Twin Ring Motegi, which celebrates its 20th anniversary on August 1st (Tue). "Mote tai" has been walking with the history of Twin Ring Motegi. In 2017, the 11-hour endurance race will be held for two days on August 26th (Sat) and 27th (Sun), and the time attack qualifying and 3-hour qualifying race to advance to the final will be held on July 9th (Sun). On the day, although the rainy season has not yet been declared, it was hit by a severe heat like the actual race.

Out of the total number of 96 participating teams, only 77 teams can advance to the finals. Among them, there are 11 seeded teams and 11 teams invited by the organizers, leaving 66 teams to be selected through a 3-hour qualifying race. The number of teams selected for the finals is determined based on the number of entries for each class. Each team must have 3 or 4 riders, and at least 3 of them must participate in the race. Additionally, a rider can only have a continuous run time of 30 minutes for international riders and 90 minutes for domestic riders. Pit stops involving refueling have a standard stay time of 2 minutes, which is the main rule for the qualifying race.

First, there was a time attack qualifying session for Group A (WT, Brave, NST-R25) first rider, and all eyes were on the Honda CBR250RR, which has been making waves in domestic and international races, to see what time it would clock. As expected, #5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing's Kazunori Kaizaki set the top time of 2 minutes and 15.292 seconds. In second place was #12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi's Katsuya Nagano with a time of 2 minutes and 15.678 seconds, but the top 10 was dominated by 7 Honda CBR250RRs. In the following second rider session, #102 RIDERS CLUB RT's Tetsuya Usui, who won the MFJ CUP JP250 round at Motegi the other day, set a course record of 2 minutes and 15.165 seconds to take the top spot. In second place was #6 PIPIRA Electric A's Shinsuke Kawata with a time of 2 minutes and 16.335 seconds, but again, 6 of the top 10 were Honda CBR250RRs, leading to the expectation that they would dominate the top spots in the 3-hour qualifying race as well.

The starting grid is determined by the combined time of the first and second riders, with [#5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing] taking pole position. In second place is [#090 Teruru MotoUP Racing], followed by the two-time defending champions [#1 YSS Racing Bulldock Tagos] in third, [#12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi] in fourth, [#57 Vesra Racing with Braking Girls] in fifth, and [#11 BLUE EYES & DREAM Kashiwa] in sixth.

Group B (NST-Ninja, NST-CBR, WS, AS, NST-VTR, NST-G301) In the first rider, [#31 31spec & G!trax] player Takahito Ueda took the top spot with a time of 2 minutes 20 seconds 875, but in the second rider, [Auto Technic Sports] player Takafumi Moriyama surpassed Ueda's time with 2 minutes 20 seconds 036. However, in the total time, [#31 31spec & G!trax] was faster and secured the pole position. [Auto Technic Sports] took the second grid position.

In the sweltering heat, the 3-hour qualifying race for Group A, with 50 cars participating, began with a Le Mans-style start. First to take the lead at the start was [#090 Teruru MotoUP Racing]. Following closely behind were [#1 YSS Racing Bulldockatagoss], [#5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing], [#57 Besla Racing with Braking Girls], and [#67 Riding Sports Fire A] starting from the 7th grid. Returning to the top after the opening lap was [#67 Riding Sports Fire A]. International rider Shun Kamei showed his impressive speed, but soon after, he encountered a shifting problem and fell behind. Taking the lead in his place was [#5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing], but [#12 CLUB1.2FK Kushitani Kawaguchi] quickly caught up and took the lead. Leading the race, he marked the fastest lap on the 20th lap. He then pitted around 1 hour and 10 minutes into the race. Once again, [#5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing] took the lead, but [#090 Teruru MotoUP Racing] consistently ran in the 2 minute 16 second range and took the lead, ultimately finishing the 3-hour race and taking the checkered flag. The Honda CBR250RR showed its speed. "The young rider ran at a good pace on the machine I prepared beforehand. I was ready to go if anything happened, but I could watch with peace of mind. For the main event, I plan to come up with various strategies," said rider registration, but Keita Fujii did not race this time.

In second place, #57 Vesla Racing with Female Braking had been running, but suffered from fuel shortage and fell back. #1 YSS Racing Bulldog Takos finished in second place, while #5 TeamKYOEI & STRIKER Racing finished in third place. #57 Vesla Racing with Female Braking finished in fourth place.

And at 3 pm, the 3-hour qualifying race for the B group, with 46 cars participating, started. Starting from the pole position, 【#31 31spec & G!trax】 took the inside line and grabbed the holeshot, followed by 【#30 Autotechnicsports】, 【#55 APP RISE+Akuzawa Automobile】, 【#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing】, 【#79 Shonan FRP & Racing Garage STR】, and 【#35 Alright, it's a meeting! Fineracing】. The opening lap was won by 【#30 Autotechnicsports】. They pulled away from the rest of the pack and established a dominant lead. 【#30 Autotechnicsports】 showed incredible fuel efficiency and maintained their lead for about an hour and a half. However, with one hour remaining, their pace slowed down. On the other hand, 【#31 31spec & G!trax】 caught up and took the lead, recording the fastest lap in the process. However, during their pit stop, 【#30 Autotechnicsports】 regained the lead and crossed the finish line in first place. "We were debating whether to change the tires since they were thinner compared to others, but I think it was good that we were able to keep going. We wanted to cross the finish line in first place, so I think that decision made the difference in the outcome," said player Nobumichi Tomita. On the other hand, Takahito Ueda, who finished in second place with 【#31 31spec & G!trax】, commented, "I think we could have gone without refueling, but this is a qualifying race, so we can't push too hard." He was already looking ahead to the 11-hour endurance race.

3rd place was taken by [#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing], 4th place by [#26 Maserati Makuhari & Fire], 5th place by [#99 PRT TOPS with YSS & Sniper A], 6th place by [#131 Presto-NP-Wiz-K], and 7th place by [#22 Go for it, Sōichi!? Nakamura Engine Research Institute].

As a result, 77 cars were able to advance to the 11-hour endurance race. Good data should have been obtained for the main event of Mote Tai on August 26th (Sat) and 27th (Sun). The 3-hour qualifying race was scorching, but the main event is also expected to be hot, so please make sure to take measures against heat stroke!