PETRONAS TEAM TOM'S
2009 Formula Nippon Championship, Rd 6
Twin Ring Motegi (Tochigi Prefecture)
8 - 9 August 2009 (日本語)
Weather: Overcast by dry
Temperature: 26 - 29°C (ambient) | 30 - 32°C (track)
Race format:
4.801Km×52Lap
|
Car number
|
Driver
|
Qualifying
|
Race
|
|
36
|
Andre Lotterer
|
5th
|
Winner
|
|
37
|
Kazuya Oshima
|
6th
|
11th
|
It was back to winning form for PETRONAS TEAM TOM'S German driver Andre Lotterer last weekend. After a series of a difficult races, the No. 36 car driven by Lotterer finally bagged his first win of the 2009 Formula Nippon Championship season at Japan's Twin Ring Motegi circuit on Sunday. The German had made a great start to jump from his qualifying position in fifth to second tailing pole-sitter Takashi Kogure (Nakajima racing). Andre later took over the lead of the race when Kogure was called in for a penalty. 日本語
Meanwhile, it was a reverse of fortunes for Andre's younger teammate Kazuya Oshima. The Japanese in the No. 37 car had again demonstrated a strong qualifying pace to start Sunday's 52-lap race from sixth. He was running quite strongly in the race until an electrical failure forced the Japanese to stop 6 laps to the end.
Qualifying
After struggling in the first few races, the team had to work hard to find the best setup for both drivers with the limited time allowed during the weekend's one and only free practice session on Saturday morning. As a result, both drivers were able to clock consistent lap times to make it into the final shoot out. Qualifying in fifth place was Andre ahead of teammate Oshima who qualified 6th, his highest qualifying position this year.
Race
Well known for being amongst the toughest circuits to overtake on, the team's race strategy for the round at the Twin Ring Motegi was down to a good start. This was precisely was Andre Lotterer did when his great start saw the German promoted into second position before the first corner behind pole sitter Takashi Kogure. On lap 4, the then race leader was called into the pits after stewards handed Kogure a jump start penalty, giving Lotterer the lead of the race.
By no means an easy race, the German had to contend with the challenge from championship leader Loic Duval (Nakajima Racing) who followed Andre throughout the race. Though Duval had closed to within a second, the race went down to the pit-stop strategy. The quick work by the mechanics during Lotterer's stop on lap 30 allowed the German to rejoin with his lead intact and a four second gap to Duval, even though both cars pitted on the same lap. Maintaining the buffer to Duval, Lotterer went on to collect his first Formula Nippon win this season.
Teammate Kazuya Oshima also had a strong race when the Japanese managed to maintain his sixth position through the race. However, the Japanese was robbed of a strong points finish when an electric failure with just six laps to go forced the Japanese to stop. Race Results
Andre Lotterer, #36 (DEU), Race Winner
“I had a really good start and maybe a little bit of luck on my side. The race set up was actually quite OK, knowing that overtaking is quite difficult at Motegi, so we adopted a strategy that would allow us to keep our position and pace during the race. Everything was spot on this weekend, and the crew did a fantastic job during the stop to give me a breather from Loic who had been catching me in the race! Thank you to everyone on the team, the management and the fans for the incredible support this weekend!"
Kazuya Oshima, #37 (JPN), classified 11th (retired lap 46)
"It really was a pity this weekend. After struggling to find the right setup the past rounds, this weekend we managed to find a good
setup. The qualifying was really good and I had a lot of confidence going into the race. The race was OK but towards the end, there was an electrical failure on the my car and I had to stop. Although I am disappointed I am happy that I managed to show that I can do better. I will go for it in the coming races."
Nobuhide Tachi, Team Director
“Actually I did not expect Andre to win because of his start position in 5th. I wanted him to finish on the podium but he had made a super start to jump to 2nd position! Not long after that, he was in the lead! This was a fantastic result for the team and all credit to Andre's "never give up" attitude. Oshima had a much better run this weekend but he had an electrical failure on his far almost to the end. Even though it is not how we would have wanted it, I am encouraged by this and I look forward for him to do better and continue to improve.
Race Results
日本語
TOM’S Co.Ltd Racing Department http://36toms.com/
For more information on the Formula Nippon championship, visit the official website at http://www.f-nippon.co.jp/