Weather may be a factor for Kiwi driver Nick Cassidy as the third round of the Super Formula Series gets underway at Sportsland Sugo in Japan.
It will be the first time that the event will be held in the middle of summer since 1996. It is the rainy season in the Tohoku region, where the circuit is located, so weather could affect the weekend schedule and possibly Sunday’s 250 km race.
The circuit at Sugo is short, meaning that it is hard for teams to gain a time advantage over others. At longer circuits like Suzuka and Fuji, the grids in qualifying can be decided by less than one second or even 1/100 of a second because the new Super Formula cars are so aero dynamic. The difference at Sugo could actually go down to 1/1000 of a second.
For the drivers, their main concern is trying to make it out of the first qualifying session (Q1). Because the circuit is short, it is hard for the 20 cars to gain position on the others due to traffic. In order to give the drivers a better chance in qualifying, the 20 cars will be divided up into two groups of 10 in Q1. But instead of the normal 20 minutes for Q1, that time will be cut down to 10 min. for each group.
Tyres will also be a key. With so little time in Q1, teams may start the session with new tyres. The track conditions may also vary with each group taking to the track at different times. Rain will put the teams and drivers under even more pressure. There will be no change to Q2, so the tables for Q2 will be even for all the drivers that make it through. The Sugo track is not a wide circuit which makes passing more difficult.
In last season’s race at Sugo, Naoki Yamamoto, who started in P6, went into the pit early in the race when the safety car was deployed, and that strategy landed him a victory. Nick Cassidy, who started in P11, also did the same and he finished in P2.
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