Super Formula scraps planned 2025 South Korea race

Super Formula has cancelled next season’s planned visit to South Korea’s Inje Speedium, and will instead race entirely within Japan in 2025.

Series promoter JRP made the announcement on Saturday ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the season at Fuji, although it’s understood that teams had already been informed of the move late last month.

It comes not much more than a month on from the official confirmation of the Inje race, which followed confirmation from Japanese national federation JAF that the series would be venturing to South Korea for its first overseas race since it visited Sepang in 2004.

Addressing reporters at Fuji, JRP boss Yoshihisa Ueno said negotiations with the Inje promoter had been proceeding, but as the conditions could not be met in the agreed timeframe, the decision was made to give up on holding the race in 2025. 

However, Ueno did not discount the prospect of the event returning in 2026 as Super Formula pursues a policy of expanding its footprint in Asia.

Besides the Inje race, the remainder of the calendar remains the same compared to the draft unveiled at the end of August, with 12 races (including five double-headers) still representing the highest number of races held in a single year in Super Formula history.

Pit lane

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

The removal of Inje from the Super Formula calendar alleviates one of two clashes with the FIA World Endurance Championship schedule, as the Korean round was set to fall on the same weekend as the test day for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Kamui Kobayashi previously told Motorsport.com that he was unsure whether he would continue in Super Formula owing to both that clash and the conflict between the Motegi race and the WEC’s visit to Imola in April, which remains in place.

Additionally, this year’s FIA Prize Gala in the Rwandan capital of Kigali is likely to prevent Kobayashi from attending Super Formula’s post-season test at Suzuka in December.

Provisional 2025 Super Formula calendar:

Round

Date

Venue

1-2

7-9 March

Suzuka

3-4

18-20 April

Motegi

5

17-18 May

Autopolis

6-7

18-20 July

Fuji

8

9-10 August

Sugo

9-10

10-12 October

Fuji

11-12

21-23 November

Suzuka