The 20th edition of the Joy Tai race was held. Despite the forecast of rain due to the approach of Typhoon No. 5, the race proceeded under dry conditions with a clear blue sky since morning. In the afternoon, the sky became cloudy, but the weather held up until the award ceremony, and many teams enjoyed the race while engaging in intense battles, making it a memorable Joy Tai after 2 years.

The race started at 9:15:14 AM as planned with a rolling start. First, the pole position holder [#375 TVC Sunako Juku M2CSR] took the lead as expected. Following behind were [#82 Puamanz R☆Rai☆DC5] and [#84 SEV・ADVAN・2-11], each running solo. Meanwhile, [#80 Motegi's Uncle and Daughters with Lumilumi], [#20 M-Racing S2000], and [#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] were in a three-way battle chasing after them.

An accident occurred at the 5th corner of the opening lap, where [#6 versus racing Urawa Kousan FIT] and [#19 Shioka SP Snoco ACRE Levin] collided and went off the course!
[#19 Shioka SP Snoco ACRE Levin] was able to return to the course, but [#6 versus racing Urawa Kousan FIT] retired. The team, which was considered a contender for victory, has already left the battle.

The #375 TVC Sunako Juku M2CSR quickly established a dominant position, but made its first pit stop in about 30 minutes. The #82 Poor Man's R☆Lia☆DC5 also entered the pit, with the more fuel-efficient class moving up to the front.

And at the point where an hour and a half had passed since the start, a car went off the course at the 4th corner and V-shaped corner, so the safety car was introduced. It was also the perfect time for refueling, so the refueling area was very crowded. The safety car procession was also long, so the pit road exit was not opening easily, and many teams lost time here, making a big difference depending on the timing.

After the 5 laps of safety car runs, the #14 K2 Racing Starlet took the lead. Then, the top position changed hands between the #986 Toyota Auto Department AE86 and the #75 Aceline's 137EG6 during pit stops.

And at the four-hour mark, the #5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2 was in the lead with 89 laps. The #75 ACELINE'S137EG6 was in second place, followed by the #63K+UPSEEKERMVFIT and the #95 Nikko WM FIT3, all on the same lap. However, at the four and a half hour mark, the #888 Select Hotels Group FIT took the lead, followed by the #7 versus racingFIT, the #63K+UPSEEKERMVFIT, and the #95 Nikko WM FIT3, with FIT teams dominating the top positions.

It seemed that the FIT forces would compete for the overall top spot, but [#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] also showed their determination and rose to the top when [#888 Select Hotels Group FIT] pitted on the 112th lap!
They kept the top spot for 11 laps and headed to the pit.

And with just 1 hour remaining, 【#888 Select Hotels Group FIT】 is in the lead. In second place is 【#63K+UPSEEKERMVFIT】, followed by 【#95 Nikko WM FIT3】 in third place, making the top 3 all FIT teams. In fourth place is the top Class 4 team, 【#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2】, followed by the top Class 5 team, 【#75 ACELINE'S137EG6】.

And at the 50-minute mark, [#888 Select Hotels Group FIT] makes its fourth pit stop and [#63K+UPSEEKERMVFIT] takes the lead for the first time on lap 134. Following closely behind is [#95 Nikko WM FIT3] in second place, with [#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] trailing by approximately 19 seconds.

[#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] is about 5 seconds faster per lap than [#95 Nikko WM FIT3]. At the end of 137 laps, the gap was reduced to 6.410 seconds, and at 138 laps, it was 2.959 seconds. In the 139th lap, [#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] rose to second place. With 33 minutes remaining, the gap to the leader [#63 K+UPSEEKERMVFIT] was 37.588 seconds. [#63 K+UPSEEKERMVFIT] was in the 2 minutes 29 seconds range, while [#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] was in the 2 minutes 23 seconds range. With 30 minutes remaining, the gap was reduced to about 31 seconds, but [#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] had to pit for the final driver change, dropping to 4th place. In its place, [#95 Nikko WM FIT3] rose to 2nd place, with [#75 ACELINE'S 137EG6] in 3rd place.

With 20 minutes remaining, the third place car [#75 ACELINE'S137EG6] and fourth place car [#5 POTENZA WAKO'S MART MR2] showed their best performance and made a final push. With less than 7 minutes remaining, [#75 ACELINE'S137EG6] overtook [#95 Nikko WM FIT3] to move up to second place.

The #63K+UPSEEKERMVFIT, which ran at the top, showed a stable speed and crossed the checker flag. It was the first to complete 154 laps.
"Since everyone was a winner in the 1.5 Challenge Cup, everyone was fast and we were able to adjust the fuel consumption well. I think it was also a factor in our victory that we didn't lose time by only changing drivers during the safety car period," said D driver Ken Kaneko, supervised by player Yoshihiko Nakamura.

Second place overall was taken by [#75 ACELINE'S137EG6], who also won Class 5. In third place overall was [#95 Nikko WM FIT3], followed by [#38 Oil Soba Kasugatei Racing Team] who made a comeback in the final stages of the race. In fourth place overall was another FIT team, [#5 Potenza Wako's Mart MR2], who slowed down due to running out of gas near the end of the race, but still managed to win Class 4.

Class 3 winner, #32 Repli East Japan & RSF Stage, finished 8th overall. In Class 2, #14 K2 Racing Starlet and #78 SPM Comine Process EP battled for the lead until the end of the race, but #78 SPM Comine Process EP ran out of gas and slowed down. #14 K2 Racing Starlet took the lead and finished 9th overall, winning the class.

Class6 is in 21st place overall with [#246 Yuki & Obochama's DC5], Class8 is in 22nd place overall with [#101 FWG Cosaric One NSX], Class1 is in 39th place overall with [#29 TNS FIT4 e:HEV], Class9 is in 48th place overall with [#82 Puamanz R☆Rai☆DC5], and Class10 is in 49th place overall with [#375 TVC Sunagojuku M2CSR] achieving class victory.

Thanks to the cooperation of all the participants, we were able to successfully finish the Joy Tai after 2 years. Let's enjoy the Joy Tai again next year!