2023 Super Formula Lights

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The 2023 Super Formula Lights season was the fourth since the series was rebranded from the Japanese Formula 3 Championship. Cars used the Dallara 320 chassis and engines from three manufacturers, following a format similar to Europe’s Euroformula Open.

Iori Kimura won the Drivers’ Championship for B-Max Racing, with his team taking the Teams’ Championship. Nobuhiro Imada claimed the Masters’ Class title, and Spiess won the Engine Manufacturer’s Championship.

There were several team and driver changes. HELM Motorsports left the series after pulling back in 2022. B-Max Racing brought in two international drivers, David Vidales and Igor Fraga, and Takashi Hata joined the team. Kazuto Kotaka, the reigning champion, moved up to Super Formula with Kondō Racing, while TOM’S recruited Enzo Trulli. Kakunoshin Ohta moved up to Super Formula with Dandelion Racing, and Toda Racing promoted Syun Koide to the series. Togo Suganami left the series to focus on Super GT, and joined other drivers for the Suzuka weekend. Rn-sports added Yuui Tsutsumi for some rounds, with other driver changes throughout the season.

The 2023 calendar was announced on November 30, 2022. The season started in late May, six weeks later than usual, and featured only three events supporting the main Super Formula Championship, a notable reduction from previous years. The round-by-round action began at Autopolis, where Kimura took two pole positions and led early in the season. The second round at Sportsland Sugo saw Hibiki Taira win both races, with Kimura close behind but unable to overhaul the lead. Suzuka held rounds where Taira and Kimura traded wins and poles, with several incidents shaping the title chase. Fuji Speedway opened the second half of the season, where Enzo Trulli won a race but was later disqualified from another, while Taira and Kimura traded places on the points table. Okayama and the season finale at Motegi continued the tight battle, with Kimura ultimately clinching the Drivers’ title by 11 points as the season wrapped up.

Overall, the season saw a strong international presence, but the field remained around a dozen regular entrants. The series will stop being a multi-engine championship in 2024, a move aimed at cutting costs and potentially increasing entries.

The points system operated with two key rules: only the best-finishing driver from each team counted toward the teams’ standings, and only the best-finishing driver from each engine manufacturer counted toward the engine standings.