Super Formula announces extra Fuji race as Autopolis replacement

Super Formula has announced a replacement race for last month's Autopolis round will be added to the Fuji event in July.

The Autopolis race was red-flagged due to heavy rain after a single lap behind the safety car and subsequently abandoned as it became clear the weather would not relent.

Yoshihisa Ueno, President of series promoter JRP, stated at the time that the race would be rescheduled to be held during one of the remaining rounds on the schedule.

During his regular press conference on Friday ahead of this weekend's fourth and fifth rounds at Suzuka, Ueno revealed that the decision had been made to turn July's Fuji round into a triple-header, with the replacement Round 3 being held as a sprint race.

It will be held on Sunday morning over 25 laps, instead of the regular distance of 41 laps, with no mandatory pitstops.

In line with new regulations for the 2026 season, the race will earn reduced points compared to a regular race, with the top nine finishers being awarded on a 12-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.

Kakunoshin Ohta, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

A regular full-distance race pays 20 points for the winner, 15 for second and 11 for third, down to a single point for 10th place.

It marks the second occasion in recent years that a race has been rescheduled, as one of last year's Fuji races was moved to the Suzuka finale weekend due to bad weather.

The grid order from Autopolis qualifying will be used for the replacement Fuji race.

It means reigning champion Ayumu Iwasa (Team Mugen) will start from pole ahead of championship leader Kakunoshin Ohta (Dandelion Racing) and Tomoki Nojiri (Mugen).

Bonus points for qualifying from Autopolis have already been awarded, meaning Ohta goes into this weekend's Suzuka round with a 19.5-point lead over Iwasa.