Why Super Formula could be on the edge of an indep...

When TGM Grand Prix agreed to turn into Toyota’s latest Tremendous System staff for the beginning of the 12 months, it robbed the Japanese collection of one among its few true impartial outfits.

For years, the Tremendous System grid has been dominated by drivers hand-picked by engine suppliers Toyota and Honda, leaving valuable few openings for any abilities not belonging to both of the 2 home auto giants.

TGM, which began life as Workforce Goh in 2022 after splitting from Workforce Mugen earlier than adopting its present moniker in 2023, was one of many few locations a driver from outdoors might enquire a couple of seat and be given the time of day.

It afforded likeable Turkish driver Cem Bolukbasi a profession lifeline after his mid-season break up from the Charouz F2 staff. It gave Toshiki Oyu another berth when he turned down Honda’s ‘suggestion’ of a seat at Dandelion Racing. And it allowed Nobuharu Matsushita a means again on to the Tremendous System grid after slipping off the Honda roster.

Sadly, neither Oyu nor Matsushita noticed out their respective seasons with TGM as a consequence of cash woes, which explains why in the end the swashbuckling outfit led by Le Mans 24 Hours-winning Workforce Goh mechanic Kazuhiro Ikeda needed to do a cope with Toyota.

Below its new ‘KDDI TGM GP TGR-DC’ guise, TGM is now primarily a Racing Bulls-style junior staff for Toyota to coach its latest recruits, with Kazuto Kotaka and Seita Nonaka at the moment forming its line-up. Certainly, virtually as if to imitate Purple Bull’s chopping and altering in System 1, Nonaka was promoted mid-season after unique signing Hibiki Taira was deemed to not have made the grade.

Whereas the staff is undoubtedly on a a lot surer monetary footing with Toyota’s assist, it has additionally gone from being a near-constant supply of headlines and intrigue to one thing of a non-entity caught firmly within the decrease midfield, with no factors scored thus far this 12 months.

However earlier this month at Sugo, plans for a brand new Tremendous System staff in 2026 had been revealed that may simply assist fill the outlet left by the unique TGM squad.

Delightworks Racing is a comparatively new staff, having solely launched final 12 months. After a short foray into the System Regional Japanese Championship, it took over the Toda Racing effort to enter a two-car staff in Tremendous System Lights this season, instantly attracting consideration with a Sauber-esque black-and-lime inexperienced color scheme.

The staff is helmed by Masato Shimoyama, who made a handful of begins in British System 3 again in 2003, and at Sugo he appeared in a particular press convention alongside the driving force who will pilot the only Honda-powered Delightworks automotive subsequent 12 months: Matsushita.

For F2 race winner Matsushita, recognized within the paddock merely as ‘Nobu’, the chance to drive for Delightworks is much less of a second probability than a 3rd probability. It regarded like his profession in Tremendous System had come to an finish after the 2023 season, when B-Max Racing scaled again from two automobiles to 1 and signed Honda junior driver Iori Kimura.

TGM then provided Matsushita with an sudden lifeline for 2024, however the staff’s daring plan of banking headline-grabbing leads to the primary a part of the 12 months with the goal of attracting sponsorship to fund the rest of the season didn’t pan out. ‘Nobu’ was let go after solely three rounds in favour of the Japanese driver who greatest encapsulates the phrase ‘secure pair of palms’, Honda’s resident super-sub Hiroki Otsu.

Nobuharu Matsushita, Delightworks, Masato Shimoyama, Delightworks

Picture by: JRP

The excellent news for Matsushita this time round is that Delightworks doesn’t appear to be in need of cash, having signed sponsorship agreements with Workforce Mugen and Tremendous System itself this 12 months, whereas additionally recruiting the 31-year-old together with two-time collection champion Tomoki Nojiri to work as driver advisors for its Tremendous System Lights effort.

And the staff has already made it clear its intentions to broaden to a second automotive sooner or later, probably as early as 2027, which might open up one other area on the grid for a driver with out express ties to Honda or Toyota to fit into.

Delightworks’ announcement comes as a serious vote of confidence in Tremendous System, which is now on target for no less than a 23-car grid subsequent 12 months, which might be the biggest of the century. And that’s assuming that no different one-car groups elect to broaden their efforts.

As a reminder, whereas most Tremendous System groups run two automobiles, there’s nothing within the guidelines to forestall groups from working a single automotive, with B-Max, Rookie Racing, ThreeBond Racing and the new-for-2025 Triple Tree Racing squad all falling into that class.

Whereas Rookie Racing is a Toyota staff by means of and thru (being owned by none apart from Akio Toyoda himself) and B-Max has just lately deepened its ties with Honda, ThreeBond and Triple Tree, which each additionally use Honda energy items, could be categorized as full independents.

B-Max, in the meantime, may be termed a hybrid. It’s working one automotive for Honda’s reigning Tremendous System Lights champion Syun Koide this 12 months, however is eager to get again to being a two-car outfit as quickly as potential, and staff proprietor Ryuji Kumita has a choice for the second driver to be a global, with the target of utilizing European knowhow to his staff’s profit.

Yusuke Mitsui, Delightworks Racing

Picture by: Tremendous System

Even Triple Tree, ostensibly shaped with the only goal of permitting Juju Noda to remain on the grid after she parted methods with TGM, is open to working a second automotive in future, whereas ThreeBond can also be regarded as looking out for worldwide drivers for 2026.

It not solely means the Tremendous System grid might conceivably attain 24 or 25 automobiles within the subsequent couple of years, but in addition that there will likely be extra slots for real impartial drivers.

In fact, the truth that Honda and Toyota retain a excessive diploma of management over who drives for which staff has acted as a assure of high quality over time, stopping the surge of pay drivers from actually taking maintain. Toyota particularly deserves reward for recruiting extra worldwide drivers, with Sacha Fenestraz returning to the collection this 12 months from System E and Zak O’Sullivan and Oliver Rasmussen additionally proving worthy additions to the grid.

However, equally, having no less than a handful of groups that aren’t fully beholden to the engine producers’ needs can also be vital to keep up a wholesome ecosystem and forestall the collection from changing into a very closed store.

A few years in the past, throughout an interview with Motorsport.com, JRP boss Yoshihisa Ueno outlined a imaginative and prescient of a 30-car grid, with a 3rd of these seats crammed by non-Japanese drivers. The arrival of Delightworks, and the rising ambitions of a few of the collection’ different smaller groups, seems to be prefer it might be a serious step in direction of that imaginative and prescient turning into actuality.