After finishing the opening round in Motegi, FCJ headed to the Fuji round. Drivers began practice runs from June 9th (Wed.), working intensely to prepare for qualifying on the 12th (Sat.).

Beaten by a large margin in the opening round at Motegi, Matsui pledged to get revenge at Fuji, a track he knows very well. On the first day of practice he posted the top time, showing he was in good form to reclaim the top spot.

However, in qualifying the winner of the previous round recovered to take pole position. It was all Matsui could do just to get 2nd and 3rd. What had gone wrong? Before asking his instructor for advice, he first checked the data from the run himself.

Kondo also reflected on his run. ''At which corner in what lap, what kind of driving was I doing?'' While looking at the data he jotted in his notebook what he remembered about how he felt.

FCJ rookie Takaboshi came to Fuji with a lot of things to work on, such as accelerating and down shifting, but showed good form in combined practice. In the second qualifying session, to determine the grid for Round 4, he took 5th - a personal best. In order to not lose ground to the top group at the start he observed the F3 starting practice.

Zhu had trouble at two spots, considered high-speed corners at Fuji. He was able to improve slowly after beginning practice on Wednesday, but there was a still a large gap between him and the top position. Instructor Tetsuya Tanaka gave earnest advice to the zealous Zhu.

Round 3. In 3rd position, Matsui was slowly falling away from the top two cars. What's more, the 4th place driver was drawing closer, so rather than chasing those in front the race became about fending off challengers from behind. ''The car behind me had better pace, and I felt a lot of pressure and made a lot of mistakes,'' Matsui said, reflecting on the race.

In Round 4 on the 13th (Sun.), he started one spot up in 2nd. Though he had made it his mission to not make any mistakes, Matsui got off to a slow start, and was passed by the machine behind. However, at the first corner he soon recovered his spot. ''I was a lot more relaxed today, so I was able to recover after messing up the start,'' said Matsui, who took the 2nd place podium spot.

Takaboshi started Round 4 from 5th position. Possibility as a result of his observing starting practice, his start went well and he kept his position. What's more, on lap 5, after the Safety Car went in, the 4th place car's pace did not improve. Takaboshi had a chance to move up.

On lap 6, Takaboshi made his move into the first corner, but locked his gear shift and spun out. He fell all the way back to last place. ''In practice, I had worked on delaying the braking until the last second and then shifting precisely, but I had my biggest error at the most important time,'' he said regretfully.

Though he had fallen to last place, he put together multiple laps that matched the top group's times and managed to finish 14th. ''My times after spinning out were close to 2nd and 3rd places'. If I can avoid mistakes in the next race I should be able to drive at a podium-finishing worthy pace.''

Zhu was unable to keep his pace steady at Fuji. In Round 4 he had a collision on the first lap, and had to continue the race with a warped front wheel. ''Damaging the car on the first lap, it was like a nightmare,'' said Zhu.

Concerning the high-speed corners he had been working on, he said, ''I still have a long way to go. I want to move the braking point a bit deeper and try out some different lines.'' It would appear he has not found the best way of driving, or the best line to take. ''The next race is also at Fuji. Since I can keep racing on the same track I'm hoping to get on the podium.''

Kondo also tried out multiple lines and driving styles. However, this way of driving was hard on his tyres and his pace soon dropped. ''At a circuit like Fuji with its high speed corners, I realized if you drive like I do you can damage your tyres pretty easily.''

Round 3 will be held from July 17th to 18th. The FCJ drivers will once again gather at Fuji in one month. We look forward to how they'll handle their next challenges.