Nozane finishes 4th in both races in the JSB1000 class after a fierce battle, while Haneda scores back-to-back wins in the ST1000 class! Arakawa also finishes 4th
The third round of the 2026 MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship, “SUPERBIKE RACE in KYUSHU,” was held at Autopolis in Oita Prefecture from Saturday, May 30, to Sunday, May 31. All classes were contested at this event, and Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing fielded a total of eight riders across four classes: JSB1000, ST1000, ST600, and J-GP3.
May 30 (Sat): Qualifying / Weather: Sunny / Track: Dry
-
- JSB1000 Qualifying and Race 1
Kohta Nozane secured second place in qualifying with a strong lap time of 1:47.817. He also recorded a time of 1:47.911 on the second lap, which determines the grid for Race 2, placing him third and securing a front-row start for both races.
In Race 1, he got off to a strong start and took the lead, aggressively setting the pace. However, he was overtaken by two other racers at Turn 1 on Lap 3, and the race became a chaotic battle from there. He then engaged in a head-to-head battle with Nagashima (DUNLOP Racing Team with YAHAGI) for third place, trading positions multiple times in a thrilling duel. Despite his best efforts, he finished in fourth place, missing out on the podium.
- ST1000 Qualifying
Despite suffering from pain due to an injury, Taiga Hada posted a time that beat the course record and secured the No. 2 grid position. Kohta Arakawa will start from the No. 9 grid.
- ST600 Qualifying
Kanta Hamada will start from 13th on the grid, while Kenshin Nakatani, making his debut at Autopolis, will start from 16th.
- J-GP3 Qualifying
Techin Inaphai posted a faster time than in the previous day’s free practice, but since other riders also improved their times, he started from 7th on the grid. Pongkhun Aeimnoi started from 9th on the grid. Rintaro Todaka also put in a strong performance and started from 14th on the grid.
May 31 (Sun): Race / Weather: Sunny / Track: Dry
-
Race 2 for JSB1000, along with the ST1000 ST600 and J-GP3 finals, were held on Sunday.
- JSB1000 Race 2
In Race 2, Nozane once again demonstrated his signature quick start and joined the battle for the lead, engaging in a fierce three-way fight for second place with Nagashima and Nakasuga (YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM). Although he was determined not to lose this time, he once again finished in fourth place, leaving him with a sense of frustration. His performance in this race showed improvement over Race 1, and we can expect him to raise his game even further heading into the Suzuka 8 Hours and the second half of the season.
- ST1000 Race
When the final race began, Hada was in the lead, but an incident on the seventh lap caused a red flag interruption. At that moment, Arakawa, who had been in the leading group, crashed at the second hairpin, but the red flag effectively saved him.
The race restarted with eight laps remaining, and Hada once again took the lead. He endured pain in his right shoulder until the very end, held on to the lead, and secured his second consecutive victory. Arakawa, still feeling discomfort in the front end due to the crash, finished in fourth place.
- ST600 Race
Hamada gradually found his rhythm, charging up from 13th on the grid to finish 8th to secure a top 10 finish. For Nakatani, this was his first time racing at Autopolis in the ST600 class, but since he was unable to complete much testing beforehand, the race effectively became his first real test. He qualified in 16th place, but in the race, he had to retire due to a mechanical issue, resulting in a disappointing outcome.
- J-GP3 Race
As the final race got underway, Pongkhun got off to a strong start and moved up to 7th place on the opening lap. Meanwhile, Techin got off to a slow start and found himself in 10th place. Todaka moved up to 12th place.
Techin had climbed to 6th place by the 4th lap and was biding his time for an opportunity, but a fall on the 9th lap forced him to retire, leaving a bitter disappointment. Pongkhun, who moved up to take his place, fought his way through the late-race battles to finish 5th. Due to a rider being disqualified after the race, his result was revised to 4th. Todaka finished 12th, but his position was also moved up one spot to 11th.
The next race, the “MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series Round 4: Tsukuba Round,” will be held on Sunday, June 21, at Tsukuba Circuit in Ibaraki Prefecture. We ask for your continued support of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing.
■Comments from Team Director and Riders
-
- Team Director Shinichi Ito
Although we entered race week unable to test as planned due to bad weather, I’m truly pleased that Hada secured the victory in the ST1000 class. He went into the race with some concerns about the track conditions, but he still managed to deliver a solid result, and I think he did a great job. Arakawa was also in good form throughout the weekend. While he had a crash and things didn’t go exactly as planned, I still feel he’s making progress in terms of his overall performance.
The three riders in the J-GP3 class are improving with every race, though they still face many challenges, such as with their starts and race management. This is Techin’s second year in the All-Japan series, and since he posted good times in pre-season testing, we had high hopes that this would be his breakthrough race. Meanwhile, Pongkhun, competing in the All-Japan series for the first time, showed us some very spirited riding. Although Togata wasn’t quite able to put the race weekend together perfectly, the environment where these three riders can motivate each other provides excellent conditions for developing young talent, so we will continue to support them so that the team can grow. This time, Pongkhun finished 4th, coming within a hair’s breadth of the podium. We want to get him to the point where he can compete for the podium as soon as possible.
In the ST600 class, Hamada finished 8th, but looking at his race performance, it was a weekend where we could see his growth. I believe he is moving forward steadily, albeit in small steps. For Nakatani, this was his first time racing at Autopolis in the ST600 class. He had limited track time, and the race didn’t go his way as he had to retire due to mechanical issues. We plan to prepare so he can bounce back in the next race.
In the JSB1000 class, rider Nozane’s performance is improving, but I believe he needs to take it up another notch to beat his rivals. While we’re making gradual improvements, it won’t mean anything unless we translate that into results in the second half of the season. For the upcoming race at Motegi, we plan to implement major updates as a team, so we’ll continue preparing to deliver solid results there.
To everyone who always supports us, thank you so much. The entire team will come together and give it our all in the second half of the season to repay your support with results.
-
- Rider: Kohta Nozane
Although there were parts of the track where I couldn’t get enough laps in during pre-race testing, I was still able to work on various aspects of my riding. I feel I had a better race in Race 2 than in Race 1, but I finished fourth in both races. Looking back, my biggest regret is that I wasn’t able to create a decisive advantage in the three-way battle. Reflecting on the first half of the season, I’ve only made it to the podium once, and the competition has been tougher than I had imagined before the season began. However, the level of competition around me has also risen, so I strongly feel that I need to take my own game to the next level. That’s precisely why it’s so frustrating that I couldn’t make it to the podium. I also feel bad that I couldn’t repay the team’s efforts with results. Still, there are areas where I’m definitely making progress. I want to thoroughly analyze the challenges and lessons learned from this race and start from scratch again so that I can turn them into results next time.
-
- Rider: Taiga Hada
It was the toughest race of my career. I’m truly happy to have won under those circumstances, and I want to build on this momentum. Ever since the pre-race tests, the condition of my right collarbone, where I had surgery, had been deteriorating, and by the time qualifying was over, things were looking pretty grim. When I woke up on Sunday morning, the pain was so severe that I thought, “I might not be able to race.” In fact, after finishing the morning warm-up, I even told the team that I might not be able to start the race. It was really tough even while we were waiting during the red flag interruption, so I’m glad I was able to finish the race and win despite being in that condition. I’d like to thank everyone who supported me.
-
- Rider: Kohta Arakawa
Until the red flag came out, my pace was good and I was feeling confident on the bike. However, after an unexpected crash, the front end felt a bit too sensitive, and I had to restart the race while still feeling the effects of that. After the restart, I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to, and rather than feeling like I gave it my all, I’m left with the strong sense that this was a race where I didn’t reach my full potential. We’ve had issues since qualifying, and there are still many areas we need to improve. Still, I think this weekend helped me clearly see what I’m currently lacking. I don’t want to waste the time leading up to the next race. Since I’ll be competing in the Suzuka 8 Hours and the Asia Road Race Championship at Motegi, I want to carefully reflect on this and move forward with my training and preparations.
-
- Rider: Kanta Hamada
The pre-race tests went well on the first day. As we entered race week, I aimed to take things up a notch on Friday, but a crash set me back a bit. However, during Saturday’s qualifying, I had specific things I wanted to check, so rather than chasing others for a fast lap time, I prioritized confirming my own riding style and approach. As a result, while my qualifying position wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for, my feel for the bike had improved. Since switching to the ST600 class, there were certain sensations I hadn’t quite been able to grasp, but this time I finally started to see them, which was a major breakthrough. The gap to the leaders now seems more realistic than before, and I feel this weekend gave me a sense of momentum that will carry over to the next race. I’ll do my best to show even more improvement at the next round.
-
- Rider: Kenshin Nakatani
We were barely able to run during pre-race testing, so we entered race week without fully understanding the setup or the track dynamics. It was essentially a cold start, and although we managed to try various things within the limited time available, things didn’t go as planned. In the race, I got off to a slow start and lost positions early on. I managed to make up some ground over the next few laps and was catching up to the racers ahead, but around eight laps from the finish, an engine problem forced me to retire.
It really feels like nothing went right this weekend. Since my primary goal this time was simply to finish the race rather than the result itself, retiring was a real shame. I’ll thoroughly analyze the cause and prepare to bounce back for the next race.
-
- Rider: Techin Inaphai
Unfortunately, this race weekend turned out much like the one at Sugo. We entered the race weekend with good pace, which we’d established during pre-race testing. In qualifying, I tried a slightly modified setup, which made driving more enjoyable than ever, and I was really looking forward to the race. However, I didn’t get off to a good start and dropped back in the field. I tried to break away from the second group early and close the gap to the leading group, but I pushed beyond my limits and ended up crashing. I feel bad that I couldn’t repay the fans who support me, as well as my team and Thai Honda. I will use this experience as a lesson to review my start strategy and analyze how to make up ground while in a pack, applying these insights to future races. I appreciate your continued support.
-
- Rider: Pongkhun Aeimnoi
Autopolis, which I was racing at for the first time, is similar to Sugo in that it features many ups and downs. It’s a unique and technical circuit unlike anything I’ve experienced in Thailand, so it was difficult to master. However, with each practice session leading up to the race, the bike and I managed to make improvements. I was able to find a good rhythm and secured a single-digit grid position once again. I got off to a good start in the race and was able to enjoy driving throughout. As a result, I finished in 4th place, which was better than my starting position. While I’m satisfied with this result, I haven’t made it to the podium yet. I’ll continue to work closely with the team and do my best to aim for higher positions based on my true ability. My teammate Techin had a crash, and I’m relieved that he didn’t suffer any serious injuries. Thank you for your continued support.
-
- Rider: Rintaro Todaka
We had a good feeling during pre-race testing and managed to improve our lap times slightly compared to last year, so I was hopeful that we could achieve even more in the race. However, once race week began, we were unable to maintain the momentum we had built up during testing, which led to a disappointing result. We tried various setups throughout the race week, and while they weren’t bad, I wasn’t able to adjust to them effectively. I feel I need to improve my concentration. I would like to thank all the fans who came to support us at Autopolis, as well as the team. I intend to apply what I learned from this test and race to the upcoming Tsukuba round, aiming to deliver an even better performance and put on a race that everyone can be excited about.
