Japanese Formula Pacific 1981

Formula Pacific continued to grow in 1981, with a peak of 17 cars on the grid at Suzuka in October when four US drivers stopped by on their way to Macau. The leading cars at the start of the year were March 79Bs, but March 81As soon started to arrive, and leading runner Masahiro Hasemi was quick to upgrade, as was Satoru Nakajima who finally traded in his 1977 Chevron B40. In a much more competitive season than usual, Kazuyoshi Hoshino won the title from his old rivals Nakajima, Hasemi and Kenji Takahashi. Rather than being a development series, as it was in other countries, Formula Pacific had become a diversion for the regular F2 racers. This would work only as long as those drivers didn't find an alternative diversion.

The races

01 Mar 1981 > Tsukuba

15 Mar 1981 > Mine

12 Apr 1981 > Fuji

26 Apr 1981 > Tsukuba

10 May 1981 > Tsukuba

21 Jun 1981 > Tsukuba

30 Aug 1981 > Suzuka

20 Sep 1981 > Sugo

31 Oct 1981 > Suzuka

1981 Japanese Formula Pacific Championship table