Liam Sceats returned to the top of the podium in the Japanese Formula Regional Championship last weekend, claiming victory in the final race at Mobility Resort Motegi.
The teenager from Auckland also featured on the podium in the opening of the three races to close the gap on runaway leader Sota Ogawa.
Following a solid showing in Friday’s practice sessions, Sceats would hit the track on Saturday morning to qualify fourth for the opener and third for Race 2.
He would back up those strong results to finish third in Saturday’s sole race. A new day saw two more races, with a fourth-placed result in Sunday’s opener, behind only Ogawa, before he got the better of his rival in the finale, as he did last round at Okayama.
“After a hard-fought battle for the lead for a large part of the race,” said Sceats. “Once I finally managed to get through to the lead, we were the fastest car on track, and with clean air, I managed to break away from the field for the win.
“I really enjoyed this win because I was fighting against quality drivers who have plenty more experience in those situations.
“Thinking back about the race, I feel that I could’ve been more aggressive when I was close enough to the leader to have a crack at the position, but at the same time, I am happy with my patience. The leader seemed to be driving quite desperate, and I knew that eventually his tires would not be able to sustain how aggressively he was driving and, as the race went on, that he would be slower and make mistakes from the tyre deg, which he did.”
“I learned a lot and gained some good experience for the future from this race.
“Thank you to those that support me in this endeavour, New Sports Pacific Management, Giltrap Group and Omega Rental Cars.”
A two-race round at Fuji awaits competitors on September 8-10, with the final round of the 2023 championship being a three-race meet at Sportsland Sugo in November.
Words and Images: Supplied
