#Tadasuke Makino

[ryo-hirakawa]

what if we were both honda drivers but never made the works team? what if i watched on as you won a race in your maiden season, waiting for the day i had my own? what if our team got good and we were both fighting for the championship? and despite that, when you spun out of the lead in front of me, giving me two back to back wins after i had waited for 5 years, the first thing i said was that you deserved it, that i felt sorry?

[alexalblondo]

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[betatauris]

Kakunoshin Ohta and Tadasuke Makino after Round 5 in Motegi

[dailyf2]

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[ergonis]

Tadasuke Makino & Artem Markelov - Monza F2 Championship 2018

[whitechocveloute]

There are two types of racing drivers:

Those who pose in front of the camera alone

and those who pose with their new friends

and then..........there are these guys :P

[vierschanzentournee]

FIA Formula 2 Championship 2018 Grid - 1/2

[formulatrash]

I wish to discuss the fact RT have their fittest lineup for several years.

[themotorsportblog]

HONDA LEAVES F1: FIVE BOLD PREDICTIONS

Honda are taking another hiatus from F1, opting to have a break from the sport at the end of it’s current deal with Red Bull and Alpha Tauri, but what’s next for them, their drivers and the teams they supply?

Tsunoda will be left in No Man’s Land

The big winners from this announcement are current Alpha Tauri driver Daniil Kvyat and reserve driver Sergio Sette Camara, who may now face less competition for a seat in the junior team as the main backing behind F2 racer Yuki Tsunoda getting a seat was Honda wanting a Japanese driver in the sport.

Without Honda’s influence Red Bull will once again have full control over the four race seats they possess on the grid and can put whichever drivers they like in there.

Tsunoda has had a decent season in F2 but far from the standout campaigns of Ilott, Schumacher and Shwartzman (even though he’s fallen away of late) having lost a win in the Styrian Feature Race thanks to a faulty radio, picking up a lucky win at Silverstone after the leaders collided and then dominating at Spa, his fortune at Silverstone being the main reason he’s still in the hunt for the title.

His title race may still be on but, he will surely have to win it now to make an impression on Dr. Marko, and with a current 44-point deficit to overturn with just two rounds remaining its looking like a tough ask. In addition to the big black marks against his name for failing to score in either race in Austria, Hungary and Mugello, he may outrank Kvyat who’s days seem numbered, but won’t do the same to Sette Camara so it’ll be a case of close, but just not enough seats available.

Next Stop: Formula E

Honda mentions specifically about developing Carbon Neutral and Battery EV technology in this morning’s press release.

These are two things heavily linked and related to Formula E, with its battery-powered electric racing, and its vow to become the first carbon neutral sport, which is now a reality.

The series became the first sport to achieve a certified net zero carbon footprint in its efforts to combat climate change last month, and it shows how serious the championship takes this and how much of an attractive prospect it’s becoming having already captured: Audi, Porsche, BMW, Nissan, Jaguar, DS and Mercedes – with the Silver Arrows the only team on that list that currently competes in F1.

Honda will want to develop this new technology and go and race its direct competitors in Formula E, rather than hanging around in F1, failing to dislodge the monopoly Mercedes has on the sport.

Red Bull & Alpha Tauri will go back to Renault

Mercedes and Ferrari certainly aren’t going to want to start providing a title rival with an engine deal that could see them beaten using their own power.

That leaves both teams with only one option, heading back to Renault with their tail between their legs to heal the wounds created by their previous split, in the hope of striking up a new deal.

That is unless someone new comes in at very late notice, Porsche have been sniffing around for a while, and it was revealed that they did have a test engine built for a 2021 entry – however they were unable to strike a deal with all the other suppliers about abandoning the MGU-H component.

With only potentially 18 months until the start of the 2022 season that doesn’t leave long for the development of the abandoned engine plans, and they already have a works in Formula E to concentrate on…

They’ll be gone for a while

Honda plans, according to their press release, seem set until achieving Carbon Neutrality in 2050, and F1 doesn’t seem part of those plans in any form. This hints that they could be gone for a while, having been absent from the sport between 2009-2014, 1993-1999 (even though Mugen remained) and 1969-1982.

You can expect this break to be as long as the latter as the company looks ahead to developing battery and carbon neutral technologies, which are involved in F1, but to a lesser extent than somewhere such as Formula E.

This difference in priorities could lead to a lengthy split, until F1 can agree a new set of principles which fall more in-line with the ones the Honda board has already agreed on.

Opportunities for Japanese drivers will become limited again

Nobuharu Matsushita, Nirei Fukuzumi and Tadasuke Makino have all made it to F2 in recent years but have been unable to any further with their single seater careers, in fact the latter two have had to scamper back to the Super Formula to continue their racing journeys.

Whilst it’s unknown what will currently happen to Tsunoda and countryman Marino Sato (who isn’t backed) the support of a Japanese company such as Honda to help their careers progress is pivotal if they want to make the step up to Formula 1, but without them involved in the top level of motorsport, any form of backing is incredibly unlikely, especially without Toyota involved either.

In fact, Tora Tokagi is the last Japanese driver to make it through to F1 without the backing of either manufacturer (although he was hugely backed by Satoru Nakajima, who was Honda-affiliated before retirement) and he left the grid after just two hopeless seasons in 1998-99.

Every single Japanese driver to have raced in F1 this century has had significant backing behind them before entering the sport, and without either company competing in the sport, it’s unlikely we’ll see another for a while, especially with the limited seats on the grid…

What do you think will happen next for the likes of Red Bull, Alpha Tauri and Yuki Tsunoda? Let me know!

Follow me on Twitter: @Luke2Wallace

[alexanderalbon]

@giovinazzi replied to your post “who do i have to sell my soul to to get f2 merch”

I would have sold my soul for russian time merch

oh my god YES 100% same. best looking car, getting wins and podiums with drivers like artem and mitch evans and tadasuke makino... i miss them so much

[juniorformulamotorsport]

2017 FIA F3 European Championship - Tough Weekend for Hitech

2017 FIA F3 European Championship – Tough Weekend for Hitech

Hitech Battle at the Temple of Speed Steeped in racing history, nestled within the leafy Royal Park, the Autodromo Nazionale Monza set the scene for the second round of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. The Italian temple of speed’s thrilling high-speed straights and gruelling long right-hand turns, provided an exciting challenge for the dynamic young grid. Working flat-out since the…

[tattlepress]

Sho Tsuboi stays on top as Super Formula's Suzuka test ends

New Post has been published on https://tattlepress.com/sports/racing/sho-tsuboi-stays-on-top-as-super-formulas-suzuka-test-ends/

Sho Tsuboi stays on top as Super Formula's Suzuka test ends

The Inging Toyota driver, who caused a surprise by topping the timesheets on Monday, was once again the driver to beat, setting a best time of 1m35.769s during the two-hour morning session.

That was almost exactly three tenths slower than his best time from Monday, with the reduced pace due in part to somewhat higher temperatures on a clear, sunny day at the Japanese Grand Prix venue.

Nakajima Racing’s Toshiki Oyu, who paced last December’s post-season test at Suzuka, was second-quickest and the only other driver to break into the 1m35s, 0.169s off the pace of Tsuboi.

Yuhi Sekiguchi was third-fastest for defending teams’ champion Impul, ahead of Dandelion newcomer Hiroki Otsu, three-time champion Naoki Yamamoto (Nakajima) and the second Impul car of Ryo Hirakawa.

Much like on Monday, the bulk of the best times were set in the morning, with afternoon pacesetter Ritomo Miyata (TOM��S) one of just four drivers of the 21 present to improve in the second session.

Ritomo Miyata, Kuo VANTELIN TEAM TOM’S

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

Miyata’s best time of 1m36.466s put him 0.247s clear of Kondo Racing’s Kenta Yamashita, but only seventh overall, with Yamashita eighth on the strength of his morning time.

Nirei Fukuzumi was an encouraging ninth for the minnow Drago Corse squad, while the second TOM’S machine of Giuliano Alesi completed the top 10.

Reigning champion Tomoki Nojiri (Mugen), second on Monday, could only manage the 11th-fastest time on Tuesday, the best part of a second slower than Tsuboi.

Besides Miyata, the only other drivers to improve in the afternoon were Sacha Fenestraz (Kondo), Tadasuke Makino (Dandelion) and Tsuboi’s Inging teammate Sena Sakaguchi.

Fenestraz caused the day’s first red flag when he went off at the S-curve in the morning, albeit sustaining little to no damage in the impact, which led to five minutes of extra running being added to the session.

Makino was likewise in the wars at the end of that session as he made light contact with Kamui Kobayashi’s KCMG car approaching the hairpin, ruining his hot lap and causing his engine to shut off in the process. However, he parked up on the inside of the hairpin, and the session stayed green.

The second and final stoppage came in the afternoon when B-Max Racing’s Nobuharu Matsushita spun exiting the hairpin, but he was able to keep the engine running and return to the pits under his own steam once the car had been recovered.

Super Formula Lights also held its first running of the year during the break between the two Super Formula sessions. TOM’S driver and Toyota junior Seita Nonaka set the pace ahead of Honda protege Kakunoshin Ota (Toda Racing) and Hibiki Taira (TOM’S).

Another TOM’S driver, Kazuto Kotaka, is sitting out this week’s test following a positive COVID-19 test.

Super Formula Lights testing continues with two more sessions on Wednesday, while the next running for Super Formula takes place at Fuji Speedway on March 22-23.

Suzuka testing times:

[kayjay63]

Honda concludes Suzuka SUPER GT making an strive out on top

Honda concludes Suzuka SUPER GT making an strive out on top

After the #8 ARTA NSX-GT Form S topped the timesheets on Thursday, it became as soon as the flip of the #100 Crew Kunimitsu automobile of Naoki Yamamoto and Tadasuke Makino to location the slouch on the 2nd day of running.The personnel’s good time of 1m44.632s came within the morning session and stood because the fastest of the day…Be taught Extra

[ergonis]

Artem Markelov & Tadasuke Makino - Spanish Grand Prix 2018 F2

[tkmedia]

Sugo Super Formula: Fukuzumi charges to maiden series win

Starting fifth on the grid, ex-Formula 2 driver Fukuzumi cleared TOM’S rival Ritomo Miyata and the sister Dandelion car of Tadasuke Makino on the run to the first corner to immediately move himself into the podium positions. Two laps later, Fukuzumi tried to pass Sena Sakaguchi for second at the same corner, only to run wide. However, with the Inging driver losing his rear end at the same time, the 24-year-old still managed to somehow complete the move - albeit outside the white lines. Fukuzumi initially slipped 2.5s behind race leader Sekiguchi as the Impul driver looked comfortable up front in the first stint, before bringing that deficit down to a second by lap 12. Sekigichi was the the first of the two to dive into the pits on lap 17, with Dandelion covering him by bringing Fukuzumi in for his mandatory stop a lap later. This turned out to be the crucial stage of the race as a faster in-lap, combined with a fractionally quicker pitstop, allowed Fukuzumi to emerge well in front of his Impul rival. From there on, he enjoyed a clear run to the finish, and was eight seconds to the good by the time Tomoki Nojiri finally stopped on lap 41 to grant him the lead. He eventually crossed the line with 3.746s in hand, scoring his first victory in Super Formula since his debut campaign in 2018, which he dovetailed with a difficult season in Formula 2. Nakajima Racing’s Toshiki Oyu recovered from a slow stop to score his second podium finish of the season, having passed Sekiguchi on lap 20. B-Max driver Nobuharu Matsushita rose from 13th on the grid to finish fourth behind Sekiguchi, as Makino held off championship leader Nojiri to take fifth. Fuji and Suzuka winner Nojiri was unable to fully capitalise on the absence of his chief title rival Ryo Hirakawa - absent from Sugo to complete a hypercar test with Toyota - despite making several bold passes in an extended first stint. Miyata finished seventh in the best of the TOM’S cars after making a slow getaway from the second row of the grid, ahead of Sakaguchi’s Inging machine. Giuliano Alesi - subbing for Kazuki Nakajima again - finished ninth for TOM’S after barging past Hiroki Otsu’s Red Bull-sponsored Mugen with 13 laps to run. Three-time Super Formula champion Naoki Yamamoto moved inside the top 10 on the opening lap after a difficult qualifying session on Saturday, but a poor out lap where he lost four seconds left him outside the points in 12th, behind Mitsunori Takaboshi’s Impul car.

Race results:

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[freenewstoday]

New Post has been published on https://freenews.today/2021/04/28/how-newlywed-nirei-fukuzumi-has-come-of-age-in-super-formula/

How newlywed Nirei Fukuzumi has come of age in Super Formula

The first two seasons of Fukuzumi’s stint with Dandelion Racing could best be described as promising in terms of pace but lacking in the way of results. One podium finish per season and a best championship result of seventh isn’t bad, but not exactly what you would have expected for such a talented driver racing for a championship-calibre team.

But, at least on the evidence of last weekend’s Suzuka race, it looks like third time might be the charm for Fukuzumi, who dominated the weekend and had things under control until a puncture ended his hopes of a first victory in the single-seater category.

And the way the 24-year-old reacted to that disappointment also speaks volumes of a new-found inner confidence that he appears to have discovered over the winter.

Read Also:

The most obvious change for Fukuzumi this year is that he is, following Naoki Yamamoto’s defection to fellow Honda squad Nakajima Racing, the de facto number one driver at Dandelion, a position made even more secure by Tadasuke Makino being forced to miss the first two rounds of the season as he recovers from meningitis.

Not only that, but Fukuzumi has effectively switched sides within the Dandelion garage, piloting the #5 car that Yamamoto took to the title last season and working with his former engineer Kimitoshi Sugisaki, who also masterminded Stoffel Vandoorne’s 2016 season.

The effects of the change were immediately apparent from the post-season test at Fuji Speedway last year, where Fukuzumi was fastest, and that momentum carried into pre-season testing in March, as he was never lower than third on the combined daily timesheets (except for the second day of Suzuka testing that he sat out due to illness).

And while third place behind fellow Honda runners Tomoki Nojiri and Toshiki Oyu in the Fuji season opener was arguably below-par, Fukuzumi turned that around at Suzuka, where he was fastest in practice and every segment of qualifying en route to his first pole in Super Formula at his 20th attempt.

But more than a simple change of environment within the team, off-track Fukuzumi seems a lot more surer of himself than was the case previously.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that this upturn in form has co-incided with him getting married to his long-time girlfriend, the YouTuber Ayami Sato, at the start of the year. Indeed, Fukuzumi suggested as much in an interview with the official Super Formula website after he set the fastest time on the second day of the Fuji pre-season test.

“It’s not like my environment dramatically changed [after getting married], but of course now I have something to protect, and I think I’m in a situation now where I can show more of my strength on the limit. I’m being supported more in general, and now I concentrate more on racing, so I hope everyone can see my performance this year.”

Nirei Fukuzumi, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

Speaking to Motorsport.com after the disappointment of losing victory at Suzuka, Fukuzumi likewise brought up the subject of his recent nuptials.

“At the start of this year I got married and everything is going well, in both racing and life [generally],” he said. “I was a bit disappointed about Fuji, but this time my performance was pretty good. So I’m feeling very good [for the rest of the season].”

Pressed on whether married life had really made the difference for him in his third full season of Super Formula, the ex-Formula 2 racer mentioned another key figure in his environment who has helped to put him in a better place mentally.

“I think it’s various things changing my mentality,” he said. “This year I have a trainer at the circuit, I can talk to him and he takes care of me – both physically and my heart. This means my mentality is better.”

Fukuzumi’s comments after he scored pole were also revealing, as he said one of the keys to his blistering speed was simply disengaging his brain and not overthinking the task at hand. He was confident from his previous Suzuka showings and pre-season testing that the car was good enough, and he didn’t fall into the trap of making unnecessary set-up changes.

He was also low-key in his celebrations after taking pole, as if knew that this wasn’t a one-off and that this should become a regular occurrence.

This change in mentality could well be the key to Fukuzumi finally maturing into a regular winning force in Super Formula, and making the most of his considerable potential.

Recall last year on the occasion of his first SUPER GT GT500 win at Motegi in November, Fukuzumi said he had struggled with “nightmares” during the race, despite having basically zero pressure thanks to the safety car gifting he and ARTA Honda teammate Nojiri a large advantage.

That was one monkey off his back, and surely the first win in Super Formula isn’t far away either after his display at Suzuka. In fact, given that next up is Autopolis, where Fukuzumi achieved his best grid spot of second last year, you’d get short odds on the breakthrough happening there (or at least you would if gambling on motor racing was legal in Japan!)

And while Nojiri might have a big championship lead having won the first two races of the season, the dropped points system means that Fukuzumi still has time to work his way back into contention – which could set up a fascinating battle of the SUPER GT teammates.

Motorsport.tv will continue to broadcast every race of the Super Formula season live in 2021 for free. Available worldwide except Japan. Click here for further information.

Nirei Fukuzumi, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

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