Round 6 at Fuji Speedway（4.563km）

・16 July: Qualifying – P16 (1’39.860)

Weather: Rain  Temperature: 22℃　Track Conditions: Wet, 24℃

・17 July: Race – P6

Weather: Fine  Temperature: 27℃　Track Conditions: Dry, 37℃

Having started from 16^th on the grid in TEAM GOH’s car no. 53, Ren Sato enjoyed his third points scoring race of the season at Round 6 of the 2022 All Japan Super Formula Championship held at Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture on Sunday, 17^th July. These were Sato’s first points since Round 3 in Suzuka, so his points tally for the season so far now stands at 10.

◆Ren Sato, Driver

“I believe I had a good race pace this weekend. I started 16^th on the grid, but was able to recover to finish 6^th in the race and certainly the timing of the Safety Car helped.

Unfortunately I made a mistake at the beginning of the race which left me with a tyre flat spot causing me to struggle in some areas, but I believe by improving a step at a time in order to avoid such errors I will be able to get even better results.

I will now focus on my own improvements and work with the team to prepare for our next round in Motegi so that I can aim for the podium.”

◆Masashi Yamamoto, Team Director

“It had been tough qualifying in the rain, but having started the race from 16^th position and by making good use of the Safety Car, Ren Sato was able to improve his position.

He flat spotted one of the tyres right after the start of the race which meant he had a problem with the balance of the car and he lost a few positions, but as a driver I asked him to do his best so that I could delay his pit stop which gave us a better strategy.

We had our sights on a 5^th place finish, but despite coming very close on the final lap, the overtake just didn’t happen although it was a very close call.

However, Ren Sato was able to climb up the grid from 16^th to 6^th and get some points which is not bad.”

◆Ryan Dingle, Engineer

“Due to a series of yellow and red flags caused by the wet conditions during qualifying, Ren Sato did not get the opportunity to properly attack when it mattered the most and that resulted in him dropping down to 16^th position.

On Sunday in FP2, barring one or two small changes, our base set-up was similar to the one we had used at Fuji in the opening two rounds of the Championship and it was generally agreed the feeling and performance of the car were not bad.

However, starting from 16^th position on Sunday in the race, in order to be competitive, we had to be fast on the straights which meant we had to reduce the downforce level we had used in FP2.

Flat spotting the tyre at the beginning of the race was a real pity because Ren lost a lot of time, but once the tyre recovered his pace was good and he was able to improve his position. Finishing 6^th was not what we were aiming for, but considering Ren had started in 16^th, it’s not bad.

For our next round at Motegi we will have to try more aggressive strategies right from the get-go in FP1; we have to aim for a high performance in order to get a podium finish.”