Mobility Resort Motegi Circuit, Japan: SFL F3 Races 1,2 & 3
Dec 19

Mobility Resort Motegi Circuit, Japan: SFL F3 Races 1,2 & 3

Mobility Resort Racing Circuit, Japan

Photo Credits: © Wataru Tamura Photography (Member JRPA*)

2024 Super Formula Lights F3 | Japan
Mobility Resort Motegi Circuit
Round 1* | Races 1, 2, & 3
November 29 – December 1 | 2024

*Round 1 | Races 1, 2, & 3 were cancelled in May (rescheduled for this weekend of November 29th – December 1st)

Motegi Highlights:
Qualifying Race 1: 6th Place
Race 1 Finish: 6th Place
Qualifying Race 2:
5th Place
Race 2 Finish: 4th Place
Qualifying Race 3: 6th Place
Race 3 DNF (Did not Finish)
SFL Championship Standing: 5th Place

Qualifying | November 30th

Qualifying | Race 1: P6

Kaylen Frederick: Our primary focus In Q1 was on tire warmup procedures as it was colder compared to the rest of the weekend so far. The cold temperatures confirmed for us that the second push lap would be the best, as in every session so far. Once the first push lap was underway, the car had noticeable rear instability as compared to Friday practices. I adapted my driving and adjusted for a second push lap, but the tire had peaked on the first push lap and was quite a bit slower on the second lap. In the end, we did not maximize our best lap time (perhaps giving up 2/10), and finished P6 at 0.6 seconds behind P1.

Qualifying | Race 2: P5

Kaylen Frederick: Ten minutes later, we were poised for the Q2 green flag. During the brief pause, we applied a setup change to lessen the instability and rolled out for Q2. This time I recognized I had to put everything together for lap 1 as lap 2 times were not productive in Q1. I improved my time by 2/10 and the balance was improved, ending the session in P5. Overall, the lap in Q2 felt quite good, and I felt I maximized the performance and car setup available.

Race 1 | November 30th | Saturday Race

Starting Position: 6th Place
Finish Position: 6th Place
Track Conditions: Dry
Weather Conditions: Clear

Kaylen Frederick: Going into the races, our goal was to apply a different tire strategy than other teams, mounting used tires for Race 1 while most other cars ran new tire sets. This would allow new tires and an advantage for later races. As the lights went green, I gained one spot off the line and gave it back in turn one due to 1st turn backups in front of me. The pace at the beginning wasn’t too bad, but once the race settled in, we were struggling with pace as often experienced, also attributable to used tires. I did well to hold off the car behind me for the whole race, but our lack of race pace showed.

Race 2 | December 1st | Sunday

Starting Position: 5th Place
Finish Position: 4th Place
Track Conditions: Dry
Weather Conditions: Sunny but cold

Kaylen Frederick: In Race 2 we opted for a higher downforce setup attempting to improve our tire wear. At the race start, we made an overtake on lap 1 in turn 3, which brought us up to 4th. However, we were again struggling for pace and were unable to give chase, finishing fourth. Again, we did well to hold on to the position however, as the car behind had new tires.

Race 3 | December 1st | Sunday

Starting Position: 6th Place
Finish Position: DNF (Crash on front straight)
Track Conditions: Dry
Weather Conditions: Sunny but cold

Kaylen Frederick: We mounted the new tire set we had saved to provide an advantage for Race 3, so I was more aggressive with the start. I got quite a lot of wheel spin which was strange. Perhaps due to the cold temperatures, the tires dropped too much temperature sitting on the grid. At the start, we lost one spot. I was overtaking a car on the inside shortly afterwards, going into turn 11 and then down the back straight. Another car went for a very late lunge on the inside of us both and almost took all 3 of us out, but luckily I was able to brake just enough to avoid contact. This caused me to lose both the places I was going to gain from my overtake. From the several scuffles and contacts on lap one, we might have picked up a slow left rear puncture. A few laps into the race I ran onto the exit curb on the last corner, like I do every lap. Suddenly, the car undertray bottomed out preventing steering, and I went off track, tagging the barriers. We were unable to verify if the tire picked up a puncture as the rear left with the potential puncture tapped the wall and destroyed the wheel and tire, preventing conclusions.

Kaylen Frederick Post-Race Comments:
(Pilot ONE Racing with B-MAX/Car No.1/B-MAX RACING TEAM)
“Throughout the weekend we struggled for pace which put us on the back foot. We did quite well to recover some positions in Race 1 and 2 to finish 6th and 4th, but all in all, it still left a lot to be desired. We know we have the potential to fight for wins but that is all we could do this weekend.”

Championship Round-up | 9/14/24: 5th Place

Special thanks to BMAX Racing, Kenichi Hasegawa san, and Satoshi Motoyama san for a hard and dedicated weekend hunting for speed!!

Next on the Calendar:

Watch these pages for announcements for racing in 2025!!!

About B-MAX Racing
For more information about B-MAX Racing:
http://www.b-maxracing.co.jp/

About Kaylen Frederick
For more information visit:
https://KaylenFrederick.com/

About Pilot ONE Racing
Pilot ONE Racing supports and assists young race drivers in developing professional driving careers, seeking funding, and reaching the highest level of motorsports in both the USA and Europe.

For more information visit ‘Contact Info and Partnerships’ at:
https://PilotONERacing.com

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