki Yamauchi
6	R2	Suzuka Circuit	13 July	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Masaki Matsushita
7	R1	Twin Ring Motegi	9 August	Keisuke Kunimoto	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Alexandre Imperatori
7	R2	Twin Ring Motegi	10 August	nowrap	Keisuke Kunimoto	Takuto Iguchi	Keisuke Kunimoto	Team TOM'S	Alexandre Imperatori
8	R1	Fuji Speedway	30 August	Carlo van Dam	Hironobu Yasuda	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Hideki Yamauchi
8	R2	Fuji Speedway	31 August	Carlo van Dam	nowrap	Keisuke Kunimoto	nowrap	Keisuke Kunimoto	Team TOM'S	Hideki Yamauchi
9	R1	Sportsland SUGO	nowrap	20 September	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Hideki Yamauchi
9	R2	Sportsland SUGO	21 September	Carlo van Dam	Koki Saga	Carlo van Dam	Team TOM'S	Hideto Yasuoka

Standings

Points are awarded as follows:

National Class

Points are awarded as follows:

Pos	Driver	FUJ		AUT		SUZ		MOT		OKA		SUZ		MOT		FUJ		SUG		Pts
Championship Class
1	Carlo van Dam	2	2	3	3	3	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	1	322
2	Keisuke Kunimoto	4	3	10	1	2	Ret	2	Ret	9	2	2	2	2	1	4	1	3	2	219
3	Takuto Iguchi	1	1	1	2	8	11	4	Ret	8	3	4	3	3	3	2	3	2	3	216
4	Hironobu Yasuda	DNS	4	6	6	1	2	3	1	4	8	6	5	Ret	8	8	5	4	5	152
5	Naoki Yamamoto	5	7	5	5	Ret	4	5	Ret	1	4	3	4	5	5	6	6	5	7	138
6	Kei Cozzolino	3	5	2	4	6	3	8	4	7	7	5	Ret	6	6	3	4	6	Ret	133
7	Koki Saga	6	6	4	7	4	5	9	3	5	6	8	Ret	7	9	11	9	9	4	99
8	Yuhki Nakayama	7	8	7	10	7	7	6	10	3	5	Ret	Ret	4	4	5	8	7	6	97
9	Daisuke Nakajima	8	9	Ret	11	5	6	7	Ret	6	9	7	Ret	8	7	Ret	7	8	8	54
National Class
1	Hideki Yamauchi	9	15	9	14	9	8	10	6	12	13	9	7	10	11	7	10	10	14	121
2	align=left nowrap	Alexandre Imperatori	11	11	8	9	14	Ret	11	5	Ret	10	13	8	9	10	10	11	13	11	96
3	Masaki Matsushita	13	10	11	15	12	9	14	9	11	12	10	6	11	13	9	12	11	10	85
4	Zahir Ali	10	12	12	12	Ret	Ret	12	8	10	14	12	9	13	12	12	13	12	12	61
5	Hideto Yasuoka	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	11	10	13	7	13	15	11	10	12	14	14	14	14	9	55
6	Takashi Nagase	12	13	13	Ret	10	Ret	DNS	DNS	Ret	11									20
7	Motoki Sakurai	14	14	14	13	13	12	15	11	14	16	15	Ret	14	16	15	16	16	13	19
8	Katsuaki Kubota											14	Ret	15	15	13	15	15	Ret	6
Pos	Driver	FUJ		AUT		SUZ		MOT		OKA		SUZ		MOT		FUJ		SUG		Pts

Teams

Points are awarded as follows:

Pos	Team	FUJ		AUT		SUZ		MOT		OKA		SUZ		MOT		FUJ		SUG		Pts
1	Team TOM'S	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	345
2	Team Real	5	7	5	5	7	4	5	10	1	4	3	4	4	4	5	6	5	6	158
3	ThreeBond Racing	DNS	4	6	6	1	2	3	1	4	8	6	5	Ret	8	8	5	4	5	149
4	Now Motor Sport	3	5	2	4	6	3	8	4	7	7	5	Ret	6	6	3	4	6	Ret	132
5	Denso Team Le Beausset	6	6	4	7	4	5	9	3	5	6	8	Ret	7	9	11	9	9	4	98
6	Toda Racing	8	9	Ret	11	5	6	7	Ret	6	9	7	Ret	8	7	Ret	7	8	8	54
Pos	Driver	FUJ		AUT		SUZ		MOT		OKA		SUZ		MOT		FUJ		SUG		Pts

Engine Tuners

Points are awarded as follows:

Pos	Team	FUJ		AUT		SUZ		MOT		OKA		SUZ		MOT		FUJ		SUG		Pts
1	Toyota/TOM'S	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	345
2	Mugen-Honda	5	7	5	5	5	4	5	10	1	4	3	4	4	4	5	6	5	6	162
3	Nismo Nissan	DNS	4	6	6	1	2	3	1	4	8	6	5	Ret	8	8	5	4	5	149
4	Toyota	6	6	4	7	4	5	9	3	5	6	8	Ret	7	9	11	9	9	4	98
Pos	Driver	FUJ		AUT		SUZ		MOT		OKA		SUZ		MOT		FUJ		SUG		Pts

External links

Official Site

Notes and References

News: Flying Dutchman notches 7th win and claims emphatic F3 title at Fuji . petmos.com.my . . 2008-09-03 . 2009-12-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722231620/http://www.petmos.com.my/en/4-Wheels/News/2008/JF308--Flying-Dutchman-notches-7th-win-and-cla-%281%29.aspx . 2011-07-22 .
News: 2008 Championship results . j-formula3.com . . 2009-12-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100601065725/http://www.j-formula3.com/archive/2008.html . 2010-06-01 .