Jake fully focused on the task ahead
Jake Parsons continued his impressive run of results in the Japanese Formula 3 Championship, claiming three more class victories in round five at Motegi this weekend. The talented Australian racer produced another strong, consistent performance, which he feels truly highlights his intense levels of preparation and training for this season.
“It was a really good weekend for us, and we were able to show some very strong pace, especially in qualifying. Then during the races, we had exceptional levels of consistency, to the point that my times were within a tenth on each lap in race one. I was really pleased with that as it shows how much my mental training, focus and work with the Smart Mind Institute is enabling me to produce those performances,” explained the 23-year-old.
Driving the uniquely liveried #10 Noda Racing Academy car, Parsons found the layout of the quirky Motegi road course made it more difficult than usual to battle closely with the higher specification Championship cars. “The long straights here made it really tough to get into contention, but I had a particularly good battle towards the end of the final race. We spent at least four or five corners side by side, and switching positions, which was good fun and a great experience too.”
Although the earlier forecast high temperatures weren’t as extreme throughout the weekend, making the addition of the cancelled race from Okayama easier to deal with, Parsons has been focusing particularly hard on his stamina and fitness in order to manage all conditions.
“The weather was actually kind to us for a change! It actually felt more like normal humidity and temperatures, so the stamina demands weren’t as intense as we’d expected. It was quite a comfortable event for me fitness wise, which I think showed in my consistency levels. My training is certainly all coming together nicely, both physically and mentally.”
The Melbourne born driver, who is now based in Tokyo, had previously raced on the challenging 14 turn, 4.8km/2.983mi long Motegi track during his debut season in SuperGT, but was excited to experience how different the circuit was in the formula car.
“The braking zones were the biggest difference. Transitioning into the corners after the braking, and the entry phase is so much higher in the formula car. With so many long straights going into tight corners, this circuit is kind of based around braking, so if you you’re optimizing the brake zones you’re going to be fast. Doing that with ABS and such in the GT car is obviously very different from doing it with none of that in the F3 car. Then of course you have the extra speed from the downforce too, so it’s a very different style of braking. Some corners just became flat out, almost non-existent compared to the GT car. The last corner especially was a lot of fun as you can attack it more.”
Speaking after the three-race event, Parsons was keen to thank his NRA team for their efforts over the weekend. “I’m really grateful to the team, especially as we didn’t have our full crew, but it didn’t make any difference as everyone worked really hard and we performed very strong together.”
The Australian racer also wanted to say a big thank you to the large number of passionate and knowledgeable fans that came out to support him in Motegi.
“I’m really thankful for all the fans. I’m seeing a lot of people I recognise from race to race now, coming up to visit to me with gifts and photos. I appreciate that so much and it feels great to have that genuine support, seeing fans wearing JP hats. Thank you all and I look forward to getting more good results for the JP crew!”
Heading into the next round, back at Okayama, Parsons is looking forward to continuing and building the consistent form and taking more battles to the Championship class cars. “I’m hoping that at Okayama, and Sugo, we can be mix it up and be in contention to challenge for overall points with the C-class cars again.”
Round six of the Japanese F3 Championship takes place at Okayama on 8-9 September.
