2025 Formula Regional Japanese Championship

The 2025 Formula Regional Japanese Championship was a multi-event, Formula Regional open-wheel single seater motor racing championship held in Japan. The drivers competed in Formula Regional cars that conform to the FIA Formula Regional regulations for the championship. This was the sixth season of the series, promoted by New Pacific Sports Marketing Inc., and the 47th overall season of an FIA ladder series in Japan, dating back to the 1979 Japanese Formula 3 Championship.[1]

Kiyoshi Umegaki and his team TOM'S Formula claimed the Drivers' and Teams' Championship, and AiWin driver Yutaka Toriba won the Masters' Class with five races to spare,

Teams and drivers

All teams and drivers competed using the Dome F111/3 Regional F3 car, powered by an Alfa Romeo engine and on Dunlop tires.[1]

Team No. Driver Status Rounds
Japan Rn-sports 10 Japan Hibiki Komatsu[2] 6
11 Japan Yu Oda[3][4] All
Japan AiWin 13 Japan Yutaka Toriba[4] M 1–4, 6
Japan Ai Miura[5] 5
Japan Eagle Sports 14 Japan Yuki Tanaka[4] M 1
40 Japan Shoichiro Akamatsu[6] M 2, 5–6
Japan Nilzz Racing 18 Japan "Yuki"[6] M 2–3, 5–6
Japan Hitotsuyama Racing 21 Japan Anna Inotsume[7] All
Japan N-SPEED 23 Japan "Yugo”[6] M 2, 4–6
China Sky Motorsports 36 China Wang Zhongwei[6] 2, 5
Japan TOM'S Formula 37 Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki[8] All
38 Japan Tokiya Suzuki[8] All
Japan Abbey Racing 44 Japan "Akita"[4] M 1–2, 5–6
Japan PONOS Racing 45 Japan Kento Omiya[9] All
Japan Fujita Pharmacy Racing 46 Japan Hideaki Irie[4] All
Japan Ragno Motor Sport 48 China Lin Chenghua[10] 2–3, 5–6
Japan B-Max Racing Team 50 Japan Kazuhisa Urabe[11] 1–3, 5–6
51 China Jia Zhanbin[12] All
Icon Legend
M Masters' Class

Race calendar

The provisional calendar for the 2025 season was revealed on 20 January 2025.[13] The championship did not race at Mobility Resort Motegi for the first time in its history, while its space in the schedule was replaced by a second round at Suzuka. With three double-header and three triple-header rounds, the race count increased to 15, one more than in 2024.

Round Circuit Date Support Bill Map of circuit locations
1 R1 Okayama International Circuit, Mimasaka 24 May Porsche Carrera Cup Japan
Okayama Challenge Cup Race
VITA Race Okayama
SuperKart Okayama International Series
R2 25 May
R3
2 R4 Fuji Speedway, Oyama 29 June Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia
Fuji Champion Race Series
R5
3 R6 Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka 12 July Suzuka Champion Cup Race
VITA Race Suzuka
R7 13 July
4 R8 Sportsland Sugo, Murata 30 August Super Formula Lights
SUGO Champion Cup Race Series
R9 31 August
R10
5 R11 Fuji Speedway, Oyama 27 September FIA World Endurance Championship (6 Hours of Fuji)
Porsche Carrera Cup Japan
R12
6 R13 Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka 22 November Super Formula Championship
R14 23 November
R15

Race results

Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Masters' class winner
1 R1 Okayama International Circuit Japan Tokiya Suzuki China Jia Zhanbin Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
R2 Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan TOM'S Formula No finishers
R3 Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
2 R4 Fuji Speedway Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
R5 Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
3 R6 Suzuka International Racing Course Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kazuhisa Urabe Japan B-Max Racing Team Japan "Yuki"
R7 Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
4 R8 Sportsland Sugo Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
R9 Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
R10 Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Yutaka Toriba
5 R11 Fuji Speedway Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan Shoichiro Akamatsu
R12 Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan "Akita"
6 R13 Suzuka International Racing Course Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan Tokiya Suzuki Japan TOM'S Formula Japan "Akita"
R14 Japan Kazuhisa Urabe Japan Hibiki Komatsu Japan Kazuhisa Urabe Japan B-Max Racing Team Japan Yutaka Toriba
R15 Japan Hibiki Komatsu Japan Hibiki Komatsu Japan Kazuhisa Urabe Japan B-Max Racing Team Japan Yutaka Toriba

Season report

First half

The 2025 Formula Regional Japanese Championship began in late May at Okayama with TOM'S driver Tokiya Suzuki claiming pole position for all three races. Rainy conditions impeded all three races of the weekend. The first race, started under safety car conditions, ended after five laps without the green flag shown. Half points were awarded for Suzuki's season-opening win ahead of B-Max Racing's Kazuhisa Urabe and PONOS Racing's Kento Omiya. Race two brought green-flag racing after three formation laps, during which Suzuki and Omiya were handed penalties after starting from the wrong grid spots. That saw the pair fail to retain their top-two finishing spots, with Kiyoshi Umegaki inheriting victory from his teammate and Rn-sports's Yu Oda completing the podium. Race three saw Suzuki win lights-to-flag, leading Omiya and Umegaki through an extensive safety car period and holding them off during the final three green-flag laps. Two wins saw Suzuki end the opening weekend leading Umegaki by 9.5 points in the standings.[14]

A double-header at Fuji Speedway followed, and this time Umegaki swept qualifying to take two pole positions. He had a slow start to the first race, though, dropping down to fourth as Suzuki took the lead. Umegaki fought back, moving into third on the opening lap, before attacking second-placed Urabe. Multiple attacks ended with Umegaki running wide or off the track, before he finally got second place on lap nine. Urabe defended the final podium spot from Omiya. Umegaki converted his second pole position into a lead that would last for three turns, where Suzuki claimed the lead once again. This time, Umegaki was able to keep close to him all throughout the race, and he was able to get a slipstream exiting the final corner of the final lap to claim victory by 0.038s. Omiya took third as Suzuki's points lead over Umegaki remained static.[15]

Two races at Suzuka closed out the first half of the season. Umegaki continued his qualifying streak by taking two more pole positions. Urabe qualified second for the first race, and started it by taking the lead into the opening corner as Umegaki went off and dropped to fourth behind Suzuki and Omiya. He fought back past the latter into third place, before a safety car came out. It was withdrawn with just two laps left, and fights broke out all across the order. A desperate lunge into the final chicane by Umegaki saw him collide with Suzuki, with his car riding over Suzuki's. That dropped both drivers out of contention, allowing Urabe to take the win ahead of Omiya and Oda. Race two was a calmer affair as Umegaki converted pole position into a lights-to-flag victory, leading Suzuki and Urabe to end the weekend leading the standings by 0.5 points over Suzuki.[16]

Second half

Sportsland Sugo hosted three races four round four, and Suzuki claimed pole position for all three of them. He quickly established a lead in the first race, before a safety car brought Omiya and Umegaki back onto his tail. A faultless restart coupled with Omiya running deep and having to defend saw Suzuki rebuild his advantage, and he spent the rest of the race managing his lead. Omiya had a second moment later on, but was able to hold on to second place. A slow start to race two saw Suzuki drop behind Umegaki. He tried fighting back on lap two, but failed to make a move. A second try to retake the lead on lap eleven was also rebuffed by Umegaki, and further attacks on laps 16 and 18 also went without success as Umegaki went on to take victory. Omiya took third, having been part of the lead battle early on but dropping back in the latter stages. Suzuki had another bad start to race three, this time dropping to third behind Umegaki and Omiya. That order remained static until the finish, handing Umegaki the championship lead by 6.5 points.[17]

The championship returned to Fuji for the penultimate round, where Suzuki and Umegaki claimed a pole position each in qualifying. Suzuki converted his pole position for the first race into the lead despite a bad start. Umegaki kept close behind him all race, but was unable to make a move for the lead. Suzuki crossed the line first, but a penalty for track limits saw him drop behind Umegaki. Urabe completed the podium behind them. Umegaki led race two from lights to flag, spending the first half having to defend from Suzuki, before the latter spun and dropped to third. That allowed Umegaki to pull away at the front and promoted Urabe to second. He held on to the place by just 0.06 seconds after Suzuki tried to slipstream past him on the final lap. Umegaki's double win saw him significantly extend his championship lead over Suzuki to 23.5 points.[18]

Three more races at Suzuka formed the final round of the season. Suzuki was on pole position for the first race and he kept his lead while Umegaki dropped behind Urabe after starting in second place. With Urabe playing rear gunner for Suzuki by defending from Umegaki, the leader was free to gap the field and win the race, shortening Umegaki's lead to 13.5 points. Urabe started race two from pole position as Umegaki lost out to Omiya and Suzuki at the start. Suzuki attacked Urabe for the lead, but the pair made contact and Suzuki speared into the barriers. That caused a safety car, and Umegaki took second place off Omiya after the restart. With Suzuki retired, that was enough for Umegaki to clinch the championship. Race three pole position went to Rn-sports debutant Hibiki Komatsu. He lost his lead to Urabe at the start, but spent all race close behind him, attacking multiple times but not getting past. Suzuki finished a distant third, ahead of freshly crowned champion Umegaki.[19]

Both Umegaki and Suzuki showed remarkable consistence, albeit in a field that lacked depth at some rounds. Umegaki only finished outside the top four once, while Suzuki was only off the podium twice, one of these occasions being his crucial retirement in the penultimate race of the season. While the pair was relatively evenly matched across the season, Umegaki took seven wins to Suzuki's five to ultimately come out on top. The top two were among only seven full-season entries as the championship continued its struggle for driver interest for another year.

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top ten drivers.

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th 
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1

Drivers' championship

Pos Driver OKA FUJ1 SUZ1 SUG FUJ2 SUZ2 Pts
R1[a] R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15
1 Japan Kiyoshi Umegaki 4 1 3 2 1 7 1 3 1 1 1 1 3 2 4 280
2 Japan Tokiya Suzuki 1 2 1 1 2 8 2 1 2 3 2 3 1 Ret 3 251.5
3 Japan Kazuhisa Urabe 2 5 4 3 13 1 3 3 2 2 1 1 187
4 Japan Kento Omiya 3 4 2 4 3 2 4 2 3 2 4 Ret 4 3 Ret 184.5
5 Japan Yu Oda 10 3 10 Ret Ret 3 6 Ret 6 4 7 6 6 5 5 101.5
6 Japan Anna Inotsume 5 6 6 Ret 10 6 10 5 8 7 9 8 7 6 8 75
7 China Lin Chenghua 5 4 4 5 6 5 15 Ret 6 70
8 Japan Yutaka Toriba 6 Ret 5 6 5 9 7 7 5 8 12 8 7 70
9 China Jia Zhanbin 9 7 Ret 7 7 Ret 9 4 4 5 11 9 11 7 9 65
10 Japan Hideaki Irie 7 8 8 8 9 Ret 8 6 7 6 10 10 9 9 11 49
11 Japan Hibiki Komatsu 5 4 2 40
12 Japan "Akita" 8 DNS 7 9 6 Ret 7 8 12 10 29
13 Japan Ai Miura 5 4 22
14 Japan "Yuki" 11 11 5 11 12 12 13 Ret 14 10
15 Japan Shoichiro Akamatsu 10 8 8 11 10 11 12 10
16 Japan "Yugo” 12 12 8 9 9 13 DNS 14 10 13 9
17 Japan Yuki Tanaka DNS Ret 9 2
— China Wang Zhongwei Ret Ret WD WD 0
Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 Pts
OKA FUJ1 SUZ1 SUG FUJ2 SUZ2
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Other points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Did not enter (cell empty)
Text formatting Meaning
Bold Pole position
Italics Fastest lap

Masters' class standings

Pos Driver OKA FUJ1 SUZ1 SUG FUJ2 SUZ2 Pts
R1[a] R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15
1 Japan Yutaka Toriba 1 Ret 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 270.5
2 Japan "Akita" 2 DNS 2 2 2 Ret 1 1 4 2 143
3 Japan "Yugo” 5 5 2 2 2 3 DNS 5 2 4 129
4 Japan "Yuki" 4 4 1 2 2 3 4 Ret 5 122
5 Japan Shoichiro Akamatsu 3 3 1 2 2 3 3 121
6 Japan Yuki Tanaka DNS Ret 3 15
Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 Pts
OKA FUJ1 SUZ1 SUG FUJ2 SUZ2

Teams' championship

Only the best finishing driver of each team was eligible for teams' championship points.

Pos Driver OKA FUJ1 SUZ1 SUG FUJ2 SUZ2 Pts
R1[a] R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15
1 Japan TOM'S Formula 1 1 1 1 1 7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 326.5
2 Japan B-Max Racing Team 2 5 4 3 7 1 3 4 4 5 3 2 2 1 1 227
3 Japan PONOS Racing 3 4 2 4 3 2 4 2 3 2 4 Ret 4 3 Ret 184.5
4 Japan Rn-sports 10 3 10 Ret Ret 3 6 Ret 6 4 7 6 5 4 2 113.5
5 Japan AiWin 6 Ret 5 6 5 9 7 7 5 8 5 4 12 8 7 92
6 Japan Hitotsuyama Racing 5 6 6 Ret 10 6 10 5 8 7 9 8 7 6 8 75
7 Japan Ragno Motor Sport 5 4 4 5 6 5 15 Ret 6 70
8 Japan Fujita Pharmacy Racing 7 8 8 8 9 Ret 8 6 7 6 10 10 9 9 11 49
9 Japan Abbey Racing 8 DNS 7 9 6 Ret 7 8 12 10 29
10 Japan Eagle Sports DNS Ret 9 10 8 8 11 10 11 12 12
11 Japan Nilzz Racing 11 11 5 11 12 12 13 Ret 13 10
12 Japan N-Speed 12 12 8 9 9 13 DNS 14 10 14 9
— China Sky Motorsports Ret Ret WD WD 0
Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 R13 R14 R15 Pts
OKA FUJ1 SUZ1 SUG FUJ2 SUZ2

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Half points were awarded in the first race of round one as adverse weather conditions saw the race stopped after just four laps.

References

  1. ^ a b Wood, Ida (11 September 2019). "Japanese Regional F3 series and car revealed". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  2. ^ "FORMULA REGIONAL JAPANESE CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 Rd.6 鈴鹿エントリー情報" (PDF). Suzuka Circuit (in Japanese). 17 November 2025. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  3. ^ "ルーニースポーツのスカラシップが始動　植田正幸代表「レース界への恩返し」 English "Rn-Sports Scholarship Launches - Representative Masayuki Ueda: "Giving back to the racing world""". Motorsports Forum (in Japanese). 6 January 2025. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Formula Regional Japanese Championship". frj.jp. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Formula Regional Japanese Championship Round 5 FUJI 大会 RACE 11-12 2025/9/26 - 27". Formula Regional Japanese Championship. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d "Formula Regional Japanese Championship". frj.jp. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  7. ^ "フォーミュラ・リージョナル 2025年度参戦体制". yupiteru.co.jp. 1 April 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  8. ^ a b "TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents its 2025 motorsport team setups in Japan". Toyota Gazoo Racing. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  9. ^ "『PONOS RACING』2025年シーズン参戦体制のお知らせ". Ponos. 19 February 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  10. ^ Muschlien, Finjo (23 May 2025). "Formula Regional Japan: 2025 season guide". Feeder Series. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  11. ^ "2025 FRJ参戦体制". B-Max Racing Team. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  12. ^ "2025 FRJ参戦体制（ジャ・ジャンビン選手を追加エントリー）". B-Max Racing Team. 18 March 2024. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  13. ^ "2025 FORMULA REGIONAL JAPANESE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE" (PDF). Formula Regional Japanese Championship (in Japanese). 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  14. ^ Wood, Ida (25 May 2025). "Tokiya Suzuki starts FRegional Japan season at Okayama with two wins". Formula Scout. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
  15. ^ Wood, Ida (29 June 2025). "Umegaki denies Suzuki a FRegional Japan double at Fuji in photo finish". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  16. ^ Wood, Ida (13 July 2025). "Umegaki and Urabe share FRegional Japan wins at Suzuka". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 December 2025.
  17. ^ Wood, Ida (1 September 2025). "Umegaki takes FRegional Japan points lead by winning twice at Sugo". Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
  18. ^ Wood, Ida (4 October 2025). "Umegaki pulls away from Suzuki in FRJC title fight with Fuji double". Formula Scout. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  19. ^ Wood, Ida (24 November 2025). "Umegaki wins FRJC title in Suzuka finale after rival Suzuki crashes". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
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