Pre-race testing had gone very well with the 23 year-old from Burwell topping the time sheets for all four of the Okayama test sessions.  In the knowledge that he had just headed off his rivals with a narrow gap, Jarvis was under no illusion that Qualifying was going to be easy.

Having sat patiently for five minutes in the pits for the first Qualifying session, Jarvis set out on his flying lap.   But, as he started, team-mate Oshima crashed at the first corner and the red flag was brought out.  With just eight minutes of Qualifying left, Jarvis headed straight out on track for the restart and despite setting the fastest time early on, had to eventually be content with starting second in the first race.

Second Qualifying was a similar story with more yellow and red flags interrupting the sessions.  Jarvis was about to set his quickest lap time but the red flag was brought out once again just before he crossed the start line meaning that this lap could not count.  After the restart, he put in a few competitive laps but with tyres past their best, once again he settled for starting from second.

In the first of the weekend’s races, Jarvis made a good start and very soon challenged for the race lead from Ishiura into the first corner.  But Ishiura had also made a quick start and he defended his lead.  Unrelenting, Jarvis quickly switched to the outside trying to out brake him.  Again, Ishiura defended his position. The pair soon pushed away from the rest of the field.  Despite this, Jarvis was experiencing severe understeer through a lack of downforce.  Realising that he couldn’t remedy this situation, he made the decision to preserve his tyres and settle for second place behind Ishiura which delivered valuable points and elevated Oliver Jarvis to the top of the Drivers Championship standings.

Sudden rain after the formation lap for the second race dictated an unplanned race start from behind the safety car.  As it continued to rain, many cars pitted for wet tyres.  Jarvis, shadowing the safety car, stayed out for an extra lap before being called in for wets.  Rejoining the race, he was then the last car behind the safety car.  As the race got underway, he quickly moved up to third place and started to catch the leaders setting fastest laps time after time.  That was, until the track started to dry and he was passed by the only two drivers on slicks (Tsukakoshi and Oshima) who having started from the rear, took a gamble in the conditions changing. 

As Jarvis’s tyres came to the end of their lifespan, it soon became apparent that he would have to settle for finishing the race in fifth place and relinquish his Championship lead once more by just one point to Roberto Streit.  The race was won by Tsukakoshi followed by Oshima and Roberto Streit.

“It was quite a disappointing conclusion to a weekend that had started off so positively,” says Oliver Jarvis.  “At the moment, luck doesn’t seem to be quite on our side but on the positive side, once again we have showed how quick we are.  Despite this, I have closed the Drivers Championship gap to just one point now behind Roberto so the contest is really hotting up.”

Rounds 9 and 10 take place at Suzuka on 7 and 8 July.

Current Drivers Championship Standings:

1.Roberto Streit  115

2.Oliver Jarvis  114