Japanese Formula 2 Championship
The Japanese Formula 2 Championship was a racing series in automobile sport that ran from 1977 to 1986 . Vehicles that complied with the Formula 2 regulations were eligible to start .
development
From 1969, automobile races were held in Japan with vehicles that met the Formula 2 regulations. They were initially limited to isolated events on Fuji Speedway . Mostly vehicles from Japanese designers were reported, some racing drivers also competed in older British racing cars from Brabham or Lotus . From 1972 a Japanese Formula 2000 championship was held annually in which - unlike the Formula 2 European Championship - vehicles with a displacement of up to 2.4 liters were permitted. Beginning with the 1977 season, the regulations were adjusted to the FIA standards, whereupon the series was named Japanese Formula 2 Championship. It was carried out parallel to the Formula 2 European Championship until 1984. When the European series was replaced by the International Formula 3000 Championship in 1985 , Japan held on to Formula 2 for two more years. It was not until 1987 that a Japanese Formula 3000 championship , similar to that of Europe, was introduced, which was named Formula Nippon from 1996 and has been called Super Formula since 2013 .
From a technical point of view, the Japanese Formula 2 Championship was dominated by British designers. With the exception of the first two years in which drivers with Nova vehicles became champions, all titles went to drivers of March , Spirit or Ralt cars.
The most successful racing driver in this series was Satoru Nakajima . He won the championship five times.
There was no regular exchange of drivers between the two championships; Japanese drivers only occasionally competed in European races and vice versa. The exception was the British racing driver Geoff Lees , who won the European championship in 1981. He competed regularly in the Japanese championship for a Japanese team in 1983 and won this title that year.
master
| year | driver | chassis | team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 |
 Kazuyoshi Hoshino
|
nova | Heroes Racing | 90 (102) |
| 1978 |
Kazuyoshi Hoshino
|
nova | Heroes Racing | 76 |
| 1979 |
Keiji Matsumoto
|
March | Diatone Racing | 79 (90) |
| 1980 |
Masahiro Hasemi
|
March | Tomy Racing | 71 (79) |
| 1981 |
Satoru Nakajima
|
March Ralt |
I&I Racing Development | 79 |
| 1982 |
Satoru Nakajima
|
March | John Player Special Team Ikuzawa | 80 (98) |
| 1983 |
 Geoff Lees
|
March Spirit |
John Player Special Team Ikuzawa | 93 (103) |
| 1984 |
Satoru Nakajima
|
March | Heroes Racing | 107 (109) |
| 1985 |
Satoru Nakajima
|
March | Heroes Racing | |
| 1986 |
Satoru Nakajima
|
March | Heroes Racing | 92 |
literature
- David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
- Mike Lawrence: March, The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend , MRP, Orpington 2001, ISBN 1-899870-54-7 .