After a two-month absence, Formula Challenge Japan returned to the stage at Suzuka Circuit in the first event of the autumn season. A support race was held for the F1 Japanese Grand Prix taking place from October 8th-10th.

In a change of the schedule from a regular race week, pre-qualifying practice runs were held for only 30 minutes during September 28th's combined test and on October 8th (Friday). One lap at Suzuka Circuit takes more than two minutes, so in 30 minutes drivers only have a chance to complete around 14 laps.

It was the first race at Suzuka Circuit for Mitsunori Takaboshi, who made his FCJ debut this season. Compared to other tracks, time spent driving at Suzuka Circuit is limited, so it's hard to nail down points of improvement for drivers.

It was also the first race at Suzuka for Tsubasa Kondo. "Suzuka is fun because it has more corners that can be taken at speed than at Fuji or Motegi; however, somehow controlling speed through the corners is the tricky part," Kondo said.

The qualifying system was different from normal; the grid for Round 9 was decided by 30 minutes' running. In the final ten minutes, the rain started to pick up and Kondo got tripped up causing his car to spin. "I was just getting a grip on my driving, so it's most unfortunate," he said.

Takamitsu Matsui, who finished 3rd in qualifying also had a solemn look on his face. He was quoted as saying, "The way I drive is tough on tyres so maybe it's not the best driving style, but that's what it takes to achieve my best time and I wanted to go for the top even if it meant abusing the rubber. However, since I didn't take the top spot, perhaps I should change my driving style after all."

David Zhu, likewise not used to driving at Suzuka, put up a hard fight and placed 16th in qualifying. "Ever since the crash at Motegi, I get the feeling that the sensation of the car has changed. It's not clear exactly where the fault is, so I'm currently taking countermeasures as I drive," Zhu said.

Rainy skies where present from the morning of the 9th (Saturday).This marked the first race under wet conditions during this season's FCJ.As a passing rain shower steadily gained strength,Takaboshi spun out on the formation lap.With his best time in the race,Takaboshi secured a spot on the grid for Round 10."It was my first time at Suzuka,my first race in the rain and my thoughts weighed heavily on trying not to spin out.I couldn't think about letting time elapse for the sake of the following day's grid position," He said.

Although Kondo got off to an excellent start by moving up two positions, his helmet visor fogged up early in the race. "I was trying to get a feel for the grip of the tyres, but looking at my times during the race, it's clear that I wasn't taking it to the limit," Kondo said.

Zhu, starting in 16th position, touched another car at the Degner Curve during the opening lap and retired. He was quoted as saying, "During the formation lap three cars that were ahead of me dropped back, so I thought I was off to a great start and was going to have a good result, but..."

On the other hand, Matsui had a successful start in the rain to move up to 2nd place. With a best time and a fastest lap in 2nd place that was only 0.3 seconds away from 1st, Matsui secured 2nd place on the grid for the following day's Round 10.

"I should never have let the lead get away during those first laps after the start. It's a great feeling to be standing on the podium at an event as big as the F1 support race, but if you're going to be standing here, it's always best to be number one," Matsui stated.

During the session with reporters, Matsui commented, "Tomorrow I start in 2nd place, so I'd like to make a nice recovery." However, due to steady rain throughout the day on the 9th, F1 qualifying was postponed to the morning of the 10th (Sunday), and Round 10 of FCJ had to be cancelled.

The morning of the 10th saw clear autumn weather. The four NDDP drivers and advisor Tetsuya Tanaka checked out the F1 qualifying session from turn two. The speed of the F1 cars and the technique of the F1 drivers were seared into their minds.

The race was shown on the TV monitors. Each time a car passed along the backstretch, the high-pitched exhaust note reverberated throughout the waiting room. The four felt their skin tingle at the sights of the top level Formula One race. The drivers that fought till the end on this grand stage will return to Suzuka for a final round of racing on the 6th and 7th of November-what kind of display will they put on for us?