Some other notable drivers Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly (RBR juniors in super formula cuz there wasn't anywhere else to put them) Loic Duval (2009 F-Nippon champ and 2010 Super GT champ and helped give the Honda HSV-010 its first title) Andre Couto: First Foreign driver to become GT300 champion before J.P. Oliveira in 2015 Great vid, and love how it shows japan as not only a hotbed for young talent development but also a place for older drivers to save and rebuild their careers.
Furthermore, both Pato O'Ward and Lucas Auer had a go in Super Formula. O'Ward, like Lawson and Gasly, was put there by Red Bull. He was dropped by Red Bull before the end of the season and was picked up by McLaren, for whom he drives to this day in Indycar. Auer on the other hand went to Japan for an exchange year to promote the partnership between The JAF (The organisation running Super Formula and Super GT) and the DMSB (the organisation running DTM at the time, which in 2019 was led by Gerhard Berger, who is Auer's uncle). I have no idea though why he did not run in Super GT, as he's a Touring Car ace and hadn't raced in any form of open-wheel cars for four years at this point. After his sole year in SUper Formula, he returned to DTM, where he raced for BMW in the last ever class-one season, before returning to Mercedes for the first GT3 season.
This Video showed a lot of sights that i did not expect. Tom Coronel with hair?! James Courtney in a WoodOne Toyota?! Ralf Schumacher in a McLaren?! and A FREAKING HKS OPEL?!?!?!?! Why did we never get that in a Gran Turismo game? That's another one for the racing game i dream about, i suppose...
Not too long ago, Tom Coronel talked about that moment in his 1998 formula nippon season on Ziggo sport (or Viaplay maybe, I forgot). Apparently before the race, his team boss (who obviously didn't speak English that well) told him that this was on of the first times the team could win the championship and that he needed to win it "no matter what", Tom most likely interpreted it in maybe the wrong way and decided that the Senna approach was the correct way to achieve that win.
The guy he crashed into Satoshi Motoyama, loses championship like this 2 year in row btw in 97 he loses JTCC title after being punted by Osamu Nakako and 98 by Coronel in Formula Nippon
Here's some names that were linked to drivers/had tests in Formula Nippon/Super Formula, but never got rides : - Christjan Albers and former Top Gear Stig Ben Collins tested over the 2001 off-season. Norberto Fontana and Mario Haberfeld were searching for drives as well at the same time. - Sergey Sirotkin and Alex Lynn were linked to a Team LeMans drive in 2017 before that drive went to one Felix Rosenqvist..... - Ralph Boschung and Maximilian Gunther also tested for LeMans in the 2017 post-season rookie test - Paul Tracy was rumoured to be heading Formula Nippon racing in 1990 before he committed to the Indycar racing ladder
One other driver you also forgot about that had a career in Japan is Swedish driver Bjorn Wirdheim, famous throughout the motorsport world for throwing away an easy win at the 2003 F3000 race at Monaco by stopping on the start finish straight to the bewilderness of Arden boss (and current Red Bull F1 team boss) Christian Horner. Anyway some time after becoming the 2003 International F3000 champion Wirdheim failed to secure a seat in F1 he went off to Japan driving for Team LeMans & Kondo Racing in the Super GT GT500 class and finishing runner up in the 2013 & 2014 GT300 class driving a Gainer Mercedes SLS GT3
I am Indian and I am proud of Narain achieving the impossible. Racing as India's first F1 driver. Not to mention winning the 2019 SUPER GT x DTM Dream Race.
The stacked field in the dream race in 2019 and Narain won it, I couldn't believe it. Wouldn't have won if it wasn't the control hankook tires, but well deserved all the same.
4:30 A big shunt in turn 1 at Suzuka in an Open-Wheel Race, name a more iconic duo. I swear every time I watch one of these types of videos, I keep seeing so many recognizable names in places I don't expect.
Tom Coronel is most known for Dakar with his brother Tim no? And his accident in Portugal was not in Porto but in Vila Real where Tiago Monteiro won. Yes Tiago Monteiro from Jordan, ex-partner of Narain.
Definitely interested in checking out Super GT. I knew qbout it from the Gran Turismo games, but never knew how much of an impact they had on racing in general.
Really loving these racing video essays. The amount of research and collecting of clips and images involved is off the charts, such excellent work. Well done mate.
Fun fact is that there should have been a silhouette series replacing the dying JTCC in the late 90s, the cars racing in which is basically stock cars with big japanese saloon cars bodywork. Sadly it was cancelled due to lack of participants or we would see JASCAR now maybe.
Kamui is so weird. He was quite good in F1 and insanely good in WEC, but sucked ass in GP2 and Super Formula. This usually happens the other way and I don't think I know a case as extreme as him.
Tom Coronel is one of those jack of all trades, be it on Tarmac or even Desert, along with his infamous twitter antics. Anthony Reid is one of those who deserved WAY MORE success than they got (No BTCC championships let it be known). The names that crop up because of Japan's spot on the world stage of motorsport is truly incredible.
Can you do the brief history of Super Formula (a Japanese Open wheel racing series that I’m referring to), especially since Toyota/Honda SF19/SF23 cars were featured in Gran Turismo 7.
@@jordanblair4077 OI course I have watched them. Furthermore, I'm Colombian, so how could I mistake the colors of the Colombian flag for others? Yellow, blue and red. Take a closer look and you'll watch them in Juan Pablo's helmet.
@@petouser A lot of people see him as an attention seeker and he has featured in some annoying ads. He brags a lot too, usually in relation to Max Verstappen or Formula 1, he’s got that “i stand above the rest” vibe to him. It’s definitely gotten worse since Verstappen’s rise to fame. He tries to insert himself into every conversation and talk show, to show the world that like: “hey i also exist, i’m also a very cool racecar driver, please notice me. And you know what, i did it before Max!” I can’t deny his talent, but us Dutch definitely think he’s doing too much. When you see him appear at a talkshow or on a social media account, you can just hear a collective groan.
Why would I forget that these drivers raced at Super GT/Super Formula? Also, I noticed a problem in the thumbnail. There is an F1 logo. The Super Formula logo isn't there. Can someone tell me what the difference is between F1 and Super Formula? Also, I've never heard of these drivers.
Super Formula (previously known as Formula Nippon) is basically F2, but racing in Japan. Yes, the Super Formula car performance (the newest SF23) is slightly faster than the newest FIA Formula 2 (F2) cars, thanks to its better aerodynamic package compared to F2 cars The engine of Super Formula car is powered by 2.0 liter single-turbocharged Inline-4 developed & produced by both Honda & Toyota and also used in Super GT as well in GT500 class.
@speedtracker9556 In terms of 1 lap pace, it is slower than F1, but slightly faster than F2 car (thanks to its better aerodynamic package). So, the Super Formula is another great alternative road into the F1.
I know who Ralf Schumacher and Narain Karthikeyan (both terrible in Formula One) are. I also forget that they competed in other motorsports. But Ralf is a great dad :D I hope Narain is doing well in his life. I hope you also make Formula One videos in the future!
