2012 Japanese Formula 3 Championship Explained

The 2012 Japanese Formula 3 Championship was an open wheel motor racing series held for Formula 3 cars based in Japan. It was the 34th edition of the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. It commenced on 14 April at Suzuka and ended on 14 October at Fuji Speedway after 15 races held at seven race meetings.

Ryō Hirakawa of the RSS team has dominated the championship and won the title.

Teams and drivers

All teams were Japanese-registered.

Team		Driver	Chassis	Engine	Rounds
Championship Class
B-MAX Engineering	1	Hideki Yamauchi^[1]	Dallara F312	Toyota 1AZ-FE	All
Toda Racing	2	Rafael Suzuki	Dallara F308	Mugen-Honda MF204C	All
CFR	3	Ryugo Shimada	Dallara F308	Mercedes M271.F3	1, 5
RSS	4	Ryō Hirakawa	Dallara F312	Toyota 1AZ-FE	All
Racing	8	Tomoki Nojiri	Dallara F312	Mugen-Honda MF204C	All
Petronas Team TOM'S TOM'S Spirit	36	Yuichi Nakayama	Dallara F312	Toyota 1AZ-FE	All
	37	Richard Bradley	Dallara F312	Toyota 1AZ-FE	All
National Class
Hanashima Racing	5	Taku Utagawa	Dallara F305	Toyota 3S-GE	7
	6	Hiroshi Koizumi	Dallara F306	Toyota 3S-GE	All
Racing	7	Kazuki Hiramine	Dallara F307	Toyota 3S-GE	All
B-MAX Engineering	13	Motoyoshi Yoshida	Dallara F306	Toyota 3S-GE	All
SGC by KCMG	19	Matt Howson	Dallara F308	Toyota 3S-GE	2–6
		Naoya Gamou			7
	20	Gary Thompson			1
			Dallara F307	Toyota 3S-GE	2–7
NDDP Racing	23	Daiki Sasaki	Dallara F306	Toyota 3S-GE	All
Petronas Team TOM'S TOM'S Spirit	35	Takamoto Katsuta	Dallara F306	Toyota 3S-GE	All
CMS Motor Sports Project	77	Ryohei Sakaguchi	Dallara F306	Toyota 3S-GE	1
		Tatsuru Noro			3–4, 6–7

Race calendar and results

All rounds were held in Japan.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning driver	Winning team
1	R1	Suzuka Circuit	14 April	Hideki Yamauchi	Richard Bradley	Ryō Hirakawa	RSS	Daiki Sasaki
	R2		15 April	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	RSS	Daiki Sasaki
2	R1	Twin Ring Motegi	12 May	Ryō Hirakawa	Yuichi Nakayama	Hideki Yamauchi	B-MAX Engineering	nowrap	Kazuki Hiramine
	R2		13 May	Ryō Hirakawa	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Petronas Team TOM'S	Kazuki Hiramine
3	R1	Fuji Speedway	14 July	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	RSS	Kazuki Hiramine
	R2		15 July	Gary Thompson	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	RSS	Kazuki Hiramine
4	R1	Twin Ring Motegi	4 August	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	RSS	Gary Thompson
	R2		5 August	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	Ryō Hirakawa	RSS	Daiki Sasaki
5	R1	Okayama International Circuit	25 August	Ryō Hirakawa	Tomoki Nojiri	Ryō Hirakawa	RSS	Daiki Sasaki
	R2	26 August	Tomoki Nojiri	Tomoki Nojiri	Tomoki Nojiri	HFDP Racing	Daiki Sasaki
6	R1	Sportsland SUGO	nowrap	22 September	nowrap	Yuichi Nakayama	nowrap	Yuichi Nakayama	nowrap	Yuichi Nakayama	nowrap	Petronas Team TOM'S	Daiki Sasaki
	R2		23 September	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Petronas Team TOM'S	Daiki Sasaki
	R3			Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Petronas Team TOM'S	nowrap	Takamoto Katsuta
7	R1	Fuji Speedway	13 October	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Petronas Team TOM'S	Daiki Sasaki
	R2		14 October	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Yuichi Nakayama	Petronas Team TOM'S	Daiki Sasaki

Championship standings

Drivers' Championships

• Points are awarded as follows:

Overall

Pos Driver SUZ MOT FUJ MOT OKA SUG FUJ Pts 1 Ryō Hirakawa 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 Ret 3 Ret 3 3 118 2 Yuichi Nakayama Ret 5 4 1 2 2 4 4 3 4 1 1 1 1 1 103 3 Hideki Yamauchi 2 4 1 4 6 4 3 3 5 6 3 4 2 4 4 62 4 Richard Bradley 5 2 3 5 7 5 2 5 6 Ret 2 2 Ret 2 5 52 5 Tomoki Nojiri 3 3 5 3 8 Ret 5 2 2 1 9 5 6 8 Ret 49 6 Rafael Suzuki 6 8 7 6 3 3 6 6 4 3 4 9 3 6 2 38 7 Daiki Sasaki 4 6 8 8 5 10 8 7 7 5 5 6 9 5 6 14 8 Kazuki Hiramine 7 7 6 7 4 6 10 8 8 7 6 8 5 10 7 8 9 Takamoto Katsuta Ret 9 9 9 10 12 9 10 10 8 8 7 4 7 13 3 10 Gary Thompson Ret 10 10 10 9 9 7 9 9 10 7 Ret 7 9 9 1 Matt Howson 11 11 Ret 7 11 14 11 9 10 10 8 0 Hiroshi Koizumi Ret 11 12 12 11 8 12 11 12 11 11 11 10 12 10 0 Naoya Gamou 11 8 0 Ryohei Sakaguchi 8 12 0 Motoyoshi Yoshida 9 13 13 13 13 13 Ret 13 14 12 13 Ret 11 15 12 0 Ryugo Shimada 10 13 13 13 0 Tatsuru Noro 12 11 13 12 12 12 Ret 13 11 0 Taku Utagawa 14 14 0 Pos Driver SUZ MOT FUJ MOT OKA SUG FUJ Pts

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

National Class

Pos	Driver	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG			FUJ		Pts
1	Daiki Sasaki	4	6	8	8	5	10	8	7	7	5	5	6	9	9	6	146
2	Kazuki Hiramine	7	7	6	7	4	6	10	8	8	7	6	8	5	10	7	110
3	Takamoto Katsuta	Ret	9	9	9	10	12	9	10	10	8	8	7	4	7	13	62
4	Gary Thompson	Ret	10	10	10	9	9	7	9	9	10	7	Ret	7	9	9	56
5	Matt Howson			11	11	Ret	7	11	14	11	9	10	10	8			28
6	Hiroshi Koizumi	Ret	11	12	12	11	8	12	11	12	11	11	11	10	12	10	23
7	Naoya Gamou														11	8	7
8	Ryohei Sakaguchi	8	12														6
9	Tatsuru Noro					12	11	13	12			12	12	Ret	13	11	5
10	Motoyoshi Yoshida	9	13	13	13	13	13	Ret	13	14	12	13	Ret	11	15	12	3
Pos	Driver	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG			FUJ		Pts

Teams' Championships

• Points are awarded for races as follows:

Pos	Team	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG			FUJ		Pts
Overall
1	RSS	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	2	Ret	3	Ret	3	3	106
2	Petronas Team TOM'S	5	2	3	1	2	2	2	4	3	4	1	1	1	1	1	106
3	B-MAX Engineering	2	4	1	4	6	4	3	3	5	6	3	4	2	4	4	61
4	HFDP Racing	3	3	5	3	4	6	5	2	2	1	6	5	5	8	Ret	52
5	Toda Racing	6	8	7	6	3	3	6	6	4	3	4	9	3	6	2	38
6	NDDP Racing	4	6	8	8	5	10	8	7	7	5	5	6	9	5	6	14
7	TOM'S Spirit	Ret	9	9	9	10	12	9	10	10	8	8	7	4	7	13	3
	SGC by KCMG	Ret	10	10	10	9	7	7	9	9	9	7	10	7	9	8	0
	Hanashima Racing	Ret	11	12	12	11	8	12	11	12	11	11	11	10	12	10	0
	CMS Motor Sports Project	8	12			12	11	13	12			12	12	Ret	13	11	0
	CFR	10	13							13	13						0
Pos	Team	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG			FUJ		Pts

Engine Tuners' Championship

• Points are awarded for races as follows:

Pos	Engine	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG			FUJ		Pts
1	TOM'S (Toyota)	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	147
2	Toda Racing (Mugen-Honda)	3	3	5	3	3	3	5	2	2	1	4	5	3	5	2	71
	HWA (Mercedes)	10	13							13	13						0
Pos	Engine	SUZ		MOT		FUJ		MOT		OKA		SUG			FUJ		Pts

External links

• Official Site

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2012年 アチーブメント全日本F3選手権シリーズ第1戦/第2戦. 3 April 2012. 22 April 2012. Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Japanese Formula 3 Association. Japanese. All-Japan F3 Championship Series first round.