The 2011 Formula Challenge Japan was a multi-event motor racing championship for open-wheel formula racing cars, and the sixth season of the Formula Challenge Japan racing series, a young driver development series jointly supported by Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. The championship featured a mix of manufacturer-affiliated drivers and independent entries, and commenced on 23 April and ended on 6 November. Three race weekends were run in support of Formula Nippon, with the October round at Suzuka being held in support of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix.
Toyota junior Takamoto Katsuta won the championship by a five-point margin after winning three of the four races in the final round at Motegi, with fellow Toyota drivers Ryō Hirakawa and Kazuya Ishii coming second and third in the points standings. Kazuki Hiramine finished fourth as the highest Honda-supported driver after taking three wins and the championship lead early on. Nissan junior driver Tsubasa Kondō and Yūya Motojima completed the top six, who were the only drivers to take race wins or pole positions throughout the season.
Teams and drivers Team Driver Rounds FTRS ScholarshipFTRS Clarion FCJLUCK FTRSFTRS FCJFTRS K-office FCJ 1 Shintarō KawabataAll4 Ryō HirakawaAll9 Takamoto KatsutaAll10 Hiroki ShinotaniAll11 Kazuya IshiiAll19 Syunsuke MatsuzakiAllHFDP/SRS-F/Kotira RHFDP/SRS-F/ARTA2 Shinnosuke YamadaAll8 All17 Kazuki HiramineAll18 AllNDDP MarusoNDDP FCJ3 All12 Mitsunori TakaboshiAll16 Zhu DaiweiAllDream Max FCJ5 Kōhei SutōAllMeikyō 602 Palm Town Garage6 Kunihiro IwatsukiAllHouka Racing with Dunlop7 Ryo OgawaAllAsT Team SBT13 Ryūnosuke ShibataAllWings Garage14 Takanori YamabeAllALT Team Naoki15 Keishi NikiAllSource
Race calendar and results All races were held in Japan. Rounds 3–4, 9, and 8–14 were run in support of the Formula Nippon Championship, and Rounds 11–12 were held as support races for the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix, a round of the 2011 Formula One World Championship.
Rounds 8 and 9 were originally scheduled to be held on 3–4 September at Suzuka, but were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions caused by Tropical Storm Talas. Round 8 was moved to the final race weekend at Motegi. Round Circuit Date 1 Fuji Speedway, Oyama 23 April Kazuya Ishii Yūya Motojima Takamoto Katsuta2 24 April Tsubasa Kondō Kazuki Hiramine Kazuki Hiramine 3 Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka 14 May Kazuya Ishii Kazuki Hiramine Kazuya Ishii4 15 May Kazuki Hiramine Kazuki Hiramine Kazuki Hiramine 5Fuji Speedway, Oyama 11 June Kazuki Hiramine Kazuki Hiramine Kazuki Hiramine6 Kazuki Hiramine Yūya Motojima Ryō Hirakawa712 June Yūya Motojima Yūya Motojima Yūya Motojima Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka 4 September Race cancelled10Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka 8 October Kazuya Ishii Takamoto Katsuta Kazuya Ishii 11 9 October Takamoto Katsuta Takamoto KatsutaTwin Ring Motegi, Motegi5 November Ryō Hirakawa Mitsunori Takaboshi Tsubasa Kondō12 Takamoto Katsuta Takamoto Katsuta136 November Takamoto Katsuta Takamoto Katsuta14 Takamoto Katsuta Takamoto Katsuta
Championship standings Drivers' Championship Points were awarded to the top six classified finishers, with one point awarded for pole position and fastest lap respectively. 1 2 3 4 5 6 PP FL 10 7 5 3 2 1 1 1 Driver FUJ SUZFUJSUZSUZMOT Points 1 Takamoto Katsuta133419711C313111 78 2 Ryō Hirakawa2273213C452322 733 Kazuya IshiiRetRet16322C1254316604 Kazuki Hiramine51151167C8971554455 Tsubasa Kondō4965444C1671249366 Yūya Motojima16627531C5468712357 Mitsunori Takaboshi316426145C681910105228 Shinnosuke Yamada889101088C2310787129 Shōta KiyoharaRet48889RetC11646611910 Keishi Niki6Ret101113Ret14C10141116143611 Hiroki Shinotani1310517956C71212Ret1310512 Shintarō Kawabata147141614Ret13CRet169511DNS213 Syunsuke Matsuzaki95Ret9111512C1315151112Ret214 Zhu DaiweiRetDNS11Ret12129C91189961- Takanori Yamabe713131271010C121313Ret1580- Kōhei Sutō1112161518Ret17CRet101614RetRet0- Ryūnosuke Shibata1015Ret1416Ret16C14Ret17Ret17140- Ryō Ogawa15111213171115CDNS17141216130- Kunihiro Iwatsuki12141718151318C1518181318150 Driver FUJ SUZ FUJSUZSUZMOT PointsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap
References