Formula Nippon Champion In Town!

Hands up those that follow/know Japan's Super GT? I am guessing most of you here are as enamoured as I am with race-prepped R35s, Supras, NSXs and other Japanese supercars.

Now, hands up those that know about Japan's top single-make single-seater racing category, Formula Nippon?

Don't even think for a minute that these are some backwater racing series. We are talking about Japan after all.

The 2008 model Formula Nippon car has lapped Fuji in 1 minute 23 seconds, less than 5 seconds off Lewis Hamilton's record of 1:18.7 so we are talking about blisteringly fast machines despite the fraction of development costs they get compared to F1.

The 2009 cars are even better, being a more advanced carbon monocoque (made by California's Swift Engineering) which replaced the previous steel-framed Lola chassis that the formula has used since becoming a single-make series in 2002. These lightweight babies are then bolted to 600HP+ 3.4L Honda and Toyota engines!

Now that I have gotten you guys properly interested, Formula Nippon '07 and '08 champion Tsugio Matsuda will be in town on the 23rd and 24th of May at VivoCity during the Nissan Mega Roadshow.

During the last season, he claimed his second consecutive Formula Nippon Series title for Lawson Team Impul after finishing fourth at the Fuji Speedway with 78 points and with one round still remaining.

For those that still prefer Super GT, I guess I should mention he also drives the Team Impul GTR which finishes 4th in the series last year.

More details on how to catch him in person here.