2002 Formula Nippon Championship
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The 2002 Formula Nippon Championship was the thirtieth season of premier Japanese single-seater racing, and the seventh under the Formula Nippon moniker. The series was contested over 10 rounds at five venues. 11 different teams and 22 different drivers completed in the series.
Reynard became the sole supplier of chassis to all teams after the withdrawal of G-Force Technologies, but this would only last one season after the company declared bankruptcy in February 2002.
Nakajima Racing driver Ralph Firman won the series championship before moving to Formula One in 2003.
Teams and drivers
All teams used tyres supplied by Bridgestone and Mugen MF308 engines.
| Team | # | Driver | Chassis | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox Team Impul | 1 |  Satoshi Motoyama |
Reynard 01L | All |
| 2 |  Michael Krumm |
Reynard 99L | 1–2 | |
| Olympic Kondo Racing Team | 3 | Seiji Ara |
Reynard 99L | All |
| 4 | Katsutomo Kaneishi |
Reynard 99L Reynard 2KL |
All | |
| Team 5ZIGEN | 5 | Naoki Hattori |
Reynard 01L | All |
| 6 | Ryō Michigami |
1–2, 5–10 | ||
| Hidetoshi Mitsusada |
3–4 | |||
| Team LeMans | 7 | Masami Kageyama |
Reynard 99L Reynard 01L |
1–2 |
| Dominik Schwager |
3–10 | |||
| 8 | Takeshi Tsuchiya |
Reynard 01L | All | |
| Soft On Demand Team Nova Forward Team Nova |
9 | Kiyoto Yamamoto |
Reynard 99L | All |
| 10 | Haruki Kurosawa |
All | ||
| Cosmo Oil Racing Team Cerumo | 11 |  Benoît Tréluyer |
Reynard 99L Reynard 01L |
1–5 |
| Yuji Tachikawa |
6–10 | |||
| Mooncraft | 14 | Yudai Igarashi |
Reynard 01L | All |
| Team 22 | 22 | Daisuke Itō |
Reynard 99L | All |
| PIAA Nakajima Racing | 31 |  Ralph Firman Jr. |
Reynard 01L | All |
| 32 | Tsugio Matsuda |
All | ||
| Autobacs Racing Team Aguri | 55 | Juichi Wakisaka |
Reynard 99L Reynard 01L |
All |
| 56 | Toshihiro Kaneishi |
Reynard 01L | All | |
| DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing | 68 | Jonathan Cochet |
Reynard 2KL | 1–2 |
 Richard Lyons |
3–10 |
Race calendar and results
All races were held in Japan.
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Rank | Name | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ | MOT | SGO | FUJ | MIN | MOT | SUZ | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Firman Jr. |
1 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 62 |
| 2 | Satoshi Motoyama |
Ret | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Ret | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 60 |
| 3 | Juichi Wakisaka |
5 | 3 | Ret | 3 | 3 | Ret | 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 33 |
| 4 | Takeshi Tsuchiya |
2 | 6 | 3 | Ret | 2 | 4 | Ret | 7 | 6 | 2 | 27 |
| 5 | Tsugio Matsuda |
3 | 10 | 2 | Ret | Ret | 5 | Ret | 4 | 4 | 6 | 19 |
| 6 | Ryō Michigami |
4 | DNS | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 17 | ||
| 7 | Toshihiro Kaneishi |
Ret | Ret | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | Ret | 7 | 11 |
| 8 | Naoki Hattori |
6 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 9 |
| 9 | Hidetoshi Mitsusada |
5 | 2 | 8 | ||||||||
| 10 | Richard Lyons |
7 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 7 | Ret | 7 | Ret | 6 | ||
| 11 | Seiji Ara |
8 | 4 | 9 | 10 | Ret | Ret | NC | 9 | 11 | 10 | 3 |
| 12 | Haruki Kurosawa |
9 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 10 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 2 |
| 13 | Dominik Schwager |
Ret | 11 | Ret | 8 | 9 | 10 | 5 | Ret | 2 | ||
| 14 | Benoît Tréluyer |
11 | Ret | 6 | 7 | 7 | 1 | |||||
| 15 | Michael Krumm |
7 | 7 | 0 | ||||||||
| 16 | Yudai Igarashi |
Ret | Ret | 11 | 13 | 10 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | 0 |
| 17 | Daisuke Itō |
10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| 18 | Katsutomo Kaneishi |
12 | Ret | 8 | 12 | Ret | 11 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 0 |
| 19 | Jonathan Cochet |
13 | 8 | 0 | ||||||||
| 20 | Yuji Tachikawa |
Ret | 11 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 0 | |||||
| 21 | Kiyoto Yamamoto |
15 | 11 | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13 | DNS | 15 | 13 | 0 |
| 22 | Masami Kageyama |
Ret | Ret | 0 |
Teams' Championship
| Rank | Team | Car | SUZ | FUJ | MIN | SUZ | MOT | SGO | FUJ | MIN | MOT | SUZ | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PIAA Nakajima | 31 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 81 |
| 32 | 3 | 10 | 2 | Ret | Ret | 5 | Ret | 4 | 4 | 6 | |||
| 2 | Xbox Impul | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | Ret | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 60 |
| 2 | 7 | 7 | |||||||||||
| 3 | ARTA | 55 | 5 | 3 | Ret | 3 | 3 | Ret | 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 44 |
| 56 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | Ret | 7 | |||
| 4 | 5ZIGEN | 5 | 6 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 34 |
| 6 | 4 | DNS | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 12 | 11 | |||
| 5 | LeMans | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | 8 | 9 | 10 | 5 | Ret | 29 |
| 8 | 2 | 6 | 3 | Ret | 2 | 4 | Ret | 7 | 6 | 2 | |||
| 6 | DoCoMo Dandelion | 68 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 7 | Ret | 7 | Ret | 6 |
| 7 | Olympic Kondo | 3 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 10 | Ret | Ret | NC | 9 | 11 | 10 | 3 |
| 4 | 12 | Ret | 8 | 12 | Ret | 11 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 9 | |||
| 8 | Nova | 9 | 15 | 11 | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 13 | DNS | 15 | 13 | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 10 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 12 | |||
| 9 | Cosmo Oil Cerumo | 11 | 11 | Ret | 6 | 7 | 7 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 1 |
| 10 | Mooncraft | 14 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 13 | 10 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | 0 |
| 11 | Team 22 | 22 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 0 |