The 18th annual Motegi KART Endurance Festival "K-TAI" was held on August 5th (Sun). Under the cloudy sky at 7:30 am, over 500 karters gathered in the pit lane for the popular endurance event. Starting with a briefing, the event not only allowed participants to enjoy the pre-race excitement, but also included a grid walk for spectators and the traditional opening declaration by the Twin Ring Motegi Angels. The start time was welcomed in a lively atmosphere unique to "K-TAI" with the introduction of 122 teams.

Starting this year, the ranking certification method has changed, and priority is given to the vehicles that have completed the final lap by receiving the checkered flag on the control line (including the pit lane). In other words, the event has become more important for each team to receive the checkered flag after 7 hours. Indeed, the summer kart endurance "K-TAI" has become an event that tests the team's unity to complete the 7-hour race.

This entry has 11 cars in Class I and 111 cars in Class II, for a total of 122 cars (including 1 non-award car). After 9:30, the 122 cars passed the control line, aiming for the goal 7 hours later with a beautiful rolling start. The first car to dive into the first corner at the start was the pole position car, [#48 CLUB Ag ver.R]. Following were [#35 Power Cluster K3], [#80 OREGA RACING A @GEN], and [#202 Team TWICE☆KOTA No.2]. The car that won the opening lap was [#202 Team TWICE☆KOTA No.2]. Following were [#35 Power Cluster K3], [#58 MMRT Power Stage], and the top three teams formed a top group. Following were [#38 TeamKRS-DAI&&MKS], [#602 Cyber Formula Albatross DDT], [#48 CLUB Ag ver.R], [#80 OREGA RACING A @GEN], [#204 More Collage XAM Takasu Kouda Circuit], [#22 Red Mamushi Birel Pacific NRT], [#4 K.R.R], and a large group formed a close second group as they passed the control line.

9th lap around 25 minutes after the start. The top team in the previous lap, [#22 Red Mamushi Virel Pacific NRT], along with [#202 Team TWICE☆KOTA No.2] and [#70 racer racer ACCEL], have already made their first pit stops. Following them, at the 40-minute mark, [#58 MMRT Power Stage] and [#823 A1-RACING RED] also head to refuel. As a result, by the time 1 hour has passed since the start, [#70 racer racer ACCEL] has completed 20 laps and is in the lead, with [#30 Corolla Shin-Ibaraki REON KIDS-2] and [#86 Corolla Shin-Ibaraki-REON KIDS-1], the two teams that won the most laps in Class II last year, rising up in the top ranks.

The rankings at the 2-hour mark after repeated pit stops for each team were as follows: [#30 Corolla Ibaraki REON KIDS-2] in the lead, followed by [#82 Racing Team OBI], [#70 racer racer ACCEL], [#20 YAMAHA Challenge 4 with S・C], [#129 Yomiuri Automobile University], [#86 Corolla Ibaraki-REON KIDS-1], and [#823 A1-RACING RED], all completing 40 laps in the same round.

After that, around 2 hours and 44 minutes had passed since the start, and a safety car was introduced to remove the stopped vehicle at corner 5. At this point, the top position was held by car #823 A1-RACING RED, which is a title given only to highly skilled Nissan drivers. This title also represents the desire to excel in K-TAI. After a full course caution of about 15 minutes, the race restarted at 12:30 and all eyes were on the developments in the middle of the race.

In Class I, 【#34 Tsukuba Automobile University】 starting from the top of the class with a 12th grid. In the early stages, 【#125 BLUE EYES K】 who repeated laps at a fast time in this class and 【#206 B&S206@r-kart】 chasing from about 10 seconds behind, had cleared 38 laps at the end of 2 hours and were engaged in a fierce battle for the top from the early stages. In second place in the class were two teams, 【#205 r-kart Enjoy Sports Cars】 and 【#27 Kamin Team Bear】, who were one lap behind.

Four hours have passed since the start, it's past 1:30 pm. In this harsh time of the year with the strong summer sun beating down on the asphalt and the drivers being watched by their team staff, a major incident occurred that could determine this year's results. At the exit of the V-shaped corner, several cars were involved in an accident. Due to multiple cars being unable to move on the track, the red flag was raised and the race was temporarily suspended. This is where the teams that stopped their cars on the home straight and those who were in the pit lane were greatly separated.

Resumption at 2pm. The second half starts again with a rolling start. The top position during the red flag interruption was held by [#20 YAMAHA Challenge 4 with S・C] after completing 77 laps. Behind them, [#70 racer racer ACCEL] is catching up. With each team repeatedly pitting in, the top position changes each time, making for an unpredictable situation unique to "K-TAI". At the 6-hour mark, [#30 Corolla Ibaraki REON KIDS-2] takes the lead, followed by [#823 A1-RACING RED], [#88 Team Douraku no Kai @ SILK], and [#20 YAMAHA Challenge 4 with S・C] all running 107 laps. One lap behind these four teams is [#70 racer racer ACCEL].

At the 4-hour mark, the situation in Class I was that the [#206 B&S206@r-kart] had completed 72 laps smoothly. The [#125 BLUE EYES K], [#27 Kaminchi Team Bear], and [#205 r-kart Enjoy Sports Cars] teams followed with 71 laps, one lap behind.

Only one hour remained in the 2018 "K-TAI." After 3:30 p.m., the leader was 【#823 A1-RACING RED】, followed by 【#30 Corolla Ibaraki REON KIDS-2】. On the 106th lap, 【#823 A1-RACING RED】 made their final pit stop. Taking over the lead, 【#30 Corolla Ibaraki REON KIDS-2】 extended their gap to nearly two laps, but on the 115th lap, with 33 minutes remaining until the finish, they slid into the pit lane. As a result, 【#823 A1-RACING RED】 regained the lead, but 【#30 Corolla Ibaraki REON KIDS-2】, who returned to the course in second place, repeatedly posted the only lap times in the 2 minutes 40 seconds range during the latter half. With this fierce chase, they caught their rival on the 120th lap and surged back to the top. Continuing to run without slowing down until the end, 【#30 Corolla Ibaraki REON KIDS-2】 crossed the finish line after 7 hours to claim the Class II Most Laps Award for the second consecutive year. Although finishing on the same lap as the leader, 【#823 A1-RACING RED】 crossed the finish line in second place, having completed the race without giving up despite serving a 180-second penalty stop. Following them, 【#20 YAMAHA Challenge 4 with S・C】, 【#88 Team Douraku no Kai @ SILK】, 【#70 racer racer ACCEL】, and 【#123 College CRG】 received the checkered flag. Since 【#20 YAMAHA Challenge 4 with S・C】 was not eligible for awards, a total of five teams won the Class I Most Laps Award in the 2018 "K-TAI," leaving a record unique to this event.

"Last year was a one-two finish, so this year we were secretly aiming for a one-two-three finish, but it didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. Due to the safety car and red flag interruptions, our strategy was completely thrown off. But we believed in the children who were running their hearts out and adjusted our strategy accordingly. It was an incredibly fun day." And Omiya representative of #30 Corolla Ibaraki REON KIDS-2 shared their joy, saying, "I really wanted to finish in first place this year, so I'm very happy that it came true! When Ishikawa-kun came back to the pits in first place at the end, I was confident in this result," said driver Nakamura Jin.

Team #70 racer racer ACCEL, celebrating its 10th anniversary, will challenge with a new engine in the Super Formula. #123 College CRG achieved their long-awaited most laps award, after finishing 2nd in the previous year's best lap award.

Also, #129 Yomiuri Automotive College, which won the Jump Up Award, was celebrating its 10th anniversary of participation this time and surprisingly drew the last grid position, 122nd, in the grid lottery. In the early stages, they were running near the top with excellent driving and teamwork, but after receiving a penalty, they dropped positions. However, with the unity unique to a student team, they fought back to finish 7th overall despite this adversity.

In Class I, the attention was focused on the driving of the leading #206 B&S206@r-kart, which gradually pulled away from the following cars from the beginning, and the defending champion #125 BLUE EYES K, who was catching up. In this final round, #206 B&S206@r-kart completed the most laps with 122 laps, winning the Most Laps Award, while #125 BLUE EYES K, one lap behind, took second place in the Excellent Laps Award. #205 r-kart Enjoy Sports Cars, completing 118 laps, won third place in the Excellent Laps Award, and the 2018 season ended with a close result rarely seen in recent years.

And so, the 2018 "K-TAI" came to an end, but when the event was over, it was revealed that 5 teams received the Most Laps Award, 1 team received the Excellent Laps Award 2nd place, and 7 teams received the Excellent Laps Award 3rd place, resulting in a total of 13 teams on the podium in Class II alone. With the concept of wanting families and friends to easily enjoy motorsports together, many teams were awarded and the event ended with smiles and no major injuries. This was all thanks to the motto of "K-TAI" and the understanding of the concept of not just competing for victory, but enjoying KART together with everyone while following the rules. We are looking forward to seeing even more smiling faces at this event next year!