APRIL 10, 2003

Motoyama does it again

Satoshi Motoyama won his second consecutive victory in Formula Nippon last weekend at Fuji. The Team Impul driver led home his team mate, France's Benoit Treluyer to give team boss Kazuyoshi Hoshino a dominant 1-2 result.

Satoshi Motoyama won his second consecutive victory in Formula Nippon last weekend at Fuji. The Team Impul driver led home his team mate, France's Benoit Treluyer to give team boss Kazuyoshi Hoshino a dominant 1-2 result. The pair had a fairly untroubled run to victory while behind them there was a lively fight between Takeshi Tsuchiya (Le Mans Company), Juichi Wakisaka (Team 22), Ryo Michigami (Team 5Zigen) and former Jaguar Racing test driver Andre Lotterer (PIAA Nakajima).

Tsuchiya's hopes of success were spoiled when his pit stop went wrong and so third place went to Michigami, despite the fact that he had incidents with both Lotterer and Wakisaka (who finished fourth and fifth) while Nakajima's second driver Takashi Kogure was sixth.

The result means that Motoyama now has 20 points in the championship with his nearest challengers being Lotterer (nine points) and Treluyer (six points).

Last year's Formula Nippon Champion Ralph Firman is now racing in Formula 1.