APRIL 17, 2005

Ide wins at Suzuka

Yuji Ide gave the Mobilecast Team Impul victory in the second round of the Formula Nippon series at Suzuka, beating Tsugio Matsuda (5Zigen) by 14secs. Third place went to PIAA Nakajima's Takashi Kogure on a day when the European drivers were up against it. As usual it was Richard Lyons who did the best job and he finished fifth, a tenth of a second behind Satoshi Motoyama at the end of the race after a strong late charge. The Czech driver Jarek Janis finished seventh while France's Benoit Treluyer disappeared from the action towards the end of the race.

Ide now leads the championships with 16 points ahead of Lyons with 12. Motoyama and Matsuda are trailing with six apiece.