The JOY TAI, which was first held in 2001, was supposed to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was cancelled. Therefore, the 2021 JOY TAI will be the commemorative 20th event.

The "JOY TAI Challenge" was born to make it easier for people to enjoy the JOY TAI, which was revived after 2 years!
It consists of qualifying and a 3-hour endurance race on Saturday with numbered vehicles. 13 cars entered the first ever JOY TAI Challenge.

In the qualifying round, #23 ASM JOY TAI ND5 driver Hiroki Ishigaki took pole position with an overwhelming speed, leading by more than 5 seconds. Following were #16 Adrenalin Roadster, #20 Ken Auto Moty's☆ND5, #128 JiN Roadster, and #84 West Hill ND5 Roadster, with Roadsters lining up. From 6th place, #24 LOTAS CLUB Vitz and other Vitz drivers followed.

On Saturday, the blue sky spread from the morning and was hit by the heat of midsummer from the morning. And the qualifying for JOY TAI begins. First, it's the time attack for Class 1, 2, 3, and FIT 1.5 A drivers. The top time was marked by #63 K+UPSEEKERMVFIT's Kunio Haga with a record of 2 minutes 21 seconds 888, the only one to enter the 2 minutes 21 seconds range. Koji Kashiwakura, the top in Class 3, came in second with 2 minutes 22 seconds 111 in #81 Pop G Kuribara Auto EP82DL.

In the sessions for Class 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 A drivers, #375 TVC Sunako Juku M2CSR's Yuji Takahashi marked a time of 2 minutes and 11.796 seconds. He showed off the speed unique to Class 10. Masato Kanaoka from #20 M-Racing S2000 took second place with a time of 2 minutes and 12.879 seconds, while #84 SEV・ADVAN・2-11's Morio Wakabayashi, who set a course record for Class 4 with a time of 2 minutes and 13.354 seconds, followed in third place.

In the Class 1･2･3･FIT 1.5 B driver session, #63 K+UPSEEKERMVFIT's Ryohei Yasui updated the team's best time to 2 minutes 21.637 seconds. He was undoubtedly the top in FIT 1.5. In second place was #60 G/M☆SSR Snoco WMFIT's Takumi Kuroiwa with a time of 2 minutes 23.536 seconds, followed by Class 3's #81 Pop G Kuribara Auto EP82DL's Shigeo Takenoya with a time of 2 minutes 23.640 seconds.

And in the sessions for Class 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 B drivers, Class 9's [#82 PUTOmanzR☆Rider☆DC5] rider Kyosuke Inomata took the top spot on the leaderboard with a time of 2:14.162. [#375 TVC Sunako Juku M2CSR] rider Tamotsu Kondo came in second with a time of 2:15.152, but with the combined time, [#375 TVC Sunako Juku M2CSR] secured the pole position.

"I was able to achieve my personal best in the qualifying round and things have been going smoothly so far. Since it's a long 7-hour race, I just want to escape from the start," said A driver Hiroshi Takahashi. "Thanks to Takahashi, I was able to secure the pole position. It's been 2 years since the last race, but it's fun to race with everyone," said B driver Yasushi Kondo.

[#82 PUTOman's R☆LIA☆DC5] starts from 2nd grid. [#20 M-Racing S2000] had a drive system trouble with driver Tsuyoshi Funano, but managed to secure 3rd grid with the time recorded before stopping the car on the home straight. 4th grid goes to [#80 PUTOgi's Uncle and Daughters and LUMILUMI], followed by 5th grid [#84 SEV・ADVAN・2-11] as the top of the class in qualifying results.

The top of FIT 1.5 is #63 K+UPSEEKERMVFIT in 19th place. #6 versus racing Urawa Kogyo FIT, which won the 2019 JOY TAI, will start from 21st on the grid.

And in the afternoon, the first ever Mote gi Joy TAI Challenge final will be held!
At 1:55 PM, the formation lap will begin as scheduled, and at 1:59:44 PM, the race will start with a rolling start, aiming to reach the finish line three hours later.

After showing speed from the qualifying round, [#23 ASM JOY ND5] quickly established a dominant position at the top. Behind them, [#16 Adrenalin Roadster], [#20 Ken Auto Moty's☆ND5], and [#128 JiN Roadster #128] battled it out for the top spot in the Roadster class.

Refueling is only once for most teams due to the length of 3 hours. Many teams refueled around the halfway point at 1 hour and 30 minutes. Even the top team, #23 ASM JOY ND5, headed to the refueling area after 1 hour and 29 minutes.

Even in the final stages of the race, the solo run of [#23 ASM JOY TAI ND5] remains unchanged.
In second place was [#16 Adrenalin Roadster], the top Roadster class.

In the back, [#6 KYC Wako's Hirovitz] from the Vitz class entered the pit, and at the remaining 20 minutes, [#628 Inafoto & Team Lavitz] rose to the top. [#6 KYC Wako's Hirovitz] wanted to catch up again, but received a 30-second penalty stop for running outside the track.

And at the 10-minute mark, [#16 Adrenalin Roadster] makes its second pit stop. It returns to the course while still in first place. [#20 Ken Auto Moty's☆ND5], which was running in second place in the Roadster class, unfortunately runs out of gas with only 2 minutes left until the finish line, resulting in a disappointing retirement.

The #23 ASM joy ND5, which ran at the top, marked the fastest lap with 2 laps remaining. It ran for 3 hours at a stable speed and finished at the top. It also won the All Other class.
"I took the A license to participate in the Joy TAI Challenge and made my racing debut. We were at the top, but we had a comfortable lead. I just did what I was told," said B driver Sato.

The next to cross the finish line was the #16 Adrenalin Roadster, which completed 67 laps. It achieved victory in the Roadster class.
"In the beginning, I was overtaken, but I kept my distance and watched the situation while driving. I was calculating my fuel consumption accurately, so I wasn't worried and was able to complete 67 laps as planned. My math skills came in handy," it seems that being able to grasp the fuel consumption firmly was a big factor.

【#628 Inafoto & Team Lovitz】 won the Vitz class by finishing 5th overall.
"We participated in the Vitz race with members who were encouraged by Inagaki's voice. We knew everything about the Vitz, so we knew that fuel efficiency would not be a problem after refueling once. We were able to maintain a 40-second gap with the front, and we knew we would have to pit in again, so we thought we could overtake and win with our experience and teamwork."