The 12th "Motegi KART Endurance Festival "K-TAI" started on July 21st (Sat). On this day, the final event of the Challenge 5-hour endurance race was held. The event started with the opening declaration by the Motegi Angels. Precautions were confirmed during the briefing. After that, the vehicles were prepared and the participants took their places on the grid. On the grid, the announcer and the Motegi Angels introduced each team one by one. The voltage rises as they head towards the start.

And all 34 teams enter the rolling lap according to schedule. As they approach the downhill straight and the 90-degree corner, the safety car pits in, the Japanese flag is waved, and the signal changes to green, signaling the start of the 5-hour endurance challenge! First, the pole position holder, [#4 ddd], shows an exquisite start dash and enters the first corner in the lead. Following behind are the 2nd grid [#87 Robot Racing Team R], 4th grid [#78 Team SYOTA], 3rd grid [#34 AWA by Sugimura Juku], 5th grid [#62 Power Technique System], 7th grid [#84 Team HKR], and 6th grid [#85 Team GPK by HKR].

The team that returned in first place on the opening lap was #78 Team SYOTA. They were in a dominating lead, leaving the rest of the field behind. #52 BLACK OUT R/T moved up to second place, followed by #62 Rikigaku System, #4 ddd, #84 Team HKR, and #34 AWAby Sugimura Juku, all passing the control line together. After that, #78 Team SYOTA continued to lead while #52 BLACK OUT R/T, who had broken away from the battle for second place, was chasing them down. However, #52 BLACK OUT R/T began to experience fuel issues and slowed down. Shortly after, #78 Team SYOTA, who had been leading, and others began to pit for fuel. #88 Team Douraku no Kai @ SILK took the lead, but #20 SuperChipsDream, who had been following closely behind, made their move and took the lead. They then set the fastest lap of 2 minutes and 33.493 seconds on the 7th lap and continued to lead the race! It seemed like they were on track to win the 15th Lap Award, but on the 14th lap, #20 SuperChipsDream pitted. During this time, #21 Ora Racing took the lead and won the 15th Lap Award.

On this day, the intense heat subsided and the conditions were cool. The drivers controlling the machines, tires, and karts seemed to have some extra room to breathe, as there was no need for a safety car and each team continued to complete laps.

At the two-hour mark, [#510 ReonSuperKids-1] was leading, with six teams following on the same lap, making the outcome of the Most Laps Award chaotic. However, by the four-hour mark, the leaders had narrowed down to [#4 ddd] and [#21 We Are Racing], both having completed 81 laps. Afterwards, [#4 ddd] showed a high-paced and stable performance, surged into the sole lead, and maintained that position until the checkered flag. [#4 ddd] completed 102 laps and won the Most Laps Award.
“Fortunately, we were able to secure pole position, and since it was cool, the engine had some extra capacity. However, since everyone had the same cool conditions, the most important factor was the tires. I would say that the perfect tire choice and fit was the key to our victory. The balance between speed and fuel efficiency worked well, and with no penalties or mistakes, the race unfolded according to our planned routine,” said Shirai from #4 ddd.

2nd place for the Excellent Lap Award went to 4 teams: [#20 SuperChipsDream], [#2 ReonSuperKids-2], [#510 ReonSuperKids-1], and [#21 We Are Racing], with a record of 101 laps. 3rd place for the Excellent Lap Award went to [#22 A1-RACING] and [#33 Gulf kid's IKB], with a record of 100 laps.

And the MVP was awarded to #78 Team SYOTA. They completed all procedures flawlessly without any penalties, finished the race, entered with parent and child drivers, and participated with a large team of drivers and pit crew, fully enjoying the K-TAI. These were the reasons for their selection.
By the way, A driver Shota Tokiwa was 15 years old, the same age as at Twin Ring Motegi.