The New Year's Race was held at the Super Rajikon Saitama Omiya Store, which is in its second year of operation. The event was a great success with over 80 total participants, even requiring additional pit space to accommodate the crowd.
Many Team Yokomo members participated and helped to build excitement for the event.
In the qualifiers, Team Yokomo's Masami Hirosaka set the top time, followed by Takehiro Yamauchi in 2nd and Rei Anegawa in 3rd. Katsumi Ito, a consistent winner at this circuit, could only participate in one round of qualifying due to scheduling conflicts, but he still secured the 5th grid position and advanced to the A-Main final despite a crash.
Additionally, Koichi Seino, driving a BD9, advanced from the B-Main to secure 7th place in the finals!
In the final, immediately after the start, Ito moved up right behind Yamauchi, engaging in a fierce battle for 2nd place that lasted several minutes and captivated the crowd. Hirosaka, having extended his lead during that battle, finished in the top spot. Ito won the battle to take 2nd place, followed by Yamauchi in 3rd.
Since both Hirosaka and Yamauchi were treated as ineligible for prizes, Ito was declared the winner.
Ito was also a sponsor of this event, and the participants were thrilled with the ultra-luxurious prizes he provided.
Masami Hirosaka's BD9 setting data: PDF [168KB]
Final Results
1st: Katsumi Ito
2nd: Rei Anegawa
3rd: Koichi Seino
4th: Yusei Iida
5th: Shin Yamada
6th: Takahiro Naemura