Japanese Formula 3 runner-up Ritomo Miyata started his 2019 title campaign with the fastest time in the pre-season Suzuka test.
The TOM?S driver, who won once last year behind record-breaking team-mate Sho Tsuboi, beat B-Max Racing with Motopark driver Sacha Fenestraz by just 0.042 seconds.
European F3 race-winner Fenestraz, who spent last year as a Renault junior, is heading fellow European F3 exile Motopark?s line-up and was joined by B-MAX team boss ?Dragon? on trck in the test.
Formula Renault Eurocup graduate Charles Milesi, the first driver to sign up for the 2019 season, was third fastest for Okayama Team, narrowly ahead of championship returnee Shunsuke Kohno (RS Fine) and Japanese Formula 4 champion Kazuto Kotaka (TOM?S).
Milesi?s Okayama team-mate Yoshiaki Katayama was the last driver within a second of the pace in sixth, ahead of Toda Racing?s Toshiki Oyu, ThreeBond Racing’s Enaam Ahmed (already a F3 champion), Tairoku Racing?s Tairoku Yamaguchi and Ahmed?s team-mate Ai Miura.
The 2019 season starts on April 20-21 at Suzuka.
Test results
| Pos | Name | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ritomo Miyata | TOM’S | 1m50.773s |
| 2 | Sacha Fenestraz | B-MAX with Motopark | +0.042s |
| 3 | Charles Milesi | Okayama Team | +0.626s |
| 4 | Shunsuke Kohno | RS Fine | +0.705s |
| 5 | Kazuto Kotaka | TOM’S | +0.773s |
| 6 | Yoshiaki Katayama | Okayama Team | +0.939s |
| 7 | Toshiki Oyu | Toda Racing | +1.448s |
| 8 | Enaam Ahmed | ThreeBond Racing | +1.524s |
| 9 | Tairoku Yamaguchi | Tairoku Racing | +2.011s |
| 10 | Ai Miura | ThreeBond Racing | +2.316s |
| 11 | ‘Dragon’ | B-MAX with Motopark | +3.212s |