FNippon 2004: Lyons wins title in tie-break.

Ireland's Richard Lyons continued the recent run of success by British drivers in Japan by adding his name to Ralph Firman's as winner of the Formula Nippon title.

The DoCoMo Dandelion driver secured the title in fine style with a controlled drive to third place in the ninth and final round of the series at Suzuka on Sunday, taking full advantage of title rival Andre Lotterer's inability to score points in their head-to-head battle. The pair ended the season tied on points, with Lyons getting the nod by virtue of a tie-break formula that favoured the higher finisher in the final race.

After topping the timesheets in Friday practice and Saturday qualifying, Lyons led confidently from pole position for the first 19 of 46 laps, but a slow wheel change at his mandatory pit-stop, followed by a slight baulk by another competitor at his getaway, meant he dropped to second behind Benoit Treluyer. Yuji Ide, the other man in the title race albeit one in need of several factors to go his way, closed rapidly on Lyons towards the end of the race, eventually forcing his way through with three laps to go, but the Irishman had things under control, even though Ide only required a call on team orders from his Impul team to take the lead. In the name of sportsmanship, the call never came...

"I made a good start and led through the first corner, and the race went to plan up to the pit-stop," Lyons reported, "When that didn't work out, it was a case of trying to look after my tyres and staying out of trouble. I was right on Ide's tail at the finish in case there was any late place swapping, but it all worked out perfectly."

The Irishman's success was the Dandelion team - formerly one of Nippon's minnows - its first success in Japan's premier single-seater series.

"I'm absolutely delighted," Lyons said after stepping down from the podium, "It's a tremendously satisfying feeling to have brought DoCoMo Dandelion their first title. It's been a lot of hard work this year and I'd just like to thank everyone at the team for all their efforts."

Having already been courted by Jordan ahead of this year's Japanese Grand Prix, Lyons now hopes to follow further in the footsteps of Firman and other well-known names, by making the jump to Formula One on the back of his Nippon title.

"Formula Nippon has got to be the best preparation for Formula One there is, and I'm very proud to be following in the footsteps of the likes of Ralf Schumacher in winning this title.

"It was a hectic weekend and I can take some satisfaction in knowing that I had what it took when the chips were down. The one lap qualifying suited me perfectly and I have to say that I thrived in the pressure cooker atmosphere of the weekend."

Lyons' season has been one of success, taking pole in seven of the twelve races - including sprint races - and a front row position on ten occasions. Suzuka was only the second time this season that Formula Nippon has used a Formula One-style one-lap shoot out - but Lyons has secured pole on both occasions.

Having secured the first part of what is a rare double, Lyons is now focusing on his commitments in the Japanese GT Championship, which he currently leads alongside Satoshi Motoyama with the final round at Suzuka to come in two weeks' time [20 November].