The 2002 Formula Nippon Championship was the thirtieth season of premier Japanese single-seater racing, and the seventh under the Formula Nippon moniker. The series was contested over 10 rounds at five venues. 11 different teams and 22 different drivers completed in the series.

Reynard became the sole supplier of chassis to all teams after the withdrawal of G-Force Technologies, but this would only last one season after the company declared bankruptcy in February 2002.

Nakajima Racing driver Ralph Firman won the series championship before moving to Formula One in 2003.

Teams and drivers All teams used tyres supplied by Bridgestone and Mugen MF308 engines. Team # Driver Chassis RoundsXbox Team Impul1 Satoshi MotoyamaReynard 01LAll2 Michael KrummReynard 99L1–2Olympic Kondo Racing Team3 Seiji AraReynard 99LAll4 Katsutomo KaneishiReynard 99LReynard 2KLAllTeam 5ZIGEN5 Naoki HattoriReynard 01LAll6 Ryō Michigami1–2, 5–10 Hidetoshi Mitsusada3–4 Team LeMans7 Masami KageyamaReynard 99LReynard 01L1–2 Dominik Schwager3–108 Takeshi TsuchiyaReynard 01LAllSoft On Demand Team NovaForward Team Nova9 Kiyoto YamamotoReynard 99LAll10 Haruki KurosawaAllCosmo Oil Racing Team Cerumo11 Benoît TréluyerReynard 99LReynard 01L1–5 Yuji Tachikawa6–10Mooncraft14 Yudai IgarashiReynard 01LAllTeam 2222 Daisuke ItōReynard 99LAllPIAA Nakajima Racing31 Ralph Firman Jr.Reynard 01LAll32 Tsugio MatsudaAllAutobacs Racing Team Aguri55 Juichi WakisakaReynard 99LReynard 01LAll56 Toshihiro KaneishiReynard 01LAllDoCoMo Team Dandelion Racing68 Jonathan CochetReynard 2KL1–2 Richard Lyons3–10

Race calendar and results

All races were held in Japan.

Race Track Date Pole position Fastest race lap Winning driver Winning team 1 Suzuka Circuit 24 March Ralph Firman Jr. Ralph Firman Jr. Ralph Firman Jr. PIAA Nakajima Racing 2 Fuji Speedway 7 April Satoshi Motoyama Naoki Hattori Satoshi Motoyama Xbox Team Impul 3 Mine Circuit 19 May Ralph Firman Jr. Satoshi Motoyama Satoshi Motoyama Xbox Team Impul 4 Suzuka-East Circuit 7 July Takeshi Tsuchiya Hidetoshi Mitsusada Ralph Firman Jr. PIAA Nakajima Racing 5 Twin Ring Motegi 21 July Juichi Wakisaka Satoshi Motoyama Satoshi Motoyama Xbox Team Impul 6 Sportsland SUGO 4 August Takeshi Tsuchiya Naoki Hattori Ralph Firman Jr. PIAA Nakajima Racing 7 Fuji Speedway 1 September Takeshi Tsuchiya Ryō Michigami Juichi Wakisaka Autobacs Racing Team Aguri 8 Mine Circuit 22 September Takeshi Tsuchiya Satoshi Motoyama Satoshi Motoyama Xbox Team Impul 9 Twin Ring Motegi 20 October Juichi Wakisaka Juichi Wakisaka Ralph Firman Jr. PIAA Nakajima Racing 10 Suzuka Circuit 3 November Juichi Wakisaka Ryō Michigami Satoshi Motoyama Xbox Team Impul

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship Scoring system Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Points 10 6 4 3 2 1 Rank Name SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ MOT SGO FUJ MIN MOT SUZ Points 1 Ralph Firman Jr. 1 2 Ret 1 9 1 2 2 1 3 62 2 Satoshi Motoyama Ret 1 1 5 1 Ret 3 1 3 1 60 3 Juichi Wakisaka 5 3 Ret 3 3 Ret 1 8 2 4 33 4 Takeshi Tsuchiya 2 6 3 Ret 2 4 Ret 7 6 2 27 5 Tsugio Matsuda 3 10 2 Ret Ret 5 Ret 4 4 6 19 6 Ryō Michigami 4 DNS 4 3 4 3 12 11 17 7 Toshihiro Kaneishi Ret Ret 4 6 5 6 5 5 Ret 7 11 8 Naoki Hattori 6 Ret Ret 4 6 12 6 6 8 5 9 9 Hidetoshi Mitsusada 5 2 8 10 Richard Lyons 7 8 11 2 7 Ret 7 Ret 6 11 Seiji Ara 8 4 9 10 Ret Ret NC 9 11 10 3 12 Haruki Kurosawa 9 5 Ret Ret 12 10 12 Ret Ret 12 2 13 Dominik Schwager Ret 11 Ret 8 9 10 5 Ret 2 14 Benoît Tréluyer 11 Ret 6 7 7 1 15 Michael Krumm 7 7 0 16 Yudai Igarashi Ret Ret 11 13 10 7 Ret Ret 13 Ret 0 17 Daisuke Itō 10 9 10 9 8 9 8 11 10 8 0 18 Katsutomo Kaneishi 12 Ret 8 12 Ret 11 10 12 14 9 0 19 Jonathan Cochet 13 8 0 20 Yuji Tachikawa Ret 11 Ret 9 Ret 0 21 Kiyoto Yamamoto 15 11 12 Ret Ret Ret 13 DNS 15 13 0 22 Masami Kageyama Ret Ret 0

Teams' Championship Rank Team Car SUZ FUJ MIN SUZ MOT SGO FUJ MIN MOT SUZ Points1 PIAA Nakajima 31 1 2 Ret 1 9 1 2 2 1 3 81 32 3 10 2 Ret Ret 5 Ret 4 4 62 Xbox Impul 1 Ret 1 1 5 1 Ret 3 1 3 1 60 2 7 73 ARTA 55 5 3 Ret 3 3 Ret 1 8 2 4 44 56 Ret Ret 4 6 5 6 5 5 Ret 74 5ZIGEN 5 6 Ret Ret 4 6 12 6 6 8 5 34 6 4 DNS 5 2 4 3 4 3 12 115 LeMans 7 Ret Ret Ret 11 Ret 8 9 10 5 Ret 29 8 2 6 3 Ret 2 4 Ret 7 6 2 6 DoCoMo Dandelion 68 13 8 7 8 11 2 7 Ret 7 Ret 67 Olympic Kondo 3 8 4 9 10 Ret Ret NC 9 11 10 3 4 12 Ret 8 12 Ret 11 10 12 14 98 Nova 9 15 11 12 Ret Ret Ret 13 DNS 15 13 2 10 9 5 Ret Ret 12 10 12 Ret Ret 12 9 Cosmo Oil Cerumo 11 11 Ret 6 7 7 Ret 11 Ret 9 Ret 1 10 Mooncraft 14 Ret Ret 11 13 10 7 Ret Ret 13 Ret 0 11 Team 22 22 10 9 10 9 8 9 8 11 10 8 0

External links 2002 Japanese Championship Formula Nippon