Ex-F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi sets Super Formula testing pace again
Kamui Kobayashi set the pace for the second day running at the Japanese Super Formula championship's manufacturer test at Okayama
After Nissan protege Jann Mardenborough topped the morning session in wet conditions, 2014 Super Formula champion Kazuki Nakajima was the first driver to set the times tumbling by switching to slicks late in the afternoon.
The late part of the day's running effectively became a slick-tyre shootout, and Kobayashi came out on top with a 1m15.151s to finish well clear of Nakajima in Toyota's test car.
Although the drivers did get onto slick tyres, the times were around four seconds slower than they were on day one.
Mardenborough, who hung on to top spot in the morning despite having an off that caused one of five red flags during the wet running, was third quickest in drier conditions.
Due to the improving track in the closing stages the times were more spread out than on the opening day, with three seconds covering the top five.
Next up behind Mardenborough came Tsugio Matsuda and IndyCar racer Takuma Sato, who was driving the Honda test car.
Pos Driver Team-Car Time Gap 1. Kamui Kobayashi Team Le Mans-Toyota 1m15.151s 2. Kazuki Nakajima Toyota test car 1m16.558s +1.407 3. Jann Mardenborough Team Impul-Toyota 1m17.498s +2.347 4. Tsugio Matsuda KCMG-Toyota 1m18.257s +3.106 5. Takuma Sato Honda test car 1m18.442s +3.291 6. Daiki Sasaki Kondo-Toyota 1m18.588s +3.437 7. Bertrand Baguette Nakajima Racing-Honda 1m18.589s +3.438 8. Kotaro Sakurai Real Racing-Honda 1m20.223s +5.072 9. Fabio Leimer Team Mugen-Honda 1m21.558s +6.407 10. Toshihiro Kaneishi Real Racing-Honda 1m23.951s +8.800
Ex-F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi tops Super Formula test at Okayama
Chris Hoy to 2015 European Le Mans Series in Ginetta-Nissan LMP3
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Autosport has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The hidden racing gem attracting ex-F1 heroes
It’s rarely mentioned when it comes to assessing the best national contests, but the Brazilian Stock Car series that reaches its climax this weekend has an ever-growing appeal. Its expanding roster of ex-Formula 1 names has helped to draw in new fans, but it's the closeness of competition that keeps them watching
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be
The F1 and Indy 'nearly man' that found contentment in Japan
Having had the door to F1 slammed in his face and come within three laps of winning the Indianapolis 500, the collapse of a Peugeot LMP1 shot meant Japan was Bertrand Baguette's last chance of a career. But it's one which he has grasped with both hands
The female all-rounder who arrived "too early"
From Formula 3 to truck racing, Dakar and EuroNASCAR via a winning stint in the DTM, there's not much Ellen Lohr hasn't seen in a stellar racing career that highlights the merit in being a generalist. But she believes her career came too early...