2004 Formula Nippon Championship
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The 2004 Formula Nippon Championship was the thirty-second season of premier Japanese single-seater racing, and the ninth under the Formula Nippon moniker. Eight teams and 17 drivers competed in the series.
The series was contested over nine rounds at five venues. Fuji Speedway was closed for 2004 due to renovations, and for the first time, the series raced outside of Japan as Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia was added to the calendar.
Dandelion Racing driver Richard Lyons won his first series championship, defeating André Lotterer after scoring more points in the final race of the season, which was the championship tiebreaker.[1] Lyons became the third driver to win the Formula Nippon and All-Japan Grand Touring Car GT500 Championships in the same year.
Teams and drivers
All teams used tyres supplied by Bridgestone, Lola B03/51 chassis, and Mugen MF308 engines.
| Team | # | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADiRECT Team 5ZIGEN | 1 |  Satoshi Motoyama |
All |
| 2 | Toshihiro Kaneishi |
All | |
| Yellow Hat Kondo Racing Team | 3 | Ryō Michigami |
All |
| 4 | Yuji Tachikawa |
All | |
| Team LeMans | 7 | Juichi Wakisaka |
All |
| 8 | Takeshi Tsuchiya |
All | |
| Cosmo Oil Racing Team Cerumo | 11 | Tsugio Matsuda |
All |
| 12 | Masami Kageyama |
6–9 | |
| mobilecast Team Impul | 19 |  Benoît Tréluyer |
All |
| 20 | Yuji Ide |
All | |
| LeMans Spirit | 25 | Tatsuya Kataoka |
All |
| Carrozzeria Team MOHN | 27 | Koji Yamanishi |
4–5, 8 |
| 28 | Hideki Noda |
All | |
| PIAA Nakajima Racing | 31 |  André Lotterer |
All |
| 32 | Takashi Kogure |
All | |
| DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing | 40 |  Richard Lyons |
All |
| 41 | Naoki Hattori |
All |
Race calendar and results
| Race | Track | Date | Pole position | Fastest race lap | Winning driver | Winning team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suzuka Circuit |
28 March | Yuji Ide |
Richard Lyons |
Takashi Kogure |
PIAA Nakajima Racing |
| 2 | Sportsland SUGO |
2 May | Richard Lyons |
Takashi Kogure |
Richard Lyons |
DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing |
| 3 | Twin Ring Motegi |
6 June | Richard Lyons |
Richard Lyons |
André Lotterer |
PIAA Nakajima Racing |
| 4 | Suzuka Circuit |
4 July | Richard Lyons |
Naoki Hattori |
Richard Lyons |
DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing |
| 5 | Sportsland SUGO |
1 August | Richard Lyons |
Juichi Wakisaka |
Satoshi Motoyama |
ADiRECT Team 5ZIGEN |
| 6 | Mine Circuit |
29 August | Benoît Tréluyer |
Juichi Wakisaka |
Benoît Tréluyer |
mobilecast Team Impul |
| 7 |  Sepang International Circuit |
19 September | André Lotterer |
Richard Lyons |
André Lotterer |
PIAA Nakajima Racing |
| 8 | Twin Ring Motegi |
24 October | Juichi Wakisaka |
André Lotterer |
Yuji Ide |
mobilecast Team Impul |
| 9 | Suzuka Circuit |
7 November | Richard Lyons |
Yuji Ide |
Benoît Tréluyer |
mobilecast Team Impul |
- In Rounds 4 and 7, sprint races set the grid for the main race.
- Round 4 sprint race winner Richard Lyons started from pole in the main race.
- Round 7 sprint race winner André Lotterer started from pole in the main race. Naoki Hattori set pole position for the sprint race.
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Rank | Name | SUZ |
SGO |
MOT |
SUZ |
SGO |
MIN |
MYS |
MOT |
SUZ |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richard Lyons |
8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 33 |
| 2 | André Lotterer |
2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 1 | 3 | 7 | 33 |
| 3 | Yuji Ide |
12 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 32 |
| 4 | Benoît Tréluyer |
Ret | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 7 | Ret | 1 | 30 |
| 5 | Juichi Wakisaka |
13 | 3 | Ret | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 4 | 23 |
| 6 | Satoshi Motoyama |
5 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 21 |
| 7 | Takashi Kogure |
1 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 2 | Ret | 6 | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| 8 | Tatsuya Kataoka |
10 | 11 | 3 | 13 | Ret | 4 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 12 |
| 9 | Naoki Hattori |
7 | 7 | Ret | 10 | 6 | 10 | 2 | Ret | 10 | 7 |
| 10 | Ryō Michigami |
3 | 5 | 6 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 7 |
| 11 | Tsugio Matsuda |
4 | NC | 12 | 9 | DSQ | 12 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 7 |
| 12 | Toshihiro Kaneishi |
6 | 13 | 10 | Ret | 12 | 3 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 5 |
| 13 | Takeshi Tsuchiya |
11 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 4 |
| 14 | Yuji Tachikawa |
Ret | NC | Ret | 6 | 5 | 9 | Ret | 7 | 9 | 3 |
| 15 | Hideki Noda |
9 | 8 | 11 | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 14 | 0 |
| 16 | Koji Yamanishi |
12 | 9 | 8 | 0 | ||||||
| 17 | Masami Kageyama |
Ret | 11 | Ret | 15 | 0 |
Teams' Championship
| Rank | Team | Car | SUZ |
SGO |
MOT |
SUZ |
SGO |
MIN |
MYS |
MOT |
SUZ |
Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mobilecast Impul | 19 | Ret | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 7 | Ret | 1 | 62 |
| 20 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 2 | PIAA Nakajima | 31 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 1 | 3 | 7 | 50 |
| 32 | 1 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 2 | Ret | 6 | 9 | 8 | |||
| 3 | DoCoMo Dandelion | 40 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 40 |
| 41 | 7 | 7 | Ret | 10 | 6 | 10 | 2 | Ret | 10 | |||
| 4 | LeMans LeMans Spirit |
7 | 13 | 3 | Ret | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Ret | 4 | 37 |
| 8 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 5 | |||
| 25 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 13 | Ret | 4 | 5 | 4 | 12 | |||
| 5 | ADiRECT 5ZIGEN | 1 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 6 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 26 |
| 2 | 6 | 13 | 10 | Ret | 12 | 3 | Ret | Ret | 11 | |||
| 6 | Yellow Hat Kondo | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 10 |
| 4 | Ret | NC | Ret | 6 | 5 | 9 | Ret | 7 | 9 | |||
| 7 | Cosmo Oil Cerumo | 11 | 4 | NC | 12 | 9 | DSQ | 12 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 7 |
| 12 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 15 | ||||||||
| 8 | Team MOHN | 27 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 0 | ||||||
| 28 | 9 | 8 | 11 | Ret | 11 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 14 |