It’s already September and only three rounds were left for The Japanese Formula 3 Championship 2018.
The rainy weather in Okayama gave Ukyo Sasahara a big chance in qualifying, and Ukyo got 2nd position for round 13 and 14.
In round 13, the track condition was quite tricky with heavy rain and many incidents occurred.
Ukyo was one of the drivers who ran off the track, then lost his position down to 4th. As the track condition became better with less rain, Ukyo couldn’t keep pace and all he could do was to defend his 4th position.
The rain became even heavier in round 14, and the race started under the safety car. Under such a difficult condition, Ukyo controlled his car well and managed to keep his 2nd position until the end.
Unfortunately round 9 (cancelled in the previous Okayama round) was cancelled again due to the delayed schedule, but Ukyo scored a lot of points in Okayama. He moved up to 4th in the series title and only 3 points behind the 3rd driver.

Ukyo reports as follows.

Japanese Formula 3 Championship at Twin Ring Motegi Sep. 8-9 2018
Round 13 Qualifying P2 Final P4
Round 14 Qualifying P2 Final P
Round 9 Cancelled

Honestly I was hoping for a wet race since I had been struggling to have decent pace in previous rounds, but Okayama’s weather was totally crazy!
We had been confident going into qualifying on the fully wet track, and I took P2 for round 13 and 14.
I concentrated on the start of round 13 final, and it was not really a bad one, but I soon realized that the top car’s pace was far better than me.
I ran wide twice and lost my position down to P4, but I felt lucky to stay P4 in the end considering the pace the other drivers had.
We had even heavier rain on Sunday, and we started round 14 final under the safety car.
There was nothing much to do under the crazy rain, but I survived until the end to grab P2.
A weekend with P4 and P2 was not a disaster, but I left Okayama with mixed emotions.
At least we moved a bit forward in the championship with big points and I should be positive about it.
We have only 2 rounds to go, and I shall keep fighting for every point.
Big thanks to ThreeBond Racing for all the supports, and also thank the fans who came over to Okayama despite the bad weather.
Thank you very much for supporting me.

Ukyo Sasahara