All-Japan Formula Three Championship
Encyclopedia
, also known as Japanese Formula Three, is a national motor racing
championship that takes place in Japan
. It is a junior-level feeder formula
that uses small single seater
Formula Three
chassis.
It is one of the four major Formula Three championships that guarantee the winner an FIA Super Licence
.
was held by Nippon Formula 3 Association (Japanese Formula 3 Association) in 1979, which was won by Toshio Suzuki. By 1981, it had evolved into a national-level series, the Japanese Championship, and was organised by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF).
Foreign drivers' participation has increased since the 1980s and the majority of champions have been foreign since the beginning of the 1990s.
Since 2008 a two-tier championship system was adopted as a bid to increase driver and team participation. The "Championship" class was open to cars conforming to the current three-year cycle, whilst the lower tier "National" class was open to cars meeting the previous three-year cycle and using the spec Toyota engine.
championships, competitors in the Japanese Championship are permitted to use any eligible chassis.
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
championship that takes place in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It is a junior-level feeder formula
Formula racing
Formula racing is a term that refers to various forms of open wheeled single seater motorsport. Its origin lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulæ are Formula One, Formula Two, and...
that uses small single seater
Open wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
chassis.
It is one of the four major Formula Three championships that guarantee the winner an FIA Super Licence
FIA Super Licence
The FIA Super Licence is a qualification allowing the licence holder to take part in Formula One Grands Prix as a driver. The licence is issued by the FIA upon request....
.
History
The first Formula Three championship to take place in JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
was held by Nippon Formula 3 Association (Japanese Formula 3 Association) in 1979, which was won by Toshio Suzuki. By 1981, it had evolved into a national-level series, the Japanese Championship, and was organised by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF).
Foreign drivers' participation has increased since the 1980s and the majority of champions have been foreign since the beginning of the 1990s.
Since 2008 a two-tier championship system was adopted as a bid to increase driver and team participation. The "Championship" class was open to cars conforming to the current three-year cycle, whilst the lower tier "National" class was open to cars meeting the previous three-year cycle and using the spec Toyota engine.
Equipment
Like most Formula ThreeFormula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
championships, competitors in the Japanese Championship are permitted to use any eligible chassis.
- Chassis:
- Only DallaraDallaraDallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...
chassis have been used since 2007. In the past, MarchMarch EngineeringMarch Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...
, ReynardReynard MotorsportReynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer. Initially based at Bicester and latterly at Reynard Park, Brackley, England the company built successful cars in Formula Ford 1600, Formula Ford 2000, Formula Vauxhall Lotus, Formula Three, Formula 3000 and Indy...
, RaltRaltRALT was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under the RALT name...
, and Japanese manufacturers like TOM'STOM'Sis a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing...
and DomeDome (constructor), literally "child's dream", is a Japanese-based racing car constructor, involved mainly in open wheel and sports car racing.-Background:In 1965 Minoru Hayashi built his first racing car, a rebodied Honda S600 coupe. Belonging to Tojiro Ukiya, it was called the "Karasu" , due to its shape...
also had supplied chassis.
- Only Dallara
- Engines:
- Engines are supplied by Toyota-TOM'STOM'Sis a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing...
, MugenMugen MotorsportsMugen Motorsports is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. Mugen, meaning "Without Limit", or "Unlimited", is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer closely associated with the Honda Motor Company...
-HondaHondais a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
and ThreeBond (Nissan). VolkswagenVolkswagenVolkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, HKS (MitshubishiMitsubishi Motorsis a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
), FiatFiatFIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
and OpelOpelAdam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
had previously supplied engines.
- Engines are supplied by Toyota-TOM'S
- Tyres:
- HankookHankook TireThe Hankook Tire group, based in Seoul, South Korea is the seventh largest tire company in the world. Established in 1941 as the Chosun Tire Company, it was renamed Hankook Tire Manufacturing in 1968....
will supply tyres in 2009 as the series' sole supplier. BridgestoneBridgestoneThe is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
, DunlopDunlop TyresDunlop Tyres is a British company owned 75% by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and 25% by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which bought the right to sell Dunlop-branded road tyres....
and YokohamaYokohama Rubber Companyis a tire company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company founded and started in 1917 in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969 the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire Corporation. The Aspec A300 was the driving force behind its tremendous...
had supplied tyres until 1987. In 1988, Bridgestone took place of the series' sole tyre supplier and supplied until 2008.
- Hankook
Champions
| Season | Champion | Team Champion | National Class Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 |  Toshio Suzuki |
Heroes Racing |
|
| 1980 | Shuroko Sasaki |
Gallop Racing |
|
| 1981 | Osamu Nakako |
Hayashi Racing |
|
| 1982 | Kengo Nakamoto |
Hayashi Racing |
|
| 1983 | Yoshimasa Fujiwara |
Umeda Racing |
|
| 1984 | Shuji Hyoudo |
Hayashi Racing |
|
| 1985 | Koji Sato |
Le Garage Cox Racing |
|
| 1986 | Akio Morimoto |
LeMans Company |
|
| 1987 |  Ross CheeverRoss Cheever Ross Cheever is an American race car driver and is the younger brother of former Formula One driver and Indianapolis 500 champion Eddie Cheever. Born in Rome, Ross never completed a full season in elite level motorsport, however, he did make four CART starts for A.J... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 1988 | Akihiko Nakaya |
Le Garage Cox Racing |
|
| 1989 | Masahiko Kageyama |
Leyton House Racing Leyton House Racing Leyton House Racing was a Formula One constructor that raced in the 1990 and 1991 seasons.It was, in essence, a rebranding of the March team which returned to F1 in 1987. Leyton House, a Japanese real estate company, had been the team's marquee sponsor since that year, and went on to buy the team... |
|
| 1990 | Naoki Hattori Naoki Hattori is a motoring journalist and racing driver from Japan. After being Japanese Formula 3 champion in 1990, he failed to pre-qualify for two Formula One grands prix with Coloni in 1991 as a late-season replacement for Pedro Chaves... |
Le Garage Cox Racing |
|
| 1991 |  Paulo Carcasci |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 1992 |  Anthony ReidAnthony Reid Anthony Reid is a British auto racing driver, born on 17 May 1957 in Glasgow, Scotland. Although Scottish he now lives in England.-Formula cars:... |
Tomei Sport |
|
| 1993 |  Tom KristensenTom Kristensen Tom Kristensen is a Danish racing driver. He has won many championships in auto racing but his most famous achievement is being the only person to win the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times, six of which were consecutive... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 1994 |  Michael KrummMichael Krumm Michael Krumm is an auto racing driver. At present, he competes in the FIA GT1 World Championship. Krumm married tennis player Kimiko Date on 1 December 2001 at St. Mary's Cathedral, Tokyo... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 1995 |  Pedro de la RosaPedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa is a Formula One driver who has participated in 87 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren and Sauber teams, debuting on 7 March 1999, becoming one of very few drivers to score a point at his first race... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 1996 | Juichi Wakisaka Juichi Wakisaka is a Japanese racing driver who was a 2002, 2006 and 2009 champion in Japan's Super GT series in the GT500 category. In 2002, Wakisaka raced the Toyota Supra GT with Akira Iida, in 2006 and 2009 Wakisaka raced the Lexus SC 430 with Andre Lotterer.... |
Nakajima Racing Nakajima Racing Nakajima Racing is a Formula Nippon team organized and founded by Satoru Nakajima around 1989. The team has fielded four championship winners in the Formula Nippon racing series: Tom Coronel, Toranosuke Takagi, Ralph Firman and Loïc Duval... |
|
| 1997 |  Tom CoronelTom Coronel Tom Romeo Coronel is a Dutch auto racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 1998 | Peter Dumbreck Peter Dumbreck Peter Dumbreck is a racing driver from Scotland.In 1994 he dominated the British Formula Vauxhall Junior championship and followed this in 1996 with a similarly strong performance when he won ten races to take the full Formula Vauxhall Championship.After finishing third in British Formula 3 in... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 1999 | Darren Manning Darren Manning Darren Manning is a motor racing driver, most recently racing in the IRL IndyCar Series for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.-Early career:... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2000 |  Sébastien PhilippeSébastien Philippe Sébastien Philippe is a French racing driver. He has competed in such series as Super GT and the French Formula Three Championship. Philippe won the All-Japan Formula Three Championship in 2000 and previously had won the 1993 Formula Campus by Renault and Elf season.-External links:*... |
Mugen Mugen Motorsports Mugen Motorsports is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. Mugen, meaning "Without Limit", or "Unlimited", is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer closely associated with the Honda Motor Company... Dome Project Dome (constructor) , literally "child's dream", is a Japanese-based racing car constructor, involved mainly in open wheel and sports car racing.-Background:In 1965 Minoru Hayashi built his first racing car, a rebodied Honda S600 coupe. Belonging to Tojiro Ukiya, it was called the "Karasu" , due to its shape... |
|
| 2001 | Benoît Tréluyer Benoît Tréluyer Benoît Tréluyer is a French race car driver.He is currently competing in the Super GT racing series.-Racing career:He was the champion of the European Formula Three Cup 1999 at the Pau Circuit.... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2002 | Takashi Kogure Takashi Kogure is a Japanese racing driver.- Formula Three :Kogure made his single-seater début in 2001, driving a Dallara F300 in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship for Now Motorsports. He finished in eleventh place in the championship standings. The following season, Kogure moved to Mugen*Dome Project and... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2003 |  James CourtneyJames Courtney James Courtney is an Australian racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar Championship. He is the current Australian Touring Car Champion after winning the 2010 title for Dick Johnson Racing.... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2004 |  Ronnie QuintarelliRonnie Quintarelli Ronnie Quintarelli is an Italian racecar driver.Started professional career in 2000 with Prema Powerteam and Cram Competitio in Formula Renault 2.0 Italian championship. In 2001 and 2002 raced in German Formula Three and Formula Volkswagen. In 2003 raced in All-Japan Formula Three Championship... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2005 | João Paulo de Oliveira João Paulo de Oliveira João Paulo Lima de Oliveira is a Brazilian racing driver.-Racing career:After he competed kart racing for only one year in 1997, he moved to Formula Ford and Formula Chevrolet Brazilian national championships in 1998.... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2006 | Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil -Biography:Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds and is 6 feet tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2007 | Kazuya Oshima Kazuya Oshima is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in such series as Formula Nippon, the Formula Three Euroseries and Super GT. He won the All-Japan Formula Three Championship in 2007.-External links:*... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
|
| 2008 2008 All-Japan Formula Three season The 2008 All-Japan Formula Three season was the 30th All-Japan Formula Three Championship season. Dutchman Carlo van Dam took the main title, with Hideki Yamauchi taking the National Class... |
Carlo van Dam Carlo van Dam -Formula Renault:A veteran of karting, and a former member of the Renault Driver Development programme, van Dam stepped up into single-seaters in 2004, competing mainly in the Dutch Formula Renault series. In his debut season, he achieved three pole positions and three fastest laps, on his way to... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
Hideki Yamauchi |
| 2009 2009 All-Japan Formula Three season The 2009 All-Japan Formula Three season was the 31st All-Japan Formula Three Championship championship season. It commenced on April 4, 2009 and ended on September 27.... |
 Marcus EricssonMarcus Ericsson Marcus Ericsson is a Swedish race car driver. After a successful début in car racing in 2007 which saw him take the British Formula BMW title with Fortec Motorsport, he moved up into the British team's British Formula Three squad... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
Naoki Yamamoto |
| 2010 2010 All-Japan Formula Three season The 2010 All-Japan Formula Three season was the 32nd All-Japan Formula Three Championship championship season. It commenced on April 17 at Suzuka and ended on October 17 at Autopolis after 16 races held at eight race meetings.... |
Yuji Kunimoto Yuji Kunimoto is a Japanese auto racing driver. He is the younger brother of 2008 Macau Grand Prix winner Keisuke Kunimoto. As of 2011, he is racing for Cerumo in Formula Nippon and for apr in Super GT.-Career highlights:... |
TOM'S TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing... |
Takashi Kobayashi Takashi Kobayashi (racing driver) is a Japanese racing driver. He currently drives in the Formula Nippon, and the Super GT series in the GT500 category.In 2010 he won the All-Japan Formula Three championship, National Class.... |
| 2011 2011 All-Japan Formula Three season The 2011 All-Japan Formula Three season is the 33nd All-Japan Formula Three Championship championship season. It commenced on May 14 at Suzuka and will end on September 24 at Sportsland SUGO after 16 races held at seven race meetings... |
Yuhi Sekiguchi Yuhi Sekiguchi -Formula Renault:Sekiguchi competed in two races of the 2004 Asian Formula Renault Challenge for the Asia Racing Team, scoring no points.-Formula Toyota:... |
ThreeBond Racing |
Katsumasa Chiyo |
External links
- Japan Formula 3 official website - Japanese / English
- All-Japan Formula 3 Championship at forix.com