After a 2021 season in which the Honda contingent held a definitive edge, securing every pole and race win except the rain-affected Autopolis round, the Toyota teams mounted a comeback in pre-season testing.
Inging driver Sho Tsuboi was fastest on both days at Suzuka, while on the final day of a weather-affected Fuji test, Kondo Racing’s Sacha Fenestraz led a one-two-three-four for Toyota powered cars on the final day.
The best of the Honda drivers was Mugen’s defending champion Tomoki Nojiri in fifth, around four tenths off the pace.
B-Max driver Nobuharu Matsushita, who was 10th-fastest on the second day at Fuji, believes Honda finds itself on the back foot in terms of straightline speed heading into the new campaign, which kicks off at the same track with a double-header event on 8-10 April.
“Honda needs to push on the engine side,” Matsushita told Autosport. “We are a bit behind compared to Toyota on the top speed.
“We are losing maybe around 5km/h. Apparently, they did some…
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