Igor Fraga secured his maiden full-distance win in Super Formula on Saturday at Fuji, while Kakunoshin Ohta moved a step closer to an early championship crown with a second-place finish.
Starting from pole, the Nakajima Racing driver was largely untroubled at the front for the full 41-lap race, only ceding the lead during the scheduled pit cycle.
The result marks the Brazilian’s third career victory, although both of his previous successes were in reduced-length replacement events, including an earlier appearance at Fuji this season.
Ohta meanwhile extended his championship lead to 48 points, with Fraga now his closest challenger in the standings, and holds the opportunity to clinch the title two races early during Sunday’s Fuji finale.
If the Dandelion Racing driver can maintain a gap of at least 46 points over Fraga and his other title contenders, he will secure the championship ahead of the season-ending double-header at Suzuka in late November.
While Ohta trailed Fraga for the majority of the event, closing laps brought drama when a sudden steering problem cost him time and brought Team Impul’s Zak O’Sullivan into contention for second.
O’Sullivan had charged from sixth on the grid, leading the Toyota-powered entrants after early overtakes on Tomoki Nojiri and Yuto Nomura.
The Briton then passed Ayumu Iwasa for third on lap 12, and although Iwasa undercut him during the pit stops, O’Sullivan muscled his way back ahead of the Team Mugen driver at the start of lap 26.
Kakunoshin Ohta, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING
Photo by: Masahide Kamio
O’Sullivan then chipped away at Ohta’s advantage in the battle for second, gaining ground suddenly on the penultimate lap, but could not force a pass on the final circuit.
Iwasa finished fourth, dealing another blow to his title defence, while Sho Tsuboi (TOM’S) emerged victorious in a tight duel with Nirei Fukuzumi (Rookie Racing) to complete the top five.
Nobuharu Matsushita took seventh in a strong drive for the new-for-2026 Delightworks Racing squad, which had not scored points since the Suzuka round in May.
Toshiki Oyu was eighth for Inging, while TGM Grand Prix pairing Rikuto Kobayashi and Kamui Kobayashi—the latter competing in his first race at age 40—rounded out the scorers.
Williams Formula 1 reserve Luke Browning (Kondo Racing) could manage only 15th after failing to make significant progress from his 16th-place grid slot.
Nojiri endured another disappointing race in the second Mugen car, fading to 16th, while Nomura, who qualified third for B-Max Racing, retired following a second pit stop.
Another standout of qualifying was Super Formula rookie Kazuhisa Urabe, brought in at the last moment to replace Sena Sakaguchi after the Inging driver sustained an eye injury.
Urabe stunned by progressing to Q2 at his first attempt, qualifying 11th, though he faced a more difficult race, ultimately finishing 21st.
Super Formula Fuji race one results
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