From October 16th through 17th, the final round of the Achievement All-Japan F3 Championship was held at Autopolis in Oita prefecture. Though a chilly wind blew atop the mountain where the circuit is situated, it was visited by fine weather throughout the weekend.

"Autopolis is one of the most challenging circuits in Japan, and that's why it is my favourite," said Sato. From the 15th he rattled off a string of good times in practice, offering a glimpse of his good form.

Elsewhere, racing at Autopolis for the first time Sasaki stated, "the track surface is uneven, so the car really bounces about. The ups and downs are really severe too, and there are corners that you can't see around. It's a difficult course." He finished 7th in the first practice session.

In the second practice session on his final attack he got tangled up with another car and lost time, but advisor Kazuki Hoshino, down at track side to check on Sasaki and Sato, praised Sasaki's attacking driving style.

The F3 qualifying session began at 8:50 on the morning of the 16th. Waiting for conditions to improve even a little before making their attacks, in the second half of the session all cars came flying out of the pit. In the pleasant dry air the sounds of the F3 engines reverberated far and wide.

In the midst of all that, having staggered his timing to avoid the congestion, Sato took 2nd place in 1st qualifying. In the 2nd session changes to his settings backfired and he took 4th, but this would be a good enough position to contend for a podium finish. Sasaki was 6th in 1st qualy, and improved his time by .7 seconds to take 5th in the second session.

Round 15 began in the evening of the 16th. The race saw dramatic developments right from the beginning. Immediately after starting from 2nd place, Sato collided with the 3rd place car just beyond the first corner. Because of this the Safety Car was brought out.

When restarting after the Safety Car is brought off, it is important to not let too large a gap open up between yourself and the cars in front. At the end of lap 7 when the race restarted, the gap between Sasaki and the car in front was .2 seconds. After gaining some momentum and passing 1 car, he began to chase down the cars further ahead.

However, after the restart, Sasaki was shown the signal indicating he had received a drive-through penalty. He had gone and jumped the gun on his first start. Sasaki thus dropped back to last place, but was able to get his best lap time yet and turned it up a notch to reach the finish in 5th place.

Whether it brings laughter or tears, this is the final F3 race of the season. This 16th race took place on the 17th. It was a clear day without a cloud in the sky and as the drivers started, they were ready to put it all on the line.

One car went off course immediately after the start moving Sato to 3rd place and Sasaki to 4th. Sato set a lackluster pace and Sasaki was able to gain on him bit by bit. Then, on the 17th lap, the machine that had been in 2nd place experienced a sudden slowdown. It was the first time this season that both cars were in sight of the winner's podium.

But soon after, that dream ended. "Lately, hairpin corners have been my biggest weakness," Sasaki said. "He (Sato) was late braking at the 2nd hairpin and was right in front of me," Sasaki went on to say. Sasaki took the inside line in that corner. That caused a lot of commotion and Sasaki made contact with two cars.

"There�fs an upward slope going into that corner and a downward one coming out of it, so in some places, you can't even see the trailing machines in the rear-view mirror. I didn't intend to create a gap, but with the pace and way I entered the corner, I think he (Sasaki) thought it was an opportunity. I think that was my own mistake, or should I say, weakness. Anyway, it was a year of tough races," said Sato.

"Things got jammed up in the slow corners but gaps opened on the straightaways so I thought the hairpins in this race were where I had to take a chance. Right from the start, I calculated that was the best place to make my move," said Sasaki. The result was bitter but right from the start he was able to plan this race, his 20th. In other words, he has fought through this year and there is no mistaking the fact that he�fs made the best use of his experiences.

This marks the end of all 16 F3 races for the year. These two have fought through a hard season, but it's quite possible that during the year they gained the experience necessary to make it to the top.