This year, many teams will gather at Twin Ring Motegi! The "JOY TAI" endurance race, where teams can enjoy endurance racing with their own machines, will celebrate its 17th year in 2017, and the official qualifying will be held on July 1st (Sat).

The weather turned rainy from the morning, and the special sports driving in the morning was under wet conditions. By the time the first session of the official qualifying, A driver A group (Class 1, 2, 3, 4, FIT 1.5) started, the rain became stronger and it was a heavy wet start. The top time was marked here by #19 Shiooka SP Snoko ACRE Levin's player Shigenori Morikawa. The time was 2 minutes and 29 seconds and 150, which was 3 seconds and 380 away from the second place.

Following the A driver B group (Class 5, 6, 7, 8, 9), known for their large engine displacement, had fast lap times. The rain gradually weakened as time passed, making it difficult due to changing road conditions. In this session, #9 FSNS Potenza SPMWMFK's Hishito Goto marked a top time of 2 minutes and 22.269 seconds. In second place was #246 Garage Pierced DC5's Yuya Nakajima with a time of 2 minutes and 23.336 seconds, followed by #27 Chitchi Roadster's Yasuhiro Yoshida with a time of 2 minutes and 25.015 seconds in third place, and #18 Asano Automobile Prelude with a time of 2 minutes and 25.091 seconds in fourth place.

By the time B driver's run began, the rain had weakened and the road conditions had improved compared to A driver's session.

The top time in Group A for the B driver was marked by #6 Brain Express's Yosuke Morishita with a time of 2 minutes and 29.718 seconds. In second place was #1 Dijon Wako's BRP Nils with a time of 2 minutes and 30.497 seconds. In third place was #19 Shiooka SP Snoco ACR Levin's Masatoshi Shiooka with a time of 2 minutes and 31.134 seconds, followed by #62 Snoco SSRwmG/M FIT's Yuya Ota with a time of 2 minutes and 31.596 seconds.

And the B driver B group's run begins. Here, #9 FSNS Potenza SPMWMFK's Yasunori Nakajima marked 2 minutes 20.174 seconds and was at the top of the leaderboard, but #18 Asano Automobile Prelude's Masataka Inoue marked 2 minutes 19.986 in the final stages of the session and took the top spot. The official qualifying session has now ended.

The grid was determined by the combined time of drivers A and B, resulting in #9 FSNS Potenza SPMWMFK taking pole position for the first time in 2 years with a time of 4 minutes 42 seconds 443.
"In terms of the car, if there are no troubles, it has the potential to take pole position, but the wet conditions were difficult for the FR. However, it cleared the expected time and ran well in the rapidly changing conditions. If the race goes according to plan, I think we will have a good result," said C driver and team representative Hideaki Fukuda.

2nd place with the fastest time of 4 minutes 45 seconds 077 was marked by [#18 Asano Automobile Prelude], 3rd place with 4 minutes 50 seconds 169 was [#260 Honda Challenge FK2], 4th place with 4 minutes 50 seconds 938 was [#75 ACELINES137EG6], 5th place with 4 minutes 51 seconds 730 was [#58 Kobayashi Automobile W Max ☆ Wako's], 6th place with 4 minutes 52 seconds 415 was [#8 LUMIX Tarmac EDFD2], and 7th place with 4 minutes 53 seconds 828 was [#27 Chitchi Roadster], all closely following each other.

Sunday's weather forecast is cloudy with occasional rain. There is a rain mark around noon. The qualifying round was a competition of speed, but in the final round, the combination of fuel efficiency and speed is an absolute element in "JOY TAI". The 17th JOY TAI will start at 10:00 am on Sunday, July 2nd. Which team will be the first to receive the checkered flag!? Who will win the same amount of prize money as the opening 20th anniversary commemorative prize (overall 20th place)!?