The fourth round of FCJ was held from August 7 through August 8. The young drivers returned to Twin Ring Motegi, scene of the season-opener. Having completed six races so far, how would the site of the opening round look to the emerging drivers?

Mitsunori Takahashi, aware that he has changed a lot from the time of the season-opening race, said, "I'm much better at operating the car and I've been able to try a variety of things during the races. The way I enter each session is different than it was back then, and I think my motivation has also risen."

For Takamitsu Matsui, now in his third year of FCJ, the task is more about how well he confronts the track and learns it in detail, than sets up race week. He missed a considerable amount of driving practice last time out at Fuji. "Things are going much more smoothly now than they were last time."

On this occasion, the first official practice session was held on the 6th, and saw everybody change settings. Tsubasa Kondo said, "I wasn't able to get the most out of the car because of changes to the set-up. But I value my sense when driving, and towards the end I was able to match things up well."

On the other hand, David Zhu ran into a myriad of little problems with his car during the practice session; things did not go the way he'd wanted them to that day. He smiled wryly and said, "I was able to run stably under braking but I'm a bit worried because I had so many problems today that I wasn't able to finish with a good image."

Overnight and into the early morning the qualifying session started. Although he experienced trouble right at the start of the session, Zhu set a personal best with 2nd place, a mere 0.016 seconds away from the top car. "That trouble at the start of qualifying might have been a ceremony to drive away evil spirits," he said. Starting from the front row - a first for him in FCJ - brought a cheerful expression.

"My goal is to finish in the top five," Takaboshi had said the previous day. He set the fifth-quickest time in his last attempt of the day's second qualifying session. However, he was pipped by another car immediately after, and ended up sixth, falling slightly short of his goal.

Round 7 was held on the afternoon of August 7th. Takaboshi, who was seventh at the start, had trouble with a spinning car just in front of him as he turned into the second corner. He tried to avoid the oncoming car, but both machines went for the same space and he lost a lot of places.

Starting from the 6th qualifying position, Matsui was struck by another car at turn five on the second lap. "If I had qualified in a better position I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten caught up in any of that...it is a shame. Tomorrow I'm going to win, for sure. I'm definitely going to win." He repeated it as if to himself.

Starting from 11th position, Kondo skillfully avoided the confusion at the 2nd corner that Takaboshi got caught up in and upped his position. Soon after, Matsui's collision on the 2nd lap happened right in front of him, but he handled this as well. He finished 6th to collect his first points.

Starting from the front row, Zhu pulled level with the top machine at first. However, "I had the inside position, but I went too far inside and couldn't accelerate as much as the other guy out of the corners," leaving him in 2nd place. After this he pushed too hard trying to move up, causing him to lose position and finish in 4th.

The 8th round began on the morning of the 8th. As it would happen, 6th position Takaboshi made a mistake and lined up in Zhu's 7th place spot. For this Takaboshi was given a penalty, but he failed to notice and was ultimately disqualified. "I really don't know why I did such a stupid thing..." After the race he was stunned, and it was a while before he could offer that reply.

"Why is he in my grid slot?" After the previous day's events and the happening before the start, Zhu was feeling nervous. As if to confirm the validity of those feelings, he had a collision at the 3rd corner just after the start and had to retire. "I had better concentration than yesterday, so it's a real shame. But, this weekend I did gain the confidence to feel like I can be in the top 3. At Suzuka my goal is 1st place."

Kondo had avoided tangle-ups and raised his position in Round 7, but this time was a different story. Though he pulled close to the machine in front he was unable to pass. "I really couldn't pass him, no matter what I did. It all comes down to the qualifying result not being good enough. I made some mistakes as well. But compared to before I'm able to post good times when I want to now. I'm feeling confident about Suzuka."

Having sworn victory, Matsui started from 2nd place and soon passed the top machine. He repeatedly held up to the pressure and gained his first victory of the season. He was briefly passed at the 2nd corner on lap 11, but remained calm and at the 3rd corner took back his spot. "It was a fun battle, and a clean one, and of course I'm really happy to win." From the top of the podium his joy was unmistakable.