Fuji Super Formula: de Oliveira beats Nakajima, Vandoorne spins

De Oliveira made a rocketing start from third on the grid, dispatching front row starters Stoffel Vandoorne and Hiroaki Ishiura.

The McLaren protege subsequently locked up and ran wide at Turn 1, allowing Nakajima and Bertrand Baguette to move up to second and third respectively.

Back in front, de Oliveira’s lead turned out to be short-lived with Nakajima passing the Brazilian on Lap 5, the Toyota WEC driver making up five places to lead the race.

Once at the head of the field, the Japanese driver extended his advantage over the rest of the pack, seemingly having full control over the race.

However, his once comfortable margin was reduced to naught when Yuji Kunimoto’s car stopped at Lap 7, bringing out the safety car.

But Nakajima, having pitted along with the majority of the field, was able to survive the safety car restart, and then re-establish his lead at the front of the pack.

De Oliveira picked up the pace at the halfway mark, bringing the gap down to a second by lap 38.

And on Lap 51, the Team Impul driver dived down the inside of Nakajima at Turn 1, making the move stick to move into the lead.

With the ex-Formula 1 driver unable to impose a counter challenge, de Oliveira cruised to the finish line to take his first win since last year, which co-incidentally came at Fuji.

While the aforementioned duo were fighting up front, another battle was brewing for the final podium slot.

Baguette was trying to fend off a trail of cars led by Vandoorne but a failed attempt from the Mclaren protege saw him down to fifth.

In a bid to regain position, Vandoorne spun at Turn 1 and retired immediately from the race.

The battle, however, continued with Yuhi Sekiguchi taking the final spot on the podium with Audi WEC driver Andre Lotterer finishing fourth.

James Rossiter was next on the road, with Ishiura passing Narain Karthikeyan on the run down to the finish line to take sixth, both separated by a mere 0.007s over the line.

Koudai Tsukakoshi scored one point in eighth while Yuichi Nakayama and Kamui Kobayashi completed the top 10, the latter making up places after dropping down the order.