Winter sunshine bathed Suzuka Circuit for the fifth round of the All-Japan Super Formula Championship, creating mild conditions with temperatures hovering at 15°C and track temperatures reaching 16°C as the knockout qualifying session got underway. When the dust settled, Naoki Yamamoto (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) mastered the venue to capture his first pole position of the season and the twelfth of his career, stopping the clock with a blistering lap in the final pole-deciding shootout.
Tomoki Nojiri (TEAM MUGEN) pushed Yamamoto right to the edge, finishing the session in second place just behind the pacesetter. Nirei Fukuzumi (DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING) completed the top three, allowing Honda engine users to completely lock out the leading positions on the timing screens. Meanwhile, Kazuki Nakajima (VANTELN TEAM TOM’S) led the charge for the Toyota engine users by claiming fourth on the grid.
The championship standings took a dramatic turn before the action even heated up properly for everyone. Ryo Hirakawa (ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL), who arrived at the weekend leading the points standings, suffered a devastating transmission failure inside the garage during the interval before his group's Q1 run. Unable to post a time or even leave the pit lane, Hirakawa was forced to accept elimination and face a monumental recovery drive from the very back of the grid.
Throughout the intense knockout phases, several drivers traded fast laps and shattered existing course benchmarks. Charles Milescu (Buzz Racing with B-Max), Nick Cassidy (VANTELN TEAM TOM’S), Hiroaki Ishiura (JMS P.MU/CERUMO･INGING), and Yuhi Sekiguchi (ITOCHU ENEX TEAM IMPUL) all took turns pushing the limits during the early segments alongside Kenta Yamashita (KONDO RACING), Sho Tsuboi (JMS P.MU/CERUMO･INGING), and Tatiana Calderon (ThreeBond Drago CORSE). Drivers like Toshiki Oyu (TCS NAKAJIMA RACING), Shinji Matsushita (Buzz Racing with B-Max), Yuji Kunimoto (carrozzeria Team KCMG), Kamui Kobayashi (carrozzeria Team KCMG), Makino Tadasuke (TCS NAKAJIMA RACING), and Ukyo Sasahara (TEAM MUGEN) fought tooth and nail through the filtering rounds.
As the air temperature climbed to 17°C and the track warmed to 20°C for the Q3 showdown, Yamamoto unleashed a stunning lap of 1;34.533 to seal the top spot. Nojiri slotted into second behind him, with Fukuzumi recovering from early setup struggles to take third. Nakajima and Tadasuke Makino rounded out the drivers dipping into the 34-second bracket, followed by Kobayashi, Oyu, and Sasahara to complete the top eight places on the grid.
