Yokomo Grand Prix Round 38 Event Report

On Sunday, October 7th, we held the final Yokomo Grand Prix of 2018 at Yatabe Arena in Ibaraki Prefecture. There were concerns about the event due to the forecast of an approaching typhoon, but the storm veered away, and the event was held in beautiful, clear weather with temperatures unexpectedly exceeding 30°C. We utilized both the Grand Prix course and the Sports course again this time, and with qualification spots for the All-Japan Championship on November 4th up for grabs in each GT and YD-2TC class, the atmosphere felt more vibrant than usual. Additionally, starting next year, we are proposing a new type of racing using the on-road course. We built six different types of rally cars and held demo runs, test drives, and information exchange sessions. Yokomo is considering holding races using these rally cars in the future.

Since this was one week before the AOC (Asian On-Road Championship) and the course layout was scheduled to be changed a few days later, the event was held using the existing layout with a few sections bypassed.

【 Race Results 】

■SS48 Class Final

This class, which uses the SS48 brushed motor, was the only one held on the Sports course. In the final, J☆P~!!, coming off his first win in Round 37, bolted from pole position with a start that was nearly a jump start, leading to an intense battle with Akky. With eight cars racing on a roughly 10-second lap, the key to victory in this race was minimizing contact with other cars; Akky fell behind slightly after contact with a lap marker. However, Akky drove aggressively, sticking to J☆P~!!'s tail and launching fierce attacks. Both of the top two drivers lost time due to crashes with other cars, but they engaged in a side-by-side battle throughout the race. In a situation where either could have won, Akky managed to pull away at the end to secure the victory.

Winner: Akky 23L 4:09.722

2nd: J☆P~!! 22L 4:01.776

3rd: Ehi~ 22L 4:08.225

4th: Kerossi 21L 4:04.623

5th: Norick 19L 4:07.926

6th: Raijii~ 18L 4:07.212

7th: Ryosuke 14L 4:04.089

8th: Yumat-chi 1L 0:44.255

(Qualifying 1st: J☆P~!!)

 

■YD-2TC Scale Class Final

Kuro, starting from 2nd, had a superb start and pulled ahead of pole-sitter Katsu-Radi No. 1. With 3rd-place starter mogyy falling back after a crash, Kuro and Katsu-Radi No. 1 pulled significantly ahead of the rest of the pack, continuing the race tail-to-nose. Just when it seemed like Kuro was headed for an easy win after Katsu-Radi No. 1 crashed and flipped his car, Katsu-Radi No. 1 mounted a furious comeback, setting the fastest lap times to close the gap on Kuro. With less than a minute remaining, Katsu-Radi No. 1 took back the lead, and after a fierce neck-and-neck race, finished in first place by just 0.3 seconds.

Winner: Katsu-Radi No. 1 16L 4:04.262

2nd: Kuro 16L 4:04.649

3rd: mogyy 15L 4:00.657

4th: Umekichi 15L 4:02.283

5th: 393 15L 4:09.811

6th: Autoliv 15L 4:11.915

7th: kiyo 15L 4:12.786

8th: Yoshida 14L 4:00.424

9th: Guruguru 14L 4:10.606

10th: Yasu 14L 4:14.241

(Qualifying 1st: Katsu-Radi No. 1)

*Per Round 38 special regulations, the top 15 qualify for the main event on Nov 4th.

11th: Danboru 1-go / 12th: Shimeaki Takakura / 13th: Takokura 2-go / 14th: Raijii~ / 15th: Banana Sato

■YD-2TC Class Final

Takejiro, starting from 3rd, got hung up in a corner on the first lap and fell back. Kei, starting from pole position, led the race, followed by 393 and the charging Takejiro, with less than a second separating them throughout. While 393 and Takejiro fought a fierce battle for 2nd place, Kei drove consistently throughout, winning the race with a large 3-second lead over 2nd place.

 

 

Winner: Kei Racing: 17L 4:03.026

2nd: 393: 17L 4:06.427

3rd: Takejiro: 17L 4:06.725

4th: Kuro: 17L 4:07.404

5th: Kazu Racing: 17L 4:11.898

(Qualifying 1st: Kei Racing)

■GT Stock Class Final

The final for this class was a grueling 8-minute race. All cars had a clean start, with the top 5 clearing the first lap in their qualifying order. Caro-san took a small lead, and Izumi, starting from 3rd, capitalized on a mistake by 2nd-place starter Nobunen to move into 2nd. mogyy also moved up to 3rd, narrowing the lead battle to three: Caro-san, Izumi, and mogyy. As the race neared its end, Izumi closed in rapidly while Caro-san was dealing with a lap marker. The battle went down to the final lap, but Caro-san held on to win by 0.3 seconds, repeating his victory from the previous Round 37.

Winner: Caro-san: 33L 8:07.841

2nd: Takushi Izumi: 33L 8:08.216

3rd: mogyy: 33L 8:09.789

4th: Kei Racing: 33L 8:14.800

5th: Taku Yamashita: 32L 8:01.072

6th: ken1: 32L 8:01.245

7th: Kazu Racing: 32L 8:03.709

8th: Shu Yamashita: 31L 8:02.005

9th: Nobunen: 30L 7:29.970

10th: Makoto Tabe: 30L 8:12.453

(Qualifying 1st: Caro-san)

*Per Round 38 special regulations, the top 15 qualify for the main event on Nov 4th.

11th: Makotchan / 12th: kiyo / 13th: Haruhiko / 14th: Nishizawa / 15th: Takokura 2-go

■GT Open Class Final

This class was also an 8-minute race. Immediately after the start, 2nd-place starter Katsu-Radi No. 1 collided with pole-sitter Ueda, causing Ueda to fall back to 4th. Ueda quickly overtook one car, and the three drivers—Caro-san, Katsu-Radi No. 1, and Ueda—led the race in a tight pack. After Caro-san overran a turn, Katsu-Radi No. 1 and Ueda moved ahead, but a costly mistake by Katsu-Radi No. 1 allowed Ueda to take the lead. Ueda, who had been in top form since qualifying, was able to drive his own race once he had clear track, setting his best lap time every lap and widening his lead to take the win.

Winner: Haruyasu Ueda: 37L 8:06.173

2nd: Katsu-Radi No. 1: 36L 8:01.861

3rd: Guruguru: 36L 8:08.427

4th: Caro-san: 36L 8:11.250

5th: Shu Yamashita: 36L 8:13.236

6th: Taku Yamashita: 34L 8:04.467

7th: YAM3: 34L 8:07.702

8th: Kenji Suzuki: 33L 8:00.536

9th: Makotchan: 33L 8:16.704

10th: Danboru 1-go: 30L 8:07.086

(Qualifying 1st: Haruyasu Ueda)

■Formula Sports Class Final

The top 4 passed through the first lap in their qualifying order, and Mendy and Kame-kichi engaged in a fierce battle for the lead, making light contact along the way. When Mendy got tangled with a backmarker, Kame-kichi collided with him. While Mendy lost his balance, Kame-kichi and tamotsu moved ahead. Mendy dropped to 3rd, but moved up to 2nd when tamotsu crashed with a lap marker. Capitalizing on an opening created by a lap marker, Mendy reclaimed the lead and crossed the finish line in first.

 

Winner: Mendy: 17L 4:01.713

2nd: Kame-kichi: 17L 4:07.405

3rd: ken1: 17L 4:09.005

4th: tamotsu: 17L 4:09.310

5th: Takushi Izumi: 17L 4:13.328

6th: Yamaguchi: 17L 4:13.652

7th: Tashiro-tokin: 16L 4:02.846

8th: Yoshida: 15L 4:05.669

9th: MR110: 15L 4:14.400

10th: Okura Sakuma: 14L 4:11.238

(Qualifying 1st: Mendy)

■Concours d'Elegance