The 16th Motegi KART endurance festival "K-TAI". This year, the Enjoy class will be held on the weekend of the last week of August. There were concerns about the weather due to the approaching typhoon, but the rain that fell overnight stopped by morning, and by the time the briefing began, blue skies were visible through the clouds. As the 123 karts lined up on the grid and prepared to start, the sun illuminated the asphalt, and the temperature began to rise. After that, the sky became cloudy, and compared to previous years, the lingering summer heat was not severe, creating comfortable conditions for the 2016 "K-TAI".

The "K-TAI" started with a rolling start divided into two groups. First, the team that drew the pole position, [#129 Yomiuri Automobile College], entered the first corner ahead, followed by [#66 New Chitose Motorland Manual], [#28 Challenge Team Bear], [#82 Racing Team Obi], [#77 Auto Craft Fujii @ Endo AS], and [#68 E.R.O Racing]. In the second group, [#417 La Fiesta m.417] was the first to enter the first corner, chasing ahead. The team that returned first on the opening lap was [#919 AWA by Sugimura Juku], followed by [#30 Corolla New Ibaraki ~REON KIDS~2], [#174 Xanaduex], and [#129 Yomiuri Automobile College]. Right after the start, there were machines spinning in various places, and after 20 minutes from the start, a machine stopped on the course, prompting the safety car to come out. Exactly one hour later, the safety car was deployed again for the same reason, leading to two instances of the safety car being introduced early in the race. Many teams took this opportunity to refuel, and the timing of this decision made a significant difference in their performance.

After two hours of settling down from the early chaos, [#20 Super Chips Dream] recorded 37 laps at the top. Following closely were [#72 Onigiri Racing], [#78 Super-jiji OMSC], and [#29 Rave RT Thursday Club], all on the same lap. However, by the time four hours had passed, after the halfway point, [#29 Rave RT Thursday Club] took the lead with 75 laps. This was followed by [#20 Super Chips Dream], [#38 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS], and [#15 Bomber Racing r-kart], all on the same lap, with four teams being filtered out. As the remaining hour approached, it narrowed down to [#38 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS] and [#29 Rave RT Thursday Club].

With 45 minutes remaining, the top runner, #38 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS, made their 8th pit stop. This allowed #29 Revue RT Thursday Club to take the lead, but with 33 minutes left, they made their 9th pit stop. Once again, #38 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS took the lead and completed 132 laps to achieve the top checker.
"I believe this top checker was earned through the efforts of the entire team. From the public practice, we saw that Revue RT Thursday Club was running at a fast pace, so we aimed for the top as challengers. To achieve that, we needed to complete 134 laps, so we focused on speed and fuel efficiency. Considering that the safety car came in twice, I think we achieved our goal. I will say it again, this is the result of everyone's hard work in the team," said team representative, Mr. Wagatsuma.

Unfortunately, while finishing second, #29 RAVE RT Thursday Club received the award for the most laps completed on the same lap, having entered the pit with 30 minutes remaining, which was according to their fuel consumption plan. However, they had received a 60-second penalty stop due to a jump start at the beginning. It's a hypothetical situation, but without this penalty, they might have crossed the finish line first, which is part of the excitement of race events. In 2016, the K-TAI award for the most laps completed resulted in two teams recording 132 laps.

The second place for the Excellent Lap Count Award recorded 131 laps. Remarkably, there were 8 teams, and the first to receive the checkered flag was #20 Super Chips Dream. #20 Super Chips Dream had a tough fuel economy and planned to pit 10 times as scheduled. With their speed, if they had improved their fuel efficiency, they could have aimed for an even higher position. Close behind were #36 K-E POWER WORKS and #174 Xanaduex, separated by a narrow margin.

The MVP was awarded to three teams that participated and enjoyed "K-TAI" and helped to liven up the event: [#318 Cyber Formula Sugo], [#319 Cyber Formula Aoi], [#320 Cyber Formula Union].

The upcoming 2017 "K-TAI" will be the 20th anniversary event of Twin Ring Motegi. Everyone, please join us!