2010 Formula Nippon Championship
The 2010 Formula Nippon Championship was the 24th season of the premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing series. The series for Formula Nippon racing cars was contested over eight races at seven rounds, beginning on 18 April at Suzuka and ending at the same venue on 7 November. A non-championship meeting at Fuji Speedway completed the season's racing a week later.
| 2010 Formula Nippon Championship | |||
| Previous: | 2009 | Next: | 2011 |
Having missed the 2009 season to focus on his Super GT commitments, João Paulo de Oliveira returned to the series and claimed his first championship title since winning the 2005 All-Japan Formula Three Championship. Team Impul's de Oliveira had held the championship lead by a point over TOM'S driver André Lotterer before the final double-header round at Suzuka, but de Oliveira's victory – his second victory after a win at Twin Ring Motegi – and fourth against Lotterer's second and a third, de Oliveira won the championship by 4.5 points. As well as his win at Autopolis, Lotterer won both non-championship races at Fuji.
Third place was disputed by reigning champion Loïc Duval, who had moved from Nakajima Racing to Docomo Team Dandelion Racing over the off-season, and his former Nakajima team-mate Takashi Kogure, which was resolved in favour of Duval by 1.5 points; both drivers' championship chances had been stunted by no points at Autopolis, as Duval failed to start and Kogure retired from the race. Duval did tie with de Oliveira for most victories during the season with two – Motegi and Suzuka – while Kogure won the season-opening race at Suzuka. De Oliveira's team-mate Kohei Hirate finished the season fifth with a victory at Fuji, ahead of the season's other race-winner Kazuya Oshima of the TOM's team.
Teams and drivers
| Team | # | Driver | Engine | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 1 |  |
Honda HR10E | All * |
| 2 |  |
All * | ||
| Kondo Racing | 3 | |
Toyota RV8K | 4–7 * |
| Team LeMans | 7 |  |
Toyota RV8K | All * |
| 8 | |
All * | ||
| HFDP Racing | 10 | |
Honda HR10E | All * |
| Motul Team Mugen | 16 | |
Honda HR10E | All * |
| KCMG | 18 | |
Toyota RV8K | All * |
| Mobil 1Team Impul | 19 |  |
Toyota RV8K | All * |
| 20 | |
All * | ||
| Deliziefollie/Cerumo-Inging | 29 | |
Toyota RV8K | All * |
| Nakajima Racing | 31 | |
Honda HR10E | All * |
| 32 | |
All * | ||
| Petronas Team TOM'S | 36 |  |
Toyota RV8K | All * |
| 37 | |
All * |
* Drivers who participated in the non-championship round at Fuji Speedway.
Race calendar and results
- All races were held in Japan. A non-championship round, entitled Super GT and Formula Nippon Sprint Cup 2010, was held at the conclusion of the season.
| Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning Driver | Winning Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suzuka Circuit | 18 April | |
|
|
Nakajima Racing |
| 2 | Twin Ring Motegi | 23 May | |
|
|
Team Impul |
| 3 | Fuji Speedway | 18 July | |
|
|
Team Impul |
| 4 | Twin Ring Motegi | 8 August | |
|
|
Dandelion Racing |
| 5 | Sportsland SUGO | 26 September | |
|
|
Petronas Team TOM'S |
| 6 | Autopolis | 17 October | |
|
|
Petronas Team TOM'S |
| 7 | Suzuka Circuit | 7 November | |
|
|
Dandelion Racing |
|
|
|
Team Impul | |||
| NC | Fuji Speedway (Fuji Sprint Cup) |
13 November | |
|
|
Petronas Team TOM'S |
| 14 November | |
|
|
Petronas Team TOM'S |
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
- Scoring system
| Round | Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | Pole |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–6 | Points | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 7† | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 |
† Round with two races and points scoring system for each race.
‡ Non-championship round, with no points awarded.
|
Bold – Pole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Teams' Championship
- Scoring system
| Round | Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–6 | Points | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 7 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 |
| Pos | Team | Car | SUZ | MOT | FUJ | MOT | SUG | AUT | SUZ | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mobil 1 Team Impul | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 68 |
| 20 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 6 | |||
| 2 | Petronas Team TOM'S | 36 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 67 |
| 37 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 1 | DNS | 5 | 7 | |||
| 3 | Nakajima Racing | 31 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 4 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 5 | 56.5 |
| 32 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 5 | Ret | 2 | 3 | |||
| 4 | Docomo Team Dandelion Racing | 1 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 2 | DNS | 1 | 4 | 40.5 |
| 2 | 5 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 6 | DNS | 11 | 11 | |||
| 5 | Team LeMans | 7 | Ret | 10 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 24 |
| 8 | 10 | Ret | 6 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | |||
| 6 | HFDP Racing | 10 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 10 | Ret | DSQ | 10 | 12 | 9 |
| 7 | KCMG | 18 | Ret | DNS | 13 | 7 | Ret | 7 | 12 | 13 | 4 |
| 8 | Deliziefollie/Cerumo-Inging | 29 | 11 | Ret | 12 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 15 | Ret | 3 |
| 9 | Kondo Racing | 3 | Ret | 8 | Ret | 14 | 9 | 1 | |||
| 10 | Motul Team Mugen | 16 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | DNS | 8 | 8 | 1 |
References
- "2010年Hondaモータースポーツ活動の概要". honda.co.jp (in Japanese). Honda. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- 2010年エントリーリスト. Formula Nippon (in Japanese). Japan Race Promotion Co. Ltd. 2010-03-07. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-03-07.