2005 Formula Nippon Championship
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The 2005 Formula Nippon Championship was the thirty-third season of premier Japanese single-seater racing, and the tenth under the Formula Nippon moniker. It was contested over nine rounds at five venues. The newly renovated Fuji Speedway returned to the calendar, replacing Sepang International Circuit. Miné Circuit, which had been a staple venue of the series since 1977, closed for spectator events after 2005. Eight teams and 17 drivers competed in the series.
This would be the final season for Mugen as the sole engine supplier to Formula Nippon, with Toyota and Honda introducing new engines for the 2006 season.
Satoshi Motoyama of Team Impul won his fourth series championship, becoming the most successful driver of the "modern era" of Japanese top formula racing.[1]
Teams and drivers
All teams used tyres supplied by Bridgestone, Lola B03/51 chassis, and Mugen MF308 engines.
| Team | # | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| DoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing | 1 |  Richard Lyons |
All |
| 2 |  Naoki Hattori |
All | |
| Kondo Racing Team | 3 | Sakon Yamamoto |
All |
| 4 |  Jaroslav Janiš |
1–3 | |
 Ronnie Quintarelli |
4–9 | ||
| Team 5ZIGEN | 5 | Tsugio Matsuda |
All |
| Forum Engineering Team LeMans | 7 | Tatsuya Kataoka |
All |
| 8 | Takeshi Tsuchiya |
All | |
| Team Cerumo Takagi Planning with Cerumo |
11 | Katsuyuki Hiranaka |
All |
| 12 | Toranosuke Takagi |
All | |
| mobilecast Team Impul | 19 |  Benoît Tréluyer |
All |
| 20 | Yuji Ide |
All | |
| arting Racing Team with Impul | 23 | Satoshi Motoyama |
All |
| Carrozzeria Team MOHN | 27 | Masanobu Kato |
1 |
| 28 | Hideki Noda |
All | |
| PIAA Nakajima Racing | 31 |  André Lotterer |
All |
| 32 | Takashi Kogure |
All |
Race calendar and results
All races were held in Japan.
| Round | Track | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winner | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twin Ring Motegi | 3 April | Yuji Ide |
Katsuyuki Hiranaka |
Richard Lyons |
DoCoMoTeam Dandelion Racing |
| 2 | Suzuka Circuit | 17 April | Benoît Tréluyer |
Takashi Kogure |
Yuji Ide |
mobilecast Team Impul |
| 3 | Sportsland SUGO | 15 May | Takashi Kogure |
Hideki Noda |
Satoshi Motoyama |
arting Team Impul |
| 4 | Fuji Speedway | 5 June | Richard Lyons |
Tsugio Matsuda |
Benoît Tréluyer |
mobilecast Team Impul |
| 5 | Suzuka Circuit | 3 July | Satoshi Motoyama |
Yuji Ide |
Satoshi Motoyama |
arting Team Impul |
| 6 | Mine Circuit | 31 July | Benoît Tréluyer |
Yuji Ide |
Yuji Ide |
mobilecast Team Impul |
| 7 | Fuji Speedway | 28 August | Richard Lyons |
Satoshi Motoyama |
André Lotterer |
Nakajima Racing |
| 8 | Twin Ring Motegi | 23 October | Satoshi Motoyama |
Sakon Yamamoto |
Satoshi Motoyama |
arting Team Impul |
| 9 | Suzuka Circuit | 27 November | Tsugio Matsuda |
Benoît Tréluyer |
André Lotterer |
PIAA Nakajima Racing |
Calendar changes
- The race in Sepang International Circuit was dropped, while Fuji returned with two races.
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Rank | Name | MOT | SUZ | SGO | FUJ | SUZ | MIN | FUJ | MOT | SUZ | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Satoshi Motoyama |
4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 52 |
| 2 | Yuji Ide |
2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 39 |
| 3 | Richard Lyons |
1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | Ret | 4 | 13 | 5 | 30 |
| 4 | André Lotterer |
11 | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 20 |
| 5 | Takashi Kogure |
Ret | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | Ret | 11 | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| 6 | Benoît Tréluyer |
6 | 9 | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 11 | 4 | 14 |
| 7 | Tsugio Matsuda |
10 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 14 |
| 8 | Takeshi Tsuchiya |
5 | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 5 | 3 | Ret | 13 |
| 9 | Ronnie Quintarelli |
5 | 5 | 2 | Ret | 5 | 10 | 12 | |||
| 10 | Sakon Yamamoto |
14 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 | 8 | Ret | 2 | 11 | 9 |
| 11 | Tatsuya Kataoka |
7 | 8 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 12 | Naoki Hattori |
3 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 |
| 13 | Katsuyuki Hiranaka |
8 | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 12 | 9 | 2 |
| 14 | Jaroslav Janiš |
12 | 7 | 7 | 0 | ||||||
| 15 | Toranosuke Takagi |
9 | Ret | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | Ret | 12 | 0 |
| 16 | Hideki Noda |
Ret | Ret | 10 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 10 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
| 17 | Masanobu Kato |
13 | 0 |
Teams' Championship
| Rank | Team | Car | MOT | SUZ | SGO | FUJ | SUZ | MIN | FUJ | MOT | SUZ | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | mobilecast Impul arting Impul |
19 | 6 | 9 | Ret | 1 | Ret | Ret | 12 | 11 | 4 | 101 |
| 20 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | |||
| 23 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 2 | DoCoMo Dandelion | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 3 | Ret | 4 | 13 | 5 | 37 |
| 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 14 | |||
| 3 | PIAA Nakajima | 31 | 11 | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | 10 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 35 |
| 32 | Ret | 3 | 3 | 8 | 2 | Ret | 11 | 9 | 6 | |||
| 4 | Kondo Racing Team | 3 | 14 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 4 | 8 | Ret | 2 | 11 | 21 |
| 4 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 | Ret | 5 | 10 | |||
| 5 | Team LeMans | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| 8 | 5 | Ret | 4 | Ret | Ret | 5 | 5 | 3 | Ret | |||
| 6 | 5ZIGEN | 5 | 10 | 2 | Ret | 3 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 14 |
| 7 | Cerumo | 11 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 6 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 12 | 9 | 2 |
| 12 | 9 | Ret | 11 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | Ret | 12 | |||
| 8 | Team MOHN | 27 | 13 | 0 | ||||||||
| 28 | Ret | Ret | 10 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 10 | 8 | 13 |