FNIPPON: Tokachi results

Results of Formula Nippon Round 4 June 23, 1996 Tokachi International Speedway (5.100km) Weather Conditions: Cool, Overcast

Pos No Driver Car Tire Laps Time Qual. 1 25 Ralf Schumacher Reynard96D Mugen BS 38 1:09'32.702 4/1'40.923 2 7 Masami Kageyama LolaT95/50 Mugen YH 38 -3.548 7/1'40.496 3 24 Naoki Hattori Reynard96D Mugen BS 38 -8.447 5/1'40.925 4 19 Kazuyoshi Hoshino LolaT96/95 Mugen BS 38 -9.059 18/1'42.752 5 55 Katsutomo Kaneishi Reynard95D Mugen BS 38 -9.548 11/1'41.035 6 9 Pedro de la Rosa LolaT96/51 Mugen BS 38 -9.789 9/1'40.828 7 65 Takuya Kurosawa Reynard96D Mugen BS 38 -10.751 2/1'40.227 8 5 Marco Apicella Reynard95D Judd YH 38 -18.868 17/1'42.189 9 8 Shinji Nakano Dome F104i Mugen BS 38 -20.205 10/1'41.035 10 31 Hideki Okada LolaT95/50 Mugen BS 38 -24.298 12/1'41.197 11 1 Toshio Suzuki LolaT96/94 Mugen BS 37 -1 lap 3/1'40.710 12 30 Eiichi Tajima LolaT94 Mugen BS 37 -1 lap 20/1'41.407 13 28 Masahiko Kondo Reynard94D Mugen BS 37 -1 lap 22/1'43.985 14 21 Michael Krumm Reynard95D Mugen BS 36 -2 laps 6/1'41.553 15 56 Satoshi Motoyama Reynard95D Mugen BS 36 -2 laps 19/1'43.219 16 20 Andrew Gilbert-Scott Reynard96D Mugen BS 36 -2 laps 13/1'41.407

DNF 17 Taichiro Onishi LolaT94/50 Mugen YH 34 -4 laps 23/1'45.479 72 Atsushi Kawamoto LolaT93 Ford BS 34 -4 laps 21/1'43.978 10 Norberto Fontana LolaT96/51 Mugen BS 27 -11 laps 8/1'40.730 27 Masahiko Kageyama Reynard96D Mugen BS 24 -14 laps 16/1'42.132 12 Yukihiro Hane LolaT94/50 Mugen BS 18 -20 laps 24/1'46.732 73 Tetsuji Tamanaka LolaT93 Ford BS 16 -22 laps 25/1'50.110 6 Hidetoshi Mitsusada LolaT94/50 Judd YH 15 -23 laps 14/1'41.579 64 Toranosuke Takagi Reynard96D Mugen BS 12 -26 laps 1/1'39.625 R 2 Katsumi Yamamoto Dome F104i Mugen BS 0 -38 laps 15/1'41.764

Fastest Lap: 21 Michael Krumm 1'41.100 (181.602km/h) Championship Standings: Schumacher 24, Hoshino 17, Fontana 16, Hattori 10, Masami K. 8, etc. Next Round: July 7, Suzuka

Many of the 43,000 race fans gathered at the flat Tokachi track on the northern island of Hokkaido expected either pole sitter Toranosuke Takagi or fellow front row starter Takuya Kurosawa to win for the first time this season, but it was Ralf Schumacher who got the last laugh.

Early race leader Takagi's engine let go on lap 13. Kurosawa was penalized for a jump start and fell behind.

To make Schumacher Jr.'s life tougher Norberto Fontana chased the German hard but he, too, retired on lap 28 when he crashed heavily at the entrance of the final chicane.

A huge grin on Schumacher's face on the podium. Can anybody stop the guy in Suzuka? That's the big question.