In his first contact with the new category, the Brazilian completed more than 200 laps
In the distant city of Fuji, in Japan, in the foothills of Mount Fuji, the Brazilian driver Sérgio Sette Câmara (YOUSE | XP Investimentos | MRV | Energisa | Gasmig | CBMM) made his official debut in the category – the Japanese Super Formula, in which he will compete in the year 2020.
Aboard # 50 car of the B-Max Racing by Motopark team, the 21-year-old participated in the first round of collective tests in the category when he completed more than 200 laps on the Asian circuit. His main objective, at this time, was to get to know the car, as well as to create a professional bond with the new engineers and mechanics who will work with him throughout the year.
Another situation that Sergio sought to assimilate was the preparation for a competition weekend, quite different from what he was used to in the last three seasons of the F 2. The race schedule of Super Formula includes three free practice sessions, qualifying sessions separated into three sessions, an eight-minute warm-up and then the race, which lasts an average of 90 minutes. That is, it is practically the same as an F1 weekend schedule, for example.
Other technical factors that Sette highlighted after the training were the great downforce in the car, as well as the strength of the Honda engine and the grip of the Yokohama tyres, completely different from what he experienced in the categories he has already been through.
“We had two very productive days here in Fuji. I had a lot to learn, to get to know people, to understand the mechanism of the competition weekend and, above all, to know a completely new car for me. My biggest benefit was how much I managed to walk the track. We did several types of simulation such as qualifier, race, pit-stop, start, in short … We really use the time to train and prepare for the next challenges. Next week, in the second round of tests, I am sure that we will be more integrated and the results tend to be better too ”, commented the 21-year-old.
In the last of the four training sessions, Sette Câmara got the eighth best time with 1m21s823 mark. The fastest was the Japanese Nirei Fukuzumi, a racer that Sérgio already faced in the F2 World Championship.
Check out the Top 10 of Wednesday’s afternoon tests:
1) Nirei Fukuzumi (JPN) | Dandelion / Honda | 1m21.207s
2) Ryo Hirakawa (JPN) | Impul / Toyota | 1m21.448s 0.241s
3) Sacha Fenestraz (FRA) | Kondo / Toyota | 1m21.642s 0.435s
4) Naoki Yamamoto (JPN) | Dandelion / Honda | 1m21.662s 0.455s
5) Yuhi Sekiguchi (JPN) | Impul / Toyota | 1m21.676s 0.469s
6) Toshiki Oyu (JPN) | Nakajima / Honda | 1m21.691s 0.484s
7) Juri Vips (EST) | Mugen / Honda | 1m21.819s 0.612s
8) Sergio Sette Camara (BRA) | B-Max / Honda | 1m21.823s 0.616s
9) Tadasuke Makino (JPN) | Nakajima / Honda | 1m21.832s 0.625s
10) Kamui Kobayashi (JPN) | KCMG / Toyota | 1m21.929s 0.722s
Photos: Publicity