Formula Nippon on GTPlanet

[JohnBM01]

Web: http://www.f-nippon.co.jp (Japanese) and http://www.f-nippon.co.jp/fn_eng (English)
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formula_Nippon

I have decided to attempt coming along with a Formula Nippon thread. I want to try to make this work. But for this to work, I need your support and posts.

So what is Formula Nippon? Super GT is the premier racing series in Japan. Its exciting racing and hard-fought action make it the premier series in Japan. They can only go so fast, however. Formula Nippon is the best chance to get into Formula One, especially if you finish 3rd or better in two straight seasons. This will qualify you to receive an FIA Super License to compete in F1. Formula Nippon race cars are very fast. I played an rFactor mod which features Formula Nippon. This is where you can see intense competition on tracks like Suzuka, Sugo, Nakayama, Fuji, and more. The cars are fairly nimble and can easily climb into the range of 180 mph. The general engine type is a normally-aspirated V8 from either Toyota or Honda. These 3000cc engines pump out 550hp. Next year, they'll step up to a 3.4 liter normally-aspirated V8 engine for 2009. There will be a new chassis for 2009 as well. Swift developed the FN09 for use in Formula Nippon next year. Here is an 8:25 YouTube video with pictures of the new car as well as a few laps around Fuji with this new Swift chassis:



Sweet engine sound, eh? The cars are all shod with Bridgestone tires. You may have seen F1 commercials noting that Bridgestone is the only F1 tire. Well, it's the only Formula Nippon tire. The championship for 2008 wrapped up last season with Tsugio Matsuda winning the FN title.

Why Should YOU Care?
I find Japanese race tracks to be very competitive and challenging. These are some fast race cars racing all around the toughest race tracks in Japan. These Japanese courses, while many of them may not be on par with European courses, can pack a lot of track in such short space. Fast cars, tight racing, potential F1 stars emerging from the series... always a great storyline. There is no American coverage of Formula Nippon. Keep in mind that while I love Super GT, Formula Nippon is just as competitive, if not more competitive.



So there you have it. Formula Nippon on GTP. If you're a fan or follow the series, this is your thread. Welcome home.

 

[Patrik]

Seems nice. 👍

 

[NapoleonMikey]

sadly living here in the US i cant watch the races and keeping up with the stats is just not exciting but when i do get the odd chance to watch a race from an online stream its always fun to watch....even if i cant understand most of whats being said. i wish PD would include a FN car in GT along with a few more japanese tracks.

 

[Patrik]

even if i cant understand most of whats being said. i wish PD would include a FN car in GT along with a few more japanese tracks.

+1

They have some amazing tracks over there for sure.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here is a little perspective on how fast Formula Nippon cars go.

* The polesitter for a race in the current-spec FN cars lapped around Fuji in a qualifying session with a time of 1:39.677.
* The GT500 polesitter for the Super GT race at Fuji was the Takata Dome NSX with a Q1 time of 1:41.884 and a Super Lap of 1:34.991.
* The GT300 polesitter for the same race was the Lightning McQueen apr MR-S with a Q1 time of 1:53.326 and a SuperLap of 1:44.189.

So in other words, they are about as fast as the best GT500 cars. Only (as you might imagine) that FN cars are ridiculously much lighter than a GT500 car. The track conditions were under drizzle conditions for the FN race. Q1 for the Super GT cars was wet with rain, but the track conditions were fine for SuperLap qualifying. I'm think the Super GT race was campaigned WITHOUT that chicane. You could add about two more seconds to the SuperLap times if the chicaned version of the track was used instead of the non-chicane version. Super GT will return to Fuji for the season-ending race on the weekend of November 7.