The 21st "Mote tai" has finally begun. On August 25 (Sat), the official qualifying started at 8 AM, divided into three groups: A, B, and C, competing based on the combined times of the first and second riders. Twin Ring Motegi, under clear skies since morning, saw temperatures rise. It was a time attack in the harsh lingering summer heat.

The A group for the WT class and Brave class showed speed as expected. In the first rider session, Masaki Sasaki from #35 GO&FUN TeamKYOEI C team clocked a time of 2 minutes 15.135 seconds, taking the top spot, followed closely by Katsuya Nagano from #12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi store with 2 minutes 15.182 seconds, and Satoshi Igarashi from #11 BLUE EYES & DREAM Kashiwa with 2 minutes 15.487 seconds. In the subsequent second rider session, Kazuki Tomita from #103 NMC×ATJ -Racing marked a course record of 2 minutes 14.222 seconds! His combined time was 4 minutes 32.168 seconds, securing pole position. "I (Nobumichi Tomita) handled the machine setup based on my experience as the first rider, and we decided the direction with Kazuki Tomita, who has a good sense as a rider. I wanted to get into the 2 minutes 15 seconds range as well, but I couldn't improve my time as much as I thought. I'm glad we could secure pole position. Actually, the main contender is #30, which has excellent overall balance, so we want to aim for a 1-2 finish as a team," said Nobumichi Tomita. Naohiro Nakatsuhara, who is competing in the All Japan JSB1000 class, is the third rider and marked a time in the 2 minutes 15 seconds range during free practice. The #30 ATJ-Racing, which Tomita considers the main contender, marked the top time in the WS class and will start from the 14th grid. Will it be a victory for the first time in 5 years since 2013!?

In 2nd place is the top of the Brave class, [#12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi Store], in 3rd place is [#11 BLUE EYES & DREAM Kashiwa], in 4th place is [#35 GO&FUN Team KYOEI C Team], in 5th place is [#1 YSS Racing x MGR Racing Service], in 6th place is [#32 TEAM SANMEI], in 7th place is [#33 GO&FUN Team KYOEI B Team], in 8th place is [#14 DOGFIGHT RACING], in 9th place is [#21 NR Project & Gamu Chodai], and in 10th place is [#6 Pyu Pyu Electrical Construction], making up the top 10. While this is the ranking in terms of speed, speed alone cannot win in 'Mote tai (Mote endurance)'. What kind of drama awaits in the 21st 'Mote tai'!?

The Saturday final race contested by teams that unfortunately could not advance to the 7-hour endurance race on Sunday. It started at 14:15, aiming for the checkered flag after 4 hours and 3 minutes. The pole position starter, #18 LUCKY MONDAY, took the holeshot, followed by #117 PEAKY1 LEVEL5, #36 Onoue Service, #52 y-style, #184 Takenoko Tribe, and #69 Riding School SRTT&Yokohama SAKE SPOT. The #65 Dan Run Club RT, starting from the second grid, fell behind at the start and came out of the second corner in seventh place. #18 LUCKY MONDAY, actively increasing the pace from the opening lap, entered the second lap still in the lead. #65 Dan Run Club RT, which had risen to second place, was chasing. At one point, the gap had narrowed, but #18 LUCKY MONDAY pulled away and established a solo lead. Behind them, #69 Riding School SRTT&Yokohama SAKE SPOT, #36 Onoue Service, and #117 PEAKY1 LEVEL5 were engaged in a three-way battle for third place.

It seemed that #18 LUCKY MONDAY would continue to lead, but #117 PEAKY1 LEVEL5 gradually closed the gap. As stated after the race, they "focused on fuel-efficient driving without increasing the pace," consistently completing laps. At the 2-hour mark, the gap between the leader #18 LUCKY MONDAY and 2nd place #117 PEAKY1 LEVEL5 was about one lap, but in the last hour, the positions reversed. The timing of the pit stops changed their rankings, but when #18 LUCKY MONDAY completed its final pit stop, the gap was about 20 seconds. #117 PEAKY1 LEVEL5 was leading, with #18 LUCKY MONDAY in pursuit. Just 5 minutes before the end, it started to rain, but #117 PEAKY1 LEVEL5 managed to hold on and won the Saturday final race. #18 LUCKY MONDAY finished in 2nd place, 2.794 seconds behind. #65 Dan Run Club RT came in 3rd.

The 7-hour race entry rights, which are granted to the overall winning team of the Saturday final race, have been transferred to the 2nd place team LUCKY MONDAY as the winner PEAKY1 LEVEL5 declined.