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 Group 2 A driver session, #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 the conditions were surprisingly 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 our 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 was in 3rd place, the #4 Wako's DL Uetake IDI Trueno in B3 class was in 4th place, and the #18 Bambino Tsunetoyo Civic in B4 class followed in 5th place.

After the official qualifying and free practice for C and D drivers, the "JOY TAI" 3-hour endurance race will start at 14:30. In 2009, it 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, followed by [#80 Maeda Kogyo Roadster] and [#120 Michelin ☆☆☆ Nagata Levin].

Afterwards, the #10 Team Star Chi Roadster, led by the Kuribara brothers, 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, in the final stages of the race, the #30 Nishikawada Automobile & Mib Auto EK9, running in second place, received a penalty and the gap between them widened.
However, the #10 Team Star Chi Roadster, still in the lead, was also penalized 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 by then, the black flag had already been shown. With the #10 Team Star Chi Roadster out of the race, the #30 Nishikawada Automobile & Mib Auto EK9 took the lead and went on to win after completing 62 laps.
In second place was the #80 Maeda Kogyo REAL Roadster, and in third place was the #17 WITH ME Civic EG6, both of which made it to the podium.
The #10 Team Star Chi Roadster restarted with 1 minute remaining, but due to a 10-lap penalty, they finished in 5th place.