NST-CBR's [#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing] wins 11-hour endurance race!

The second day of the 2017 Motegi Open 11-hour endurance road race. On August 27 (Sun), although there was sunshine in the morning, by the time of the restart, the sky was covered with clouds. The temperature and humidity were lower than the previous day, making it more comfortable for riders and staff.

As scheduled, the intervention will end at 8:15 am and the vehicles will be released. Teams that need to make changes to their machine setup, tires, brake pads, or repairs will begin working in front of the pit. They will line up on the grid based on their position from the previous day's KOCHIRA flag, and the safety car run will start at 8:30 am to resume the race. After 3 laps of the safety car run, the green signal will light up and the race will officially resume.

On the previous day, the team 【#090 Teruru MotoUP Racing】 who was in the lead, pitted early. In their place, their teammate 【#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing】 took the lead, but then 【#11 BLUE EYES & DREAM Kashiwa】 caught up with a high pace and took the lead. After that, an hour and a half had passed since the restart, and about 6 hours had passed since the start of the race. During this time, 【#5 Team KYOEI & STRIKER Racing】's rider, Toshimitsu Nakazawa, who had been running at a high pace while conserving fuel, took the lead. 【#1 YSS Racing Bulldock Tagos】, who had also been running a long stint, also moved up in position. 【#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing】 and 【#15 WIN-RF】 were also following closely in the same lap as the leaders.

After noon, the sun shines through the clouds and the temperature rises. The road surface temperature also increases. As the race approaches the final 3 hours, the teams have been running for over 8 hours, entering uncharted territory in terms of "Mote tai" endurance. There have been machine troubles and crashes, but the race continues without the safety car coming out. #5 Team KYOEI & STRIKER Racing had some trouble and dropped in position, but #31 31Spec & G!trax, who were leading in the NST-Ninja, have been able to move up in position.

As the race enters its final stages, [#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing] extends its lead and [#1 YSS Racing Bulldocka Tagos] begins to catch up. Both teams had said they didn't have enough fuel, but while [#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing] carried out their pit work as planned, [#1 YSS Racing Bulldocka Tagos] had to refuel one more time than planned, resulting in the outcome of the race being decided here. Furthermore, [#090 Teruru MotoUP Racing] catches up at a high pace in the final stint and overtakes [#1 YSS Racing Bulldocka Tagos] to move up to second place.

The 【#080 Teruru MotoUP Racing】 that ran at the top showed a stable riding and completed 262 laps, and then the checker. They won the 11-hour endurance race for the first time in "Mote tai" history. "We could register 6 people, but only 4 people participated. Among them, there were 2 international license riders, so the 2 domestic license riders did their best. Nakamura also ran at a good pace, and Nakadai, Watanabe, and Yoshino all did their best, but the fact that there were no troubles was the most important," said Director Sugawara.

Second place was taken by [#090 Teruru MotoUP Racing], with [Teruru MotoUP Racing] securing a 1-2 finish. [#1 YSS Racing Bulldockertagoss], aiming for a third consecutive victory, finished in a disappointing third place. Second and third place both recorded 261 laps. Fourth place was [#15 WIN-RF], followed by [#31 31Spec & G!trax] in fifth place with 260 laps.

In terms of speed, the Honda CBR250RR, which debuted this year, was overwhelming. However, there was a significant difference in pit stop times for refueling, resulting in the single-cylinder Honda CBR250R winning the 11-hour endurance race. The 20th "Mote tai" race proved that speed alone is not enough to win, making it a race that can be considered one of the four major endurance races at Motegi.

The weather was also good, and although it rained a little during the official qualifying on Saturday, the road conditions were stable after the race started, and I think many of the entrants were able to enjoy the "Mote tai". We will aim for an even more enjoyable "Mote tai" for everyone next year. Let's meet again at the 21st "Mote tai".