BOON! Companion! wins first place in "Mote tai" with 600cc!

The "Mote Endurance Masters" final race, which is competed by selected riders who hold the Twin Ring Motegi Super License, was held on August 22 (Sat). The rain that had been falling until morning stopped by the time the free practice began, and by the time each team arrived at the grid, the road surface had become dry conditions.

The #24 2Rinkan RT & DFR, who showed a great start from the third grid, took the holeshot, followed by #67 Riding Sports & Fire, starting from pole position, #10 WITH ME RACING, #95 BOON! Companion!, and #19 Hamamatsu Ebisu M, FCB & RC30, clearing the second corner. Behind them, rider Toru Ukawa from #30 RC30 & BLUE EYES, who started from the 15th grid, caught up and returned in second place on the opening lap. On the second lap, he rose to the top and led the race. "At first, I wanted to show a good performance, so I wanted to be in the lead on the opening lap," said Ukawa. Despite being a 1987 VFR750R RC30, he pulled away from the many liter-class super sports and ran at the top. He showed the skills of a former MotoGP rider. In second place was #10 WITH ME RACING, followed by #95 BOON! Companion!.

After one hour, most teams pit in for refueling. Last year's winning team, #135 Tras & elf Racing, took the lead after running for 1 hour and 10 minutes with good fuel efficiency. It seemed like a repeat of 2008, but they dropped down in the rankings due to mechanical trouble in the middle of the race.

In the afternoon, the sun came out and the temperature rose even further. Perhaps due to this heat, after about 4 and a half hours, a machine crashed at the S-curve and remained on the track, leading to the introduction of the safety car and a full course caution. At this point, the temperature was 36 degrees and the road surface temperature was 51 degrees, creating a typical summer endurance race climate.

【#10 WITH ME RACING】 and 【#2 2Rinkan R.T】 as well as other top teams competing for the top spot experienced trouble and dropped in rankings. From the middle of the race, the battle for the top spot narrowed down to two teams: 【#37 Freeway + Aprilia】 and 【#95 BOON! Companion!】.

At the remaining 50 minutes, [#95 BOON! Companion!] makes its final routine pit stop. During this time, [#37 Freeway + Aprilia] takes the lead again.

At the point when #95 BOON! Companion! pitted out, there was a gap of about 28 seconds between them and the top runner, #37 Freeway + Aprilia. However, on the third lap after pitting out, #95 BOON! Companion! was able to enter the 2 minute 03 second range and quickly closed the gap to retake the lead. From then on, #95 BOON! Companion! consistently ran in the 2 minute 02 to 03 second range, pulling away from #37 Freeway + Aprilia and crossing the finish line first. With 183 laps completed, #95 BOON! Companion! became the "Mote Tai Masters" champion. "We didn't have any strategy at all. It was just a matter of returning to the pit when the fuel light started flashing," said player Takahito Ueda.

On the other hand, the battle for third place came to a dramatic end. With 30 minutes remaining, 【#30 RC30＆BLUE EYES】 in third place pitted. 【#12 Reality MP Yajima RT】 moved up to third place, with 【#2 2Rinkan R.T】 chasing in fourth. With two laps remaining, the gap between 【#12 Reality MP Yajima RT】 and 【#2 2Rinkan R.T】 was about 12 seconds, but on the final lap, that gap had narrowed to 6 seconds. Thinking "Could that be #12 in front of me?" rider Nobuyuki Okada picked up the pace. On the downhill straight, he caught up to their tail and entered the inside of the 90-degree corner, moving up to third place. After 7 hours, 【#2 2Rinkan R.T】 claimed third place on the podium.