Monaco Increase driver David Vidales came out of Suzuka circuit at the end of Rounds 7,8 and 9 of the Japanese Super Formula Lights series with two sixth and one tenth place finishes, but his points tally could have been higher had it not been for a puncture following a contact with Iori Kimura in the final stages of the last round.
Overall, Vidales showed potential during what can be defined as a difficult weekend for him, his #51 car suffering from massive oversteer throughout. As is customary with the SFL series, much of the final race results are dictated by qyalifying position, since races are short and the absence of DRS does not make for easy overtaking. Vidales ended up the two back-to-back qualifying sessions in P6 and P7 respectively, his car apparently suffering from a lack of top speed in the fast sections of the track. The first race (round 7) was held in mixed weather conditions, so that after an early interruption due to an accident involving Vidales’ team mate Igor Fraga, both David and B-max team made the right decision to switch to rain tires. As a result, when race was restarted on lap 4, the MIM driver went to maximum attack, overtaking many cars and eventually snatching the lead from Tsutsumi. Vidales’ dominance was short lived though, as he quickly began to lose pace and ended the race in sixth position where he had started it.
The second race (round 8) was held in dry, much hotter conditions and was relatively uneventful as Vidales could make up a position from seventh on the grid shortly after the start and held it to the end. The third and final round proved much more action-packed as Vidales was quick off the line and crossed the line in fifth at the end of lap 1, then passed another car to take P4. He was battling with Enzo Trulli, the son of former Formula One driver, as Kimura joined the party and his car collided with Vidales’ who took the worst of it and was classified in tenth place at the end of the 12-laps event.
Now David and the team will regroup to come back stronger at the next round of the series which takes place in two weeks at Fuji Speedway.
