Endurance Carnival 2008 Motegi KART Endurance Festival "K-TAI" 4-Stroke Sports Kart Class held a 7-hour endurance race on August 3 (Sun). Compared to the class with a transmission, the 4-Stroke Sports Kart Class, which has no power and no gear changes, allows for easier entry, resulting in many female drivers participating, with a total of 97 teams lining up their machines on the grid.

Team #11 Robot Racing - Shaymi, featuring the famous voice actress Nana Mizuki, is an all-female driver team. Team #23 Miyagawa Racing is composed of staff from the Tochigi factory that developed the Nissan GT-R. Team #31 Birrell Subaru includes all-Japan rally champion Norihiko Katsuta, as well as SUPER GT drivers Koji Yamane, Tetsuya Yamano, Taikichi Yamamoto, Masamasa Kato, Yudai Igarashi, and Hikaru Miyagi, among others, on the entry list.

In addition, the familiar commentator Pierre Kitagawa, the Twin Ring Motegi Angels, and the race queens and event companions, including the female kart team LELS with drivers Nanami Tsukamoto, Marie Taguchi, and Rina Ito, also entered, making it truly a festival of karts.

Starting from pole position, #121 Okikiyama Group with Hidechan RC showed a good start and entered the first corner in the lead, but #8 Robot Racing Giratina moved ahead from the inside and cleared the second corner. Starting from the 8th grid in the 3rd row, #25 Robot Racing Pikachu quickly moved up to 3rd place, chasing the top two cars. The car that returned to the top at the end of the opening lap was #8 Robot Racing Giratina, but when #88 Opera Super Performance and #25 Robot Racing Pikachu lined up side by side on the home straight, they moved ahead into the first corner. Following them were #21 Orera Racing + TRM KL and #2 Hayakoba Ranger ♪ IMP.

In the early stages of the race, the top group was formed by four cars: #21 Orel Racing + TRM KL, #25 Robot Racing Pikachu, #88 Opera Super Performance, and #2 Hayakoba Ranger ♪ IMP, which were swapping positions. However, less than 30 minutes after the start, a safety car was deployed, leading to a full course caution. During this full course caution, some teams entered the pits, resulting in a rapid exchange of positions.

At the point one hour after the start, it was still shortly after the full course caution was lifted, but #28 team regalo was in the lead, with a tight competition where up to 36 teams were on the same lap. However, by the two-hour mark, #104 Team Dove was in the lead, with only four teams on the same lap, and by the three-hour mark, #100 SixStars RT was in the lead with three teams on the same lap, gradually narrowing down the competition.

As the final event approached its climax, the #88 Opera Super Performance consistently maintained a high pace, pulling away from the cars in second place and solidifying its lead. With one hour remaining, the #88 Opera Super Performance had completed its sixth pit stop, and the only car on the same lap was the #101 Toto IWD. However, since it had only made five pit stops, it was expected to pit soon. Yet, the #101 Toto IWD did not pit for a while, continuing to lap at the same pace as the leader, trailing by about 1 minute and 30 seconds. However, its fuel efficiency could not hold out, and with less than 20 minutes to go, it finally made its sixth pit stop.

#88 Opera Super Performance was showing aggressive driving by driver Yamamoto, but the fuel consumption was tough, leading to a pit stop with 15 minutes remaining. During this time, #100 SixStars RT gradually closed the gap and caught up to #88 Opera Super Performance on the same lap with 13 minutes left. #88 Opera Super Performance exited the pit with 10 minutes remaining, managing to enter the 130th lap still in the lead.

At this point, the gap to [#100 SixStars RT] was only 19 seconds and 151 milliseconds, but [#100 SixStars RT] had also entered fuel-saving mode to receive the checkered flag, and conversely, that gap was only widening. At that moment, everyone thought that [#88 Opera Super Performance] would be the first to receive the checkered flag. The countdown to the 7-hour mark began, and all that was left was for [#88 Opera Super Performance] to receive the checkered flag. Just as their machine approached the S-curve, a backmarker spun right in front of them. [#88 Opera Super Performance] got caught up in this accident and came to a stop. During this time, [#101 Toto IWD], who had passed [#100 SixStars RT], slipped by and dramatically crossed the finish line first.

#100 SixStars RT continued to receive the checkered flag, while #88 Opera Super Performance managed to restart and stopped the machine just after crossing the finish line. As a result, the three teams of #101 Tohoku IWD, #100 SixStars RT, and #88 Opera Super Performance recorded 133 laps and won the most laps award.

#101 Tohoku IWD achieved an incredible four consecutive victories. "It was tough on fuel efficiency, and we had some luck, so we were able to achieve four in a row. We had some cab troubles along the way, and it didn't go as planned, but by using the slipstream and maintaining fuel-efficient driving without slowing down, we got this result," he expressed his joy. On the other hand, "I couldn't avoid it because it spun right in front of me. Driver A, Mr. Yamamoto, was fast, so we were able to achieve this result, but it's still frustrating," said #88 Opera Super Performance.

After racing for 7 hours, 95 out of 97 teams received the checkered flag, including the team that recorded the most laps, during the 8th "K-TAI" where everyone enjoyed go-karting to the fullest for a day. It must have become a great memory of the summer of 2008. Let's meet again next year at Twin Ring Motegi!