Liam Lawson set the ninth fastest time in his first laps of his Super Formula car in Japan over the weekend and will spend the next two days getting to grips with the new machinery.

The full 22-car field took to the track for shakedown laps and to show off the new car and their new car liveries for 2023. This year’s car, SF23 is an updated specification of the car used for the past few years.

Pukekohe product Lawson recorded the ninth fastest time in his Team Mugen #15, just behind his teammate and defending champion Tomoki Nojiri.

Official testing gets underway at Suzuka Monday with a pair of two-hour sessions, morning and afternoon. The same format is repeated on Tuesday.

The opening two races take place on April 8 and 9 at Fuji International Raceway.