This year marked the 16th edition of the 2016 Motegi Enjoy Endurance Race "Joy Tai". In the morning, the cloudy sky typical of the rainy season hung over, and although there were occasional showers, it did not rain heavily and the grid walk began in dry conditions.

90 machines lined up on the grid by hand for the final race, the opening ceremony will be announced by the Twin Ring Motegi Angel, and the director Hidetoshi Saito will give a greeting, followed by the announcement of the teams lined up on the grid. Once that is finished, it will be time for the formation lap.

Here, on this day, the first accident occurs. At the timing of the formation lap start, the engine of the pole position [#531 Blaze ADVAN Impreza] does not start, and other cars pass by. Eventually, the engine catches fire and joins the formation lap, but it starts from a significantly lower position.

Divided into two groups, 90 machines aim for the goal 7 hours ahead and enter the first corner all at once with a rolling start. The first to enter the first corner was the second grid [#18 Asano Automobile Prelude]. This was followed by [#9 FSNS Potenza SPMWMFK], [#57 Toyo Intec Racing DC5], [#27 Chichi Roadster], [#1 DIJON Wako's ED Nils], and [#84 SEV･ADVAN･Elise]. After that, [#57 Toyo Intec Racing DC5] and [#9 FSNS Potenza SPMWMFK] took turns leading the race.

The weather has become hot and humid like a subtropical region, with blue sky peeking through the clouds. While some machines experienced troubles, there were also teams that were able to restart quickly thanks to the swift movements of the officials. If a machine cannot move, it can be towed back to the paddock from the service road, and if it can be repaired, the race can continue - a unique feature of "JOY TAI".

As time passes, each team's strategy becomes clear. Not only speed, but also teams with good fuel efficiency are gradually moving up in position. Among them were [#813 JWAVE Kanto Mazda RSBS] and [#6 Versus Racing WARE HOUSE FIT3], but [#53 Garage FK☆SPM☆Vitz] with outstanding fuel efficiency took the lead with 1 hour remaining and maintained that position. They quickly finished their pit work, including refueling, and pulled away from the rest of the pack. Then, with 36 minutes remaining, they made their final driver change and returned to the track in first place.

In the back, there was a fierce battle for second place. From behind the second place runner, #813 JWAVE Kanto Mazda RSBS, #27 Chitchi Roadster was approaching at a high pace. While #813 JWAVE Kanto Mazda RSBS was updating their best lap and desperately trying to escape, #27 Chitchi Roadster had a faster pace and with 13 minutes and 149 laps remaining, they rose to second place at the V-shaped corner exit. Perhaps the strain of this battle took its toll, as #813 JWAVE Kanto Mazda RSBS unfortunately had to stop just before the checkered flag. They were unable to receive the checkered flag.

The #53 Garage FK☆SPM☆Vitz, which ran at the top, showed a stable run until the end and completed 155 laps to achieve its first victory.
"The reason for the victory was that everything went according to plan. We were able to improve our fuel efficiency compared to last year, and each driver did not make any mistakes. It was also as planned to leave the driver change until the end. Thank you very much to everyone who supported us," said Takumi Kaneko, the driver.

In second place was #27 Chitchi Roadster, with a gap of 39.154 seconds from the top. In third place was #6 Versus Racing WARE HOUSE FIT3, and in fourth place was #9 FSNS Potenza SPMWMFK, both completing 154 laps.

The 2016 "JOY TAI" was the first time that no safety car was used. This may have been a factor in not disrupting the strategy for #53 Garage FK☆SPM☆Vitz. In its 12th year, "JOY TAI" finally achieved overall victory.