PETRONAS TEAM TOM'S
All Japan Formula 3 Championship
Round 7 - 8 (日本語言語)
27 - 28 June 2009
Weather:
Qualifying Sunny and dry
Rd.7 & 8 Race: Rain and wet conditions
Temperature: 21 - 31°C (ambient), 26 - 44°C (track)
Race Format:
Rd.7 4.563Km × 15Laps
Rd.8 4.563Km × 21Laps
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Car number
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Driver
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Round 7
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Round 8
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Qualifying
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Race
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Qualifying
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Race
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1
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Marcus Ericsson
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2nd
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2nd
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P.P.
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Winner
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36
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Takuto Iguchi
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3rd
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3rd
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3rd
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2nd
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37
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Yuji Kunimoto
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P.P.
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Winner
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2nd
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3rd
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The PETRONAS TEAM TOM’S trio of Formula 3 drivers once again dominated the weekend's proceedings with all three finishing on the podium in both races of the weekend. Displaying their skills in the variable conditions that constantly switched from dry to wet over the weekend at the Fuji Speedway last weekend, Yuji Kunimoto in the No. 37 car and Marcus Ericsson in the No. 1 car scored their 2nd win this season in Round 7 and 8, respectively.
Qualifying
Coming into the round with good form after the Friday free practice session, the trio continued to dominate the qualifying taking the 1-2-3 positions. With Kunimoto and Ericsson tied clocking the same fastest lap time of 1:35.873 in the qualifying session for Round 7, the Japanese was awarded the pole position on the grounds that the Japanese had clocked the time earlier than Ericsson. With Ericsson in P2 and Iguchi in P3, the team were poised for a good result for Round 7. Qualifying for Round 8 saw the Swede up the tempo and earning his second pole position of the season, with Kunimoto and Iguchi in P2 and P3, respectively.
Race
Saturday afternoon's round 7 race proved to be a sunny and hot affair. Pole sitter Kunimoto started well and was successful in maintaining his position in the lead to maintain a good gap to the rest of the field for much of the race. Ericsson and Iguchi had dropped to 3rd and 4th at the start but were able to recover to their original start positions through to the finish.
Unfortunately, the weather did not hold for Sunday's round 8 on Sunday with the race proceedings held in the wet conditions. With the Swede in pole position, Ericsson led from the start with Iguchi tailing the leader in second. Meanwhile, fortunes were against Round 7 winner Kunimoto whose bad start dropped him to the back of the field after the first corner. With the battle for the lead unchanged between Ericsson and Iguchi, Kunimoto produced a superb drive to climb his way back up the field to eventually finish third, completing the team's top-3 clean-sweep.
Marcus Ericsson, #1
Round 7: 2nd Place / Round 8: Winner
“I am happy to get my second win of the race. Admittedly, it was actually quite tough in wet and I was under a lot of pressure from Takuto [Iguchi]. He had beaten me the last time we raced here in Fuji at the season opener round but this time, it was my turn. In the first race on Saturday (Round 7), I did not have a good start so I had to make up a lot of ground. I pushed to close the gap but I ran wide at the hairpin, and so settled with the result.”
Takuto Iguchi, #36
Round 7: 3rd Place / Round 8: 2nd Place
"I actually had trouble getting the right setup during the Friday practice and qualifying session, which saw me on P3 for both races. As for the first race, I struggled a little to regain my position in round 7. In Round 8, I had a much better start and really enjoyed battling it out with Marcus even in the really tough wet conditions."
Yuji Kunimoto, #37
Round 7: Winner / Round 8: 3rd Place
"In the first race, my only goal was to get a win from pole to finish! I am really delighted that I could maintain my concentration and focus for the race! Unfortunately, I am disappointed with the results in Round 8, and am sorry to the team that I could not get a double win here this weekend. The car was actually quite good and was fantastic in the wet and slippery conditions and this allowed me to push it to the limits to the end."
Masanori Sekiya, Team Director
“I am proud that we have managed to keep the team dominant in the championship. The main battle amongst the three drivers is definitely the battle of concentration and skill. Both Marcus and Yuji enjoyed their second victory of the season with no mistakes while I would like to see Takuto get rid of any pressure and be back on his pace for the next round.”
For more on the PETRONAS Team Tom's, visit the team's website at http://36toms.com/
For more information on the All-Japan Formula 3 Championship, visit the official site at: http://www.j-formula3.com/index.html
日本語言語