Nozane finished 2nd in JSB1000 Race 1
The 5th round of the 2026 MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship, “SUPERBIKE RACE in MOTEGI,” was held at Mobility Resort Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture from Saturday, August 29, to Sunday, August 30. 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.
Vachiravit Maidadpan will join the series for the second half of the season, replacing J-GP3 rider Pongkhun Aeimnoi, who has been selected to compete in the Moto4 European Cup starting with this event.
August 29 (Sat): Qualifying and Race1 / Weather: Rain / Track: Wet
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- JSB1000 Qualifying and Race 1
Kohta Nozane qualified in fourth place and also secured fourth place in the second-lap time trial that determined the starting grid for Race 2. In Race 1, he moved up to the lead early on but then ran the rest of the race in second place, finishing in second.
- ST1000 Qualifying and Race 1
Taiga Hada started from 7th in qualifying and 13th on the grid in Race 2. In Race 1, he was in contention for a podium finish until the final stages and finished in 4th place. Kohta Arakawa secured 2nd place in qualifying for both races, but in Race 1, he received a 30-second time penalty due to contact and finished in 15th place.
- ST600 Qualifying
In the rain-soaked qualifying session, Kenshin Nakatani and Kanta Hamada put in strong performances. Nakatani secured second place and Hamada seventh, putting them in good positions heading into the final.
- J-GP3 Qualifying
Techin Inaphai improved his time to 2 minutes 11.911 seconds on the final timed lap, securing 6th place and a spot on the second row. Rintaro Todaka, competing in the Challenge Class, also put in a strong performance, finishing 11th with a time of 2 minutes 12.884 seconds. Vachiravit Maidadpan, making his debut in the All-Japan Road Race Championship, finished 20th with a time of 2 minutes 14.948 seconds.
August 30 (Sun): Race / Weather: Cloudy / Track: Dry
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- JSB1000 Race 2
The race was contested over 17 laps—two more than Race 1. In Race 2, Nozane moved into the lead early on but subsequently dropped back in the standings; after experiencing some trouble toward the end, he finished in 9th place.
- ST1000 Race2
Hada charged through the field from the back of the grid and moved into the lead on the final lap to claim his third victory of the season. Arakawa also finished third, giving Astemo riders a double podium finish.
- ST600 Race
In the final race, Nakatani battled his way through a large pack to finish in 9th place and earn his first points of the season. Hamada also finished in 14th place and earned 2 points.
- J-GP3 Race
Techin finished in 4th place, while first-time competitor Vachiravit finished in 5th. Todaka also placed 9th, meaning all three athletes finished in the top 10.
The next race, “MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series Round 6: SUPERBIKE RACE in OKAYAMA,” will be held on Saturday, September 26, and Sunday, September 27, at Okayama International Circuit in Okayama Prefecture. We ask for your continued support of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing.
