
Following Saturday, July 22nd (Sun) also became cloudy at Twin Ring Motegi. The temperature only rose to about 25 degrees, making it a comfortable condition. For the Enjoy 7-Hour Endurance, 101 teams lined up on the grid and the announcer and Motegi Angel introduced each team from the back of the grid. The moment of the start is approaching every moment.
And the two groups started the rolling lap and started at 9:30 as planned. The leaders at the start were #89 FASTLUX@GEN, who got the pole position, and #3 Rosso@GEN, who started second and pulled away, entering the first corner. Following them were #78 Team SYOTA, who won the MVP in the previous day's 5-hour endurance challenge, followed by #137 Sugiyama Racing & STAS, #20 ADVAN S.C Dream, #55 Tokyo Motorsports College A, and #555 TEAM Aman@GEN, all chasing the top two cars in a pack.
The team that returned to the home straight in first place on the opening lap was [#78 Team SYOTA]. Following them were [#20 ADVAN S.C Dream], [#3 Rosso@GEN], [#137 Sugiyama Racing & STAS], [#55 Tokyo Motorsports College A], and [#89 FASTLUX@GEN]. Later, [#20 ADVAN S.C Dream] took the lead and received the 15th Lap Award, which is given to the team that passes the 15th lap in first place and pulls away from the following teams.
In the back, there was a team that was chasing fiercely. It was #39 Espresso, which started from the 95th grid. Starting driver Seiji Kode, marked the best time of 2 minutes 43 seconds 536 on the 5th lap. Steadily improving their position, by the time 2 hours had passed, they had risen to 3rd place, one lap behind the leader. And by the time 4 hours had passed, they had finally risen to the top and continued to widen their lead. However, with 1 hour remaining, #37 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS was catching up and the gap between them and #39 Espresso was just over 17 seconds. Furthermore, by the end of 118 laps, the gap had narrowed to 14 seconds 033 and it seemed that #37 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS had the momentum. However, upon seeing this, #39 Espresso picked up the pace. It was a tough decision, as they did not have much fuel left. After that, #37 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS made their 7th pit stop. With this, #39 Espresso was able to comfortably maintain their lead and cross the finish line after 137 laps, winning the award for most laps completed.
"It was the result of everyone on the team working together. Starting from the 95th grid, it was quite challenging, but we discussed gradually improving our position and started the race. There were some minor troubles, but we were able to run consistently without any accidents, and the pit work was also crucial as all 6 members did their job without any mistakes. However, fuel consumption was tough. Especially in the last 2 and a half hours, we had to consider fuel consumption while driving," said Seiji Hata, driver of #39 Espresso.
In second place, #55 Tokyo Motorsports College A completed 136 laps. #2 Hayakoba Racing, #37 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS, and #62 Keep Light Racing also completed 136 laps, earning second place for the most laps completed. #38 TeamKRS-DAI&MKS and #77 Team SACHIKO completed 135 laps, receiving third place for the most laps completed.
The MVP award went to #57 Katz Racing R and #58 Katz Racing G, who have been promoting "K-TAI" through their blog and enjoying it with three generations of people from 20 to 61 years old. They flawlessly handled the reception and were awarded a Subaru engine as a prize. They were ecstatic and exclaimed, "We might even have a three-car team next year!"
This year, the four major endurance events at Motegi, including pit reports by Motegi Angels and team PR at the announcement seat, were also very popular. People of all ages and genders enjoyed the final event together. Before the finale ceremony, each team was given a non-alcoholic champagne and a champagne fight broke out!
Afterwards, each award was given and the MVP was announced. The 12th "K-TAI" came to an end in joy and celebration.