Twin Ring Motegi will celebrate its 20th anniversary on August 1 (Tue). Along with the history of Twin Ring Motegi, there is 'Mote tai (Mote endurance)'. In 2017, it will be held over two days on August 26 (Sat) and 27 (Sun) with an 11-hour endurance race, and the time attack qualifying and 3-hour qualifying race to advance to the finals will take place on July 9 (Sun). On that day, although there was no declaration of the end of the rainy season, we were faced with severe heat as if it were the actual event.

A total of 77 out of 96 participating vehicles can advance to the finals. Among them, there are 11 teams that are eligible for seeding and invited by the organizers, so 66 vehicles will be selected in the 3-hour qualifying race. The number of vehicles selected for the finals is determined by a ratio based on the number of entries in each class. Registered riders must be either 3 or 4, and at least 3 must participate in at least one run. Additionally, a single rider can run consecutively for a maximum of 30 minutes for international riders and 90 minutes for domestic riders, with a uniform pit stop duration of 2 minutes for refueling, which are the main rules of the qualifying race.

First, there was the time attack qualifying for Group A (WT, Brave, NST-R25) with the 1st place rider, and attention was focused on what kind of time the Honda CBR250RR, which has been making waves in races both domestically and internationally, would produce. As expected, #5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing's Motonori Kaizaki achieved a top time of 2 minutes 15.292. In 2nd place was Katsuya Nagano from the Brave class #12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi with a time of 2 minutes 15.678, but 7 out of the top 10 were occupied by the Honda CBR250RR. In the following session for the 2nd place rider, Tetsuya Usui from #102 RIDERS CLUB RT, who won the recent MFJ CUP JP250 Motegi round, set a course record of 2 minutes 15.165. In 2nd place was Shinsuke Kawada from the Brave class #6 Pyupyu Densetsu A with a time of 2 minutes 16.335, but again, 6 out of the top 10 were occupied by the Honda CBR250RR, leading to expectations that they would dominate the top positions in the 3-hour qualifying race.

The starting grid is determined by the combined times of Rider 1 and Rider 2, with [#5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing] taking pole position. In second place is [#090 Teruru MotoUP Racing], third is [#1 YSS Racing Bulldozer Tagos], who has won for two consecutive years, fourth is [#12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi], fifth is [#57 Vesla Racing with Seido Joshi], and sixth is [#11 BLUE EYES & DREAM Kashiwa].

Group B (NST-Ninja, NST-CBR, WS, AS, NST-VTR, NST-G301) had the first rider, Takahito Ueda from #31 31spec & G!trax, setting a top time of 2 minutes 20.875 seconds, but in the second rider, Takashi Moriyama from #30 Auto Technique Sports surpassed Ueda's time with 2 minutes 20.036 seconds. However, in total time, #31 31spec & G!trax was faster and secured pole position, while #30 Auto Technique Sports took the second grid.

In the sweltering heat, the 3-hour qualifying race for Group A, featuring 50 vehicles, began with a Le Mans-style start. The first to take the lead at the start was #090 Teruru MotoUP Racing. Following closely were #1 YSS Racing Bulldozer Tagos, #5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing, #57 Vesla Racing with Seido Joshi, and #67 Riding Sports Fire A from the 7th grid. The one who returned first on the opening lap was #67 Riding Sports Fire A. International Rider Shun Kamei showcased impressive speed, but shortly after, he encountered shifting troubles and fell behind. Taking the lead instead was #5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing, but behind them, #12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi quickly moved forward. They led the race, marking the fastest lap on the 20th lap. About 1 hour and 10 minutes into the race, they pitted. Once again, #5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing took the lead, but #090 Teruru MotoUP Racing, consistently lapping at a high pace of around 2 minutes and 16 seconds, took the top position and completed the 3-hour race to the checkered flag. The Honda CBR250RR showed its speed. "The young riders ran at a good pace on the machine I prepared in advance. I was ready in my racing suit to step in if needed, but I was able to watch with peace of mind. For the main event, I plan to come up with various strategies," said Kenta Fujii, who was registered as a rider but did not race this time.

In 2nd place was #57 Vesla Racing with Braking Girls, but they experienced symptoms of running out of gas just before the end and fell back. #1 YSS Racing Bull Dock Tagos finished in 2nd place, and #5 Team KYOEI & STRIKER Racing finished in 3rd place. #57 Vesla Racing with Braking Girls ended up in 4th place.

The 3-hour qualifying race for Group B, with 46 cars participating, started at 3 PM. From the pole position, #31 31spec & G!trax took the inside line and grabbed the holeshot, followed by #30 Auto Technique Sports, #55 APP RISE + Akuzawa Automobile, #080 Teruru MotoUP Racing, #79 Shonan FRP & Racing Garage STR, and #35 Yoshi, it's a meeting! fineracing. The opening lap was won by #30 Auto Technique Sports, who built a solo lead, pulling away from the rest of the pack. #30 Auto Technique Sports showed incredible fuel efficiency, running for about an hour and a half, seemingly solidifying their top position. However, as the race approached the one-hour mark, their pace slowed. In contrast, #31 31spec & G!trax, while recording the fastest lap, closed in and overtook #30 Auto Technique Sports to take the lead. However, at the timing of their pit stop, #30 Auto Technique Sports reclaimed the top position and received the checkered flag. "The tires were thinner compared to others, so I was unsure whether to change them or not, but I think it was good to keep going as is. I wanted to receive the checkered flag in first place, so I believe that decision made the difference in the outcome," said driver Nobumichi Tomita. Meanwhile, Takahito Ueda, who finished in 2nd place with #31 31spec & G!trax, commented, "I think we could have gone without refueling, but since it was a qualifying race, we couldn't take any risks here," looking ahead to the 11-hour endurance race.

3rd place was [#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing], 4th place was [#26 Maserati Makuhari & Fire], 5th place was [#99 PRT TOPS with YSS & Sniper A], 6th place was [#131 Presto-NP-Wiz-K], and 7th place was [#22 Go for it, Soichi!? Nakamura Engine Research Institute].

As a result, 77 cars have been decided to advance to the 11-hour endurance race. Good data should have been collected in preparation for the Mote tai event on August 26 (Sat) and 27 (Sun). It was a scorching 3-hour qualifying race, but since the main event is also expected to be hot, I hope everyone takes proper measures against heatstroke!