Nojiri wound up all the way down in 16th place in Friday's 90-minute session, which marks the only running prior to Saturday morning's qualifying session for the penultimate round of the season.
The Mugen driver needs to score 15 points across the two races this weekend at Suzuka to complete a first successful title defence in Super Formula since Tsugio Matsuda in 2008, as he holds a 32-point margin over Sacha Fenestraz.
