The new chairman of SFormula promoter JRP takes stock of the series' recent dip in popularity - and outlines what he feels needs to be done to reserve the decline:
Kondo’s viewpoint is refreshing, recognising the scale of the issue. But just how do you turn the likes of Tomoki Nojiri or Ryo Hirakawa into stars with similar name recognition to Japanese baseball hero Shohei Ohtani, or women’s tennis icon Naomi Osaka?
As a driver-focused series, Super Formula’s popularity is always likely to wax and wane according to who is participating at any one time. Having more international drivers on the grid after the COVID-enforced drought can only be a good thing, as the interest in Liam Lawson’s immediate success in Japan shows. But the trouble is they tend to come and go rather too quickly.
While he admits there is an element of “luck” involved in whether a driver becomes a star, he feels the team themselves need to do more to build up their drivers as personalities.“I think [creating stars] is down to expressions of individuality and personality,” says Kondo. “I think it would be good to have drivers who are fast and are able to say slightly cocky things. That’s what a star is, after all. We have to lay the foundation for that.
By appointing Kondo, who, when all is said and done, is an entertainer, JRP has taken a step in the right direction. Its recently-struck deal to show this year’s races on the free-to-view online TV channel ABEMA is also significant, with the Fuji opener said to have attracted 130,000 viewers.
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