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"Joy TAI" Top PageReports & Winners2009 "Joy TAI" September 5 (Sat) Official Qualifying & 3-Hour Endurance Race Report

2009 "JOY TAI" September 5 (Sat)
Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report

Bolt-on turbo [#25 Zero 1000V Spot Turbo Civic] takes pole position!

2009 "JOY TAI" September 5th (Sat) Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report The 2009 Motegi Enjoy Endurance Race "Joy Tai" opened its doors for the 9th time since its first event in 2001. The first day was blessed with clear skies and perfect conditions, as the A drivers from each class began their time attack.

The pole position was a battle between the B5 class drivers showing their speed. In the session for Group 2 A drivers, #83 HONDA NSX driver Masago Kobayashi marked 2 minutes 12.390 seconds to take the top spot, but #25 Zero 1000V Sport Turbo Civic driver Kunitoshi Aoki broke it with 2 minutes 12.267 seconds to claim the pole position.

"Equipped with a bolt-on turbo, it's an extreme machine, but it's a very easy car to handle. Anyone who drives it will have the same comment, so the car is well-tuned. It also has plenty of power, so there's room to spare and it's just a matter of running calmly," said Aoki, who marked the pole time.

"In terms of time, I thought I could go a little further, but surprisingly, the conditions were tough on the brakes and tires. This will be our 6th participation in the "Joy Tai" race, but we haven't been able to have a good race yet. In 2009, we increased the power to easily achieve good times. Since we have a turbo, fuel efficiency is still tough, but I think we can see the top if we can reduce one more refueling," said Director Morimoto.

The #15 Shim's BS Blaze Impreza in A5 class took third place, the #4 Wako's DL Uetake IDI Trueno in B3 class took fourth place, and the #18 Bambino Tsunetoyo Civic in B4 class followed in fifth place.

Official qualifying and free practice for C and D drivers have ended, and the "JOY TAI" 3-hour endurance race will start at 14:30. In 2009, the race was contested by six entries in the 3-hour endurance race.

From the rolling start, the pole position [#30 Nishikawada Automobile & Mib Auto EK9] led the race. [#78 Cars Hitachi Minami Car Tech Civic] followed, with [#10 Team ☆ Star Chi Roadster] and [#17 WITH ME Civic EG6] battling behind. [#80 Maeda Kogyo Roadster] and [#120 Michelin ☆☆☆ Nagata Levin] followed.

Afterwards, the Kuribara brothers' team, #10 Team Star Chi Roadster, caught up and took the lead in the middle of the race. It seemed like they would continue to lead and take the checkered flag. However, #30 Nishikawada Automobile & Mib Auto EK9, who was running in second place, received a penalty in the final stages of the race, widening the gap between them.
However, even the #10 Team Star Chi Roadster, who was leading the race, received a penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
The #10 Team Star Chi Roadster continued to race without realizing this and finally entered the pit with less than 15 minutes remaining, but the black flag had already been shown. With the #10 Team Star Chi Roadster out of the race, #30 Nishikawada Automobile & Mib Auto EK9 took the lead and went on to win the race with 62 laps completed.
In second place was #80 Maeda Kogyo REAL Roadster, and in third place was #17 WITH ME Civic EG6, both of which made it to the podium.
#10 Team Star Chi Roadster restarted with 1 minute remaining, but due to a 10-lap penalty, they finished in 5th place.

※Click on the photo to view the enlarged image.

2009 "JOY TAI" September 5th (Sat) Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report 2009 "JOY TAI" September 5th (Sat) Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report 2009 "JOY TAI" September 5th (Sat) Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report 2009 "JOY TAI" September 5th (Sat) Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report 2009 "JOY TAI" September 5th (Sat) Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report 2009 "JOY TAI" September 5th (Sat) Official Qualifying and 3-Hour Endurance Race Report