Miki Koyama sweeps Ferrari Challenge Japan season opener at Suzuka

Miki Koyama, on her Ferrari Challenge Japan debut, kicked off the 2025 season with two wins in the season-opening round at Suzuka on Formula One's support bill, which also saw Anna Inotsume scoring a podium in race two on her return to the series.

Photo credit: Ferrari Races

2022 Formula Regional Japan champion Miki Koyama dominated Ferrari Challenge Japan's season-opening round at Suzuka to take an early championship lead. Meanwhile, 2023 TCR Japan champion Anna Inotsume stole the spotlight in race one and stood on the podium on Sunday.

In race one, Koyama led from pole at the start from Tadao Uematsu as Anna Inotsume, who started second, had a slow start and fell to seventh at the end of the opening lap.

Inotsume quickly got back in her rhythm, passing "Yamatatsu" at the Hairpin for sixth place in a daring move down the inside. It didn't take long for Inotsume to catch Motohiko Isozaki, who she would pass on the inside of 130R to get up into fifth place with one third of the race completed.

Green flag action was soon halted when Cornes Osaka's Masahiro Otsuka crashed at the hairpin, bringing out the safety car with 15 minutes left on the clock.

Once the debris was cleared and Otsuka's car was moved to a safer place on track, the safety car came into the pits with five minutes left. On the restart, Koyama had a great launch and was able to keep Uematsu at bay as they headed into the opening section of the track.

Behind them, Inotsume also had a great start and immediately began attacking Super Formula Lights veteran Nobuhiro Imada for third.

Searching for a way past in the final laps of the race, Inotsume capitalized on a mistake from Imada on the last lap at the Spoon Curves to put herself alongside the Rosso Scuderia driver as they headed to 130R. Exchanging paint all the way down the straight, Inotsume completed the pass before 130R to take third with a few corners left and complete a stellar comeback from seventh.

At the front, Miki Koyama led all 14 laps and won the first race of the 2025 season by seven seconds over Super GT veteran Tadao Uematsu while also setting a new track record for Ferrari Challenge cars at Suzuka.

“The start went well,” Koyama said post-race. “Today was hotter, but we managed the car and tires well, anticipating a potential safety car. I focused on maintaining a lead over the second position. The team did a great job with tire management. The 296 Challenge is easy to drive with great power.”

Despite standing on the podium in third place, Inotsume was given a post-race penalty for dangerous driving, which sent her back to fourth and promoted Imada to third.

Photo credits: Ferrari Races

Race two, held on Sunday morning, was started behind the safety car as rain hit the track. With 17 minutes left, green flag action began and Koyama led from Inotsume as the field navigated the difficult conditions untroubled.

Cameras soon turned to race one podium finisher Nobuhiro Imada as he went into the pits after his car suffered a mechanical failure, leading to an early retirement.

With ten minutes left, Inotsume set the fastest lap of the race while hunting down Koyama for first as behind them, Yasutaka Shiraishi overtook John Leo before the hairpin to move up into P22.

As Shiraishi began to rapidly ascend through the field, Tsutomu Shimoyama overtook Ryutaro Saito around the outside of the esses to take P11 in the closing stages.

With two laps remaining, Norikazu Shibata suffered a left-rear puncture while running tenth and pulled off the racing surface to retire from the race.

At the front, Miki Koyama remained unchallenged and won race two after leading from start to finish. Less than two seconds behind, Anna Inotsume was able to beat Koyama's fastest lap to take second ahead of Tadao Uematsu, who rounded out the podium.

“I achieved consecutive pole-to-win victories in Race 2,” Koyama said post-race. “Although it was my first time in wet conditions and I was a bit worried, the track at Suzuka Circuit surprisingly offered a lot of grip. I initially increased my pace to widen the gap and then drove safely for the rest of the race.”

It was a breakthrough weekend for both Koyama and Inotsume, who both showed their full potential at the home of the Japanese GP, with Koyama leading from start to finish both races as Inotsume showed strong page on track to step on the podium twice across the weekend.

Photo credits: Ferrari Races