Japan's Super Formula series may garner more
attention than most national championships, but its machinery is already a few
years old. So the organizers are planning to roll out a new chassis, and have
revealed the first images of the radical new design.
Set to replace the current SF14 introduced three
years ago, the new SF19 is designed to uphold the same “quick and light”
concept while increasing safety and aerodynamic efficiency.
Like the current chassis, the new one is being designed
and built by Dallara, with a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four at its heart.
Both Honda and Toyota currently provide engines for competitors, though other
manufacturers (like Yamaha, BMW, and Cosworth) have in the past as well.
While “the advanced design is expected to draw even
more attention to the Super Formula series,” it's not designed just to look
cool. It's also supposed to enable more overtaking in order to improve the
spectacle and level of competition over the current design.
The chassis is set to undergo testing next
summer, with production to get underway a year from now before the SF19 is put
onto the grid in time for the 2019 season. The series has been attracting
increased attention, not just from local drivers but from foreign ones as well.
Toro Rosso's new prodigy Pierre Gasly, three-time Le Mans winner André
Lotterer, F3 whiz Felix Rosenqvist, and former F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan
have all been competing in this year's championship. McLaren also plucked its
current driver Stoffel Vandoorne out of the series where he won two races last
season.
