The most important thing is to have fun! The endurance race, Motegi Enjoy Endurance Race "Joy TAI", which was designed with the concept of "enjoyment" in mind, gathered many entries and was held in 2019. The official qualifying on Saturday was held in wet conditions. On Sunday, although it had rained until the morning, the rain stopped by the time the cars lined up on the grid, and the intense sunlight poured through the clouds, causing the road surface to dry rapidly and the temperature to rise.

Divided into two groups, the race started as scheduled at 9:15 am with a rolling start. The pole position starter, [#75 ACELINES137EG], was the first to enter the first corner, followed by [#2 WAKO'S ED NILZ K DENTAL] from the outside. [#57 TOHO INTEC RACING DC5], [#82 POORMAN'S R☆LYA☆DC5], and [#6 VERSUS FIT] followed and cleared the second corner. On the opening lap, [#57 TOHO INTEC RACING DC5] was in the lead, followed by [#2 WAKO'S ED NILZ K DENTAL], and these two cars battled for the top spot in the early stages of the race.

After that, the fuel-efficient machine pulled the first stint and moved up in position. At the time of 1.5 hours after the start, [#7 VersusRacingFIT] was in the lead. [#29 Cusco Golf MinnMoFITED], [#78 SPM Komine Yoshizawa Process EP], [#317 Life+U Roadster], and [#111 AP☆MART Pop GEP82] followed, and none of them had made their first pit stop. After that, they all headed for the refueling area one after another, and the rankings continued to change.

At the 2-hour mark, the #75 ACELINES137EG, starting from pole position, was leading the race, but around the 2-hour 27-minute mark, they slowed down on the main straight. They had to stop due to a transmission issue. As the 3-hour mark approached, the #246 Yuki & Obocchama's DC5, which had been setting the fastest lap, stopped on the uphill section of the V-corner. Although it was on gravel, it was close to the track, so the safety car was deployed. This was the first time in 4 years for such an incident to occur in the Joy Tai. During this time, many teams also took the opportunity to refuel, causing some congestion in the refueling area.

When the safety car was released, [#78 SPM Komine Yoshizawa Process EP] rose to the top for the first time. [#129 Yomiuri Automobile University School μ Toshiyuki EP82] was in second place with a gap of 32.454 seconds, and Class 2 occupied the top two spots. After that, the rankings changed during pit stops, and the race entered its final stages.

With only 1 hour remaining, #57 Touwa Intec Racing DC5 was leading the race, but soon after they pitted. In their place, #48 Wako's ED Nils Racing took the lead, followed by #7 Versus Racing FIT in 2nd and #6 Versus FIT in 3rd, with Class FIT 1.5cc dominating the top positions. While #48 Wako's ED Nils Racing was in the lead, they were unable to keep up the pace and #7 Versus Racing FIT caught up with a significantly faster time. The gap between them was 12.459 seconds at the end of lap 130, but by the end of lap 131 it was 6.244 seconds and by the end of lap 132 it was only 0.723 seconds. On the 133rd lap, #7 Versus Racing FIT overtook #48 Wako's ED Nils Racing at the exit of turn 2 and took the lead. After that, #48 Wako's ED Nils Racing pitted and #6 Versus FIT moved up to 2nd place. In the final stint, driver Higotoshiya of #7 Versus Racing FIT put in a strong performance, setting the team's best time and maintaining the lead until the checkered flag. They completed 151 laps and took the victory. Last year's winner, #6 Versus FIT, finished in 2nd place, achieving a 1-2 finish for the Versus Racing Project.

"It's thanks to the team strength of Versus Racing, especially the strategy of Ebisawa and Iino, who can also be called the brains. It's also great to finish 1-2 with car #6," said Tetsuo Asano. "Luck was on our side as well. Especially when the safety car came out, we were able to relax and push at the end," commented Shigeto Oka right after the checkered flag.

At the 13-minute mark, the 【#188 KRac WM Levin】 rose to 1st place in Class 4 and the 【#81 Pop G Kuribara Tein EP82YH】 took 1st place in Class 3, finishing 3rd and 4th overall, respectively. The top finisher in Class 2 was the 【#129 Yomiuri Automobile University μ Toshiyuki EP82】, finishing 11th overall. The top finisher in Class 9 was the 【#57 Toyo Intec Racing DC5】, finishing 13th overall. The top finisher in Class 5 was the 【#77 WINIX ★ CIVIC】, finishing 17th overall. The top finisher in Class 6 was the 【#864 PULSE STAR'S DC5】, finishing 20th overall. The top finisher in Class 1 was the 【#69 FIT HYBRID H06】, finishing 30th overall. The top finisher in Class 8 was the 【#101 FWG Cosaric One NSX】, finishing 35th overall. The top finisher in Class 7 was the 【#82 Puamanz R ☆ Raia ☆ DC5】, finishing 49th overall.

The 19th JOY TAI resulted in victory for the #7 VersusRacingFIT, achieving 3 refuels during the fuel-efficient race. In order to aim for overall victory, fuel efficiency has become an increasingly important factor. We, the Twin Ring Motegi staff, are looking forward to seeing everyone's smiling faces at the 20th event in 2020 JOY TAI.