By having a slow start to Round 8 from his 9^th position on the grid Miyake quickly lost a few places, but then during his pit stop on lap 27 further problems with his front jack meant he would finish the second round of Motegi in 15^th place.

Atsushi Miyake, Driver No. 55

“After Round 7 on Saturday, my advisor, Takuya Izawa, pointed out some of the things wrong with my driving.  It was difficult to improve immediately this morning as qualifying for Round 8 was about to confront me, but I began to realise I was better at making good corrections in the right direction so the car settings were also better which enabled me to get through Q1,  I think it would have been more effective to make the car a bit quicker in Q2, but I did manage to secure 9^th place, so it felt good to have a grid position in single figures, especially in view of the last few races.

I got off to a slow start in Round 8, however the balance of the car was good compared to that of my rivals and I could keep a good pace, but at my pit stop towards the end of the race I had a front jack problem and lost time which meant I would be unable to finish at the front.  However, having had to retire from the last two races due to contact, firstly it was good for me to take the chequered flag despite being at the back of the field, and secondly it was good to change the course of recent events.  I know my long race pace is still not as good as the leaders, but judging by Friday’s Free Practice and Saturday’s race I am sure we are heading in the right direction.  Our next races are in Suzuka, which is a circuit I have already raced as a rookie and I will do all I can to qualify in the top positions for both races.”

Masashi Yamamoto, Team Director

“In Round 8 Miyake qualified 9^th, but lost a few positions at the start of the race.  His race pace after that was not bad so we followed the same strategy as No. 53, but pitted a little later.  Unfortunately there was a front jack malfunction during the pit stop resulting in Miyake returning to the track behind the whole field which was disappointing.  It was a shame too because both car No. 53 and No. 55 had the potential to score points.  On the positive side I think the direction in which we are going is the right one, we have proved we can compete well so we will continue our preparations for Suzuka.”

Shintaro Okajima, Engineer No. 55

“After reviewing the issues, including the set-up, which had given us problems during Round 7 on Saturday, I was happy we were able to get through Q1 in Round 8 on Sunday.  As for the Round 8 race, our long run set-up was the same as Saturday’s warm-up, so we did not improve on the problems.  With the double-header format it enabled us to improve both the performance and technical level of the car following the race in Round 7 which was good, but we still need to do more to improve on our performance in order to reduce the time gap to the leaders.

As far as our long race runs are concerned, the No. 53 car certainly has a better balance, so we will now go away and analyse that data in order to extract the good parts for us to use in Suzuka.”

In Round 8 held at Motegi on Sunday 21 August Ren Sato earned four points by starting in 10^th and finishing 7^th.

Ren Sato, Driver No. 53

“I got a good start in Round 8 and managed to improve my position, but during running I created a flat spot on the right front tyre.

This caused some vibration, but I could retain my pace and we set a strategy to run a longer stint which worked out well as I was able to finish 7^th.

Looking back at Round 8 I certainly felt I needed to be closer to the front of the starting grid for the race.  Now we will do all we can as a team to ensure we prepare well for Suzuka and give ourselves the best opportunity to secure a podium.”

Masashi Yamamoto, Team Director

“Ren qualified 10^th for Round 8 on Sunday with a time of 30.750 seconds placing the No. 53 car in a position where we could compete for a good result.  In warm-up, using the set-up based on the previous day’s performance, we found a good direction which enabled Ren to make a good start in the race and gradually improve our position.

Ren’s race pace was good so we set our strategy to stay out long and at the end use up the OTS (Overtake System), but unfortunately Ren couldn’t overtake Sacha (Fenestraz).  The race itself was good, but our challenge is clear and that’s to qualify higher up the grid, so we’ll be ready for the final two rounds at Suzuka.”

Ryan Dingle, Engineer No. 53

“We did uncover some good findings which we were able to make good use of in Round 8’s race and Ren Sato had a good race pace.  He didn’t lose any positions at the start and I think he did well to hold off Matsushita on the second lap and keep his position; it was a clean race and also good from a strategic point of view.  Our next rounds are to be held in Suzuka, which is another circuit with different characteristics, but we will prepare well to make good use of what we learned here at Motegi.  Suzuka will be a double-header format again, but our aim is to be on the podium from the first race.”

The 2022 All-Japan Super Formula Championship held its first double-header event in April at the opening rounds of the Championship in Fuji, and on 20-21 August this format was replicated by holding Rounds 7 and 8 at Motegi.

Atsushi Miyake in the No. 53 car started Round 7 in 16^th position, but towards the end of the race he hit the car in front of him causing him to retire.

Atsushi Miyake, Driver No. 55

“I know that Motegi is a difficult track to overtake on, so qualifying and the race start would be really important.  At the start of the Free Practice session on Friday I was able to keep in the top group, but by the middle of the session I was falling back and track conditions were constantly changing.

Following Friday’s Free Practice session I was able to identify some issues for qualifying for Round 7 on Saturday, but unfortunately I was unable to improve my time and due to lack of the correct set-up and not correcting my driving sufficiently, I finished 16^th.  Having been able to run in the top group early in Friday’s Free Practice, despite the high temperatures and dusty track, I believe there is good potential in the car.”

Masashi Yamamoto, Team Director

With regard to Miyake in the No. 55 car, we were working in the same direction as the No. 53 car for qualifying in Round 7, consequently the results for both the No. 53 and No. 55 cars were similar meaning Miyake didn’t have the pace and finished up 16^th.  It crossed my mind in the last few minutes on the grid to go with slicks, but then the rain increased and I made the decision at the last minute to go with wets.  Miyake struggled to quicken his pace in the race because after the Safety Car came in and he tried to get closer to the car ahead, the spray obstructed his vision and he hit the car in front forcing him to retire.

Shintaro Okajima, Engineer No. 55

“Despite there being some differences in conditions, the fastest time in Q1 qualifying for Round 7 was faster than the pole time set in last year’s Super Formula Motegi event, and I think we did not adjust enough for the conditions.

Because conditions were dry during warm-up we chacked the dry set-up for the race in Round 7.  We found a lot of understeer, which would impact our performance, so after our reconnaissance laps we made some changes on the grid to correct it, but then it turned into a wet race.

Miyake struggled to improve his pace in the early stages of the race, but he improved as he settled down.  Despite the changing conditions we were also able to improve the understeer and gather some good data.  For Round 8 on Sunday we knew we were not fast enough to compete with the leaders so we needed to review our qualifying and race set-up.

The 2022 All-Japan Super Formula Championship held its first double-header event in April at the opening rounds of the Championship in Fuji, and on 20-21 August this format was replicated by holding Rounds 7 and 8 at Motegi.

Driving the No. 53 TEAM GOH car Ren Sato started Round 7 in 15^th place on the grid and in finishing 12^th unfortunately scored no points.

Ren Sato, Driver No. 53

“I was unable to resolve the problems we had in Friday’s Free Practice session which resulted in a poor qualifying for Round 7 on Saturday where I ended up in 15^th.

With the race on Saturday afternoon being the same day as Round 7’s qualifying, it made it very tough because due to rain the conditions were totally different.  We managed to finish the race in 12^th, three positions higher than we had started, but looking back over the whole day it left us with issues in both the dry and the wet that needed resolving so we had a meeting on the Saturday evening to discuss how we could improve for Sunday’s Round 8.

Masashi Yamamoto, Team Director

“Beginning with Friday’s Free Practice we tried too many things with the set-up on Ren Sato’s No. 53 car and we just didn’t get it in the right place for qualifying.  Ren was able to set his best lap in qualifying, but we were lacking behind our competitors.

After our reconnaissance laps to the grid in Round 7 were over it started raining.  It became completely wet so we adjusted the set-up accordingly.  Managing the tyres and the conditions certainly turned it into a race of patience, but when Ren Sato was closing in on a points position towards the end of the race, he pushed too hard and unfortunately went off the track.  Regrettable, but also a learning experience.

Ren qualified 10^th for Round 8 on Sunday with a time of 30.750 seconds placing the No. 53 car in a position where we could compete for a good result.  In warm-up, using the set-up based on the previous day’s performance, we found a good direction which enabled Ren to make a good start in the race and gradually improve our position.

Ren’s race pace was good so we set our strategy to stay out long and at the end use up the OTS (Overtake System), but unfortunately Ren couldn’t overtake Sacha (Fenestraz).  The race itself was good, but our challenge is clear and that’s to qualify higher up the grid, so we’ll be ready for the final two rounds at Suzuka.”

Ryan Dingle, Engineer No. 53

“Considering our Free Practice on Friday, Ren Sato’s qualifying time for Round 7 on Saturday was not bad, however the improvement made by our rivals was much better consequently we ended up in 15^th.  The race was a wet one, the drivers couldn’t see in front of them due to the spray and tyre control was important so I think they all suffered.

We had a thorough discussion on Saturday evening about the points we regretted from Round 7 and by checking and examining the data we were able to improve the car for qualifying on Sunday for Round 8.  We managed to improve our starting position, but we still needed to get further ahead to make the race easier.”