Dandelion Racing driver Makino jumped from second on the grid to a fast lead, while poleman Ayumu Iwasa dropped to 3rd place, behind Naoki Yamamoto.
This allowed Makino to construct a vital buffer on the front while three-time Nakajima Racing champion Yamamoto retained the faster Mugen machine, Iwasa.
Yamamoto was the primary of the leaders to pit on the minimum finish point on lap 10 of 41, when Makino had a six-second advantage over Iwasa.
After breaking free from Yamamoto, Iwasa was capable of cut his lead to only three seconds before he began to lose ground about halfway through the race.
The two leaders decided to stop together on lap 24, and while Makino restarted the race just ahead of Yamamoto, Iwasa got here out of the pits in fourth place, not only behind Yamamoto but additionally behind the second Dandelion automotive, driven by Kakunoshina Ota, who also pitted . 10.
On fresh tires, Makino was capable of gain a major lead, while Iwasa struggled to overtake Ota and Yamamoto.
By the time Iwasa finally passed Yamamoto for second place on lap 34, Makino had about 13 seconds ahead and was on his solution to his first victory in his thirty ninth attempt.
Coming home second, Red Bull junior Iwasa continued to complete on the rostrum of his Super Formula profession after a difficult begin to the 12 months at Suzuka.
Rounding out the highest three was TOMA driver Sho Tsuboi, who was one other driver who made a late stop before making the most of the brand new tires to climb to the following level.
Catching up with Iwasa as he tried to search out his way through Yamamoto, Tsuboi was capable of pass Nakajima's stalling automotive in just a few corners and take third place, although he didn’t have the pace to catch Iwasa once they were each free within the air.
Yamamoto needed to accept fourth place, 25 seconds behind Makino on the finish, ahead of Ota and Sena Sakaguchi (Inging), who were the following drivers to pit early.
Tomoki Nojiri was on the right track to complete seventh immediately after stopping, but an off-track moment cost him two positions behind Kenta Yamashita (Kondo Racing) and Nirei Fukuzumi (KCMG), which resulted in him ending ninth.
Nojiri and Makino jointly lead the championship with 23 points each, while Yamamoto and Iwasa have 20 each.
Kamui Kobayashi scored the ultimate point, ending tenth, within the second KCMG automotive.
Ben Barnicoat finished his debut Super Formula race for Team Impul in thirteenth place, ending because the team's top performer when his teammate Yuji Kunimoto damaged his front wing in a late battle with the second TOM'S automotive, driven by Ukyo Sasahara.
Super Formula Autopolis – Race results
