Top five for Anna Inotsume in Formula Regional Japan at Sugo, equals season's best

At the Sugo round, the fourth event of the Formula Regional Japan Championship, Anna Inotsume secured further solid results in the top ten, after the Japanese driver equaled her season-best finish with a strong fifth place in the opening race of the weekend.

Photo credits: FR Japan

At the Sugo round, the fourth event of the Formula Regional Japan Championship, Anna Inotsume secured further solid results in the top ten, after the Japanese driver equaled her season-best finish with a strong fifth place in the opening race of the weekend.

Inotsume, who made her Formula Regional Japan debut with a one-off appearance in 2023 before committing to a full-season campaign in 2024, claimed her first podium at Fuji later that year and went on to finish seventh in the championship.

Returning in 2025 with Hitotsuyama Racing – with which she also competes in Super Taikyu in sportscars – Inotsume has had a consistent campaign so far, including a fifth place at the Okayama opener as a personal best before Sugo. She has also collected two sixth-place finishes at Okayama and Suzuka, with her only DNF of the season coming in the first race at Fuji.

At Sugo, Inotsume lined up sixth on the grid for the opening race. She got away well from the left side of the track and held position through the first corners, as the field sorted itself out cleanly on lap one.

On lap three, Inotsume gained one spot before the safety car was deployed for the first time that weekend when Yu Oda went off into the gravel following a mistake under braking.

The race resumed on lap six, with the leader opting for an unusual strategy by accelerating only near the finish line; this allowed him to maintain his position, luckily without causing any rear-end collisions.

At the restart, Inotsume dropped back to seventh after losing out to Toriba, but regained fifth three laps later when Toriba went deep and spun under braking at Turn 1. She held the position until the chequered flag, matching her season’s best result with a positive start to the weekend.

In Race 2, Inotsume started from seventh on the grid. Once again, she had a good getaway, but only a few corners later she pushed too hard, ran across the grass, and dropped to the back of the pack.

From there, she faced a difficult recovery with a sizable gap to make up. With no safety cars to close the field, Inotsume had to work her way back alone. By lap seven she had climbed to eighth, but she could not progress further and crossed the line still 16 seconds behind Irie in seventh.

In the final race, Inotsume again started sixth and this time had her best launch of the weekend, immediately moving up to fifth and even challenging for fourth before settling back. A close wheel-to-wheel fight with Yu Oda followed, but she was unable to keep him at bay by the end of lap three.

She then came under pressure from Irie, who shadowed her closely and forced small braking mistakes. Despite the pressure, Inotsume defended well for most of the race, but on the final lap she suddenly slowed on the main straight and dropped positions. She eventually finished seventh.

The next round takes place at Fuji Speedway, supporting the World Endurance Championship, where Inotsume will aim to return once again to the top five.