Nojiri is aiming to become the first driver to win three Japanese top single-seater titles in a row since Satoru Nakajima in 1986 this year, having established himself as the dominant driver of the past two seasons.
The Team Mugen star's title defence ostensibly got off to a positive start in last week's one and only pre-season test at Suzuka as he set the best time across the two days of running, a 1m35.955s, on Monday afternoon.
