The big winners emerging from Oran Park are:

Logan McKinzie – The defending champion showed up in force after a mechanical issue ruined his chances in week 1. With a top 2 finish in every sprint, he signaled that he won’t be letting a shoddy Week 1 slow him down.
Alan Centeno-Valadez – It wasn’t a flashy performance, but it was what he needed. Scoring a huge bundle of points with consistent finishes across all three sprints confirmed that Centeno-Valadez is a top contender for both Rookie of the Year and the championship.
Joseph Oetzell – After a shaky drive at Oran Park last year, Oetzell looked much more confident this time around, keeping the car on the track and on the podium in the last two sprints.
Francois Shink – Any doubts caused by disappointing finishes in the first two sprints were erased with a dominating victory in the final sprint, earning Shink the points he needed to stay in the top 3 championship contenders.
Jérôme Bajulaz – The rookie impressed in his first ATC start, emerging as one of the top points winners of the event despite being collected in some of the carnage. He has already jumped to 6th in the running for Rookie of the Year.

Photos from testing this week show the extent of the foggy conditions

Oran Park proved to be a tough track to tame, but now the ATC is going to the Land of the Rising Sun for an early sunrise(5:00am!) Sprint Challenge. Don’t expect to actually see the sun much though. Thick layers of rolling fog have descended upon Suzuka, and will most likely stay there throughout the morning of the event.

The sweeping esses of the East layout will prove to be a challenge for both tire wear and driver rhythm. The final corner in particular, a blind corner with no discernible landmarks, will likely see a lot of drivers go off wide into the grass. Without many overtaking opportunities, expect tight racing and ultra-competitive qualifying.