ST1000's Hada Wins, Claiming His Fourth Victory of the Season! Arakawa Finishes in Third Place.
The six round of the 2026 MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship, “SUPERBIKE RACE in OKAYAMA,” was held at Okayama International Circuit in Okayama Prefecture from Saturday, September 26, to Sunday, September 27. 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.
September 26 (Sat): Qualifying / Weather: Rain / Track: Wet
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- JSB1000 Qualifying
Kohta Nozane advanced through Q1 and Q2 and secured his first pole position of the season with a fast lap time of 1:43.388.
The newly implemented front-end system has proven effective.
- ST1000 Qualifying
Taiga Hada will start from the 10th grid position, and Kohta Arakawa will start from the 6th grid position.
- ST600 Qualifying
Kanta Hamada will start from the 13th grid position, and Kenshin Nakatani will start from the 14th grid position.
- J-GP3 Qualifying
Techin In-Aphai will start from the 14th grid position. Vachiravit Maidadpan will start from the 20th grid position. Rintaro Todaka also put in a strong performance and secured the 7th grid position.
September 27 (Sun): Race / Weather: Cloudy, then rain / Track: Dry・Wet
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Race for JSB1000, along with the ST1000 ST600 and J-GP3 finals, were held on Sunday.
- JSB1000 Race
Starting from pole position, Nozane got off to a somewhat cautious start and finished the opening lap in fourth place. He managed to set a new personal best and continued lapping while keeping the three riders ahead within sight, but on the eighth lap, he crashed due to a highside entering Turn 1. This resulted in a heartbreaking retirement.
- ST1000 Race
Both riders got off to a strong start, with Arakawa moving up to second place and Hada to fourth. After joining the leading group, Hada moved up to second place on the second lap and began marking the rider in the lead. He took the lead on the home straight on the seventh lap and maintained it all the way to the finish line, securing his fourth victory of the season. Arakawa finished in third place.
- ST600 Race
Both Hamada and Nakatani battled it out as they completed lap after lap, with Hamada finishing in 9th place and Nakatani in 15th—both crossing the finish line within the points.
- J-GP3 Race
All three riders got off to a good start. Techin caught up to the riders battling for third place and moved into third position on the home straight as they entered the final lap. However, shortly after that, heavy rain began to fall, leading to a series of crashes. All three riders crashed, and a red flag was displayed. According to the rules, Techin was classified in 7th place, Vachiravit in 8th, and Todaka in 10th—an unsatisfactory outcome for all three.
The next race, the “MFJ All-Japan Road Race Championship Series Round 7: Suzuka Round,” will be held on Sunday, October 25, at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture. We ask for your continued support of Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing.
■Comments from Team Director and Riders
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- Team Director Shinichi Ito
In the JSB1000 class, rider Nozane secured pole position, which was great, but unfortunately, the rain threw a wrench in his plans during the race, leading to a disappointing result. This time, Astemo provided us with new parts, which helped improve our lap times—the results of our testing paid off, so I think it was a positive experience. In the ST1000 class, rider Hada did a great job of maintaining his own pace even in the rain and delivering a solid result. Rider Arakawa is also starting to consistently achieve results, finishing in 3rd place. In the ST600 class, Nakatani was unable to perform to his full potential in the rain, which is usually his forte. Hamada also struggled at times, but I think he’s getting close to where he needs to be. In J-GP3, all three riders were in good form. During the race, Techin fought hard to move up to third place, but due to sudden rain and red flags, he ultimately finished in seventh place. Vachiravit also ended up with a poor grid position after a rainy qualifying session, but he made a strong comeback during the race. On the other hand, I think Todaka really gave it his all this time. He crashed twice in qualifying, but when you’re young, it’s necessary to take aggressive risks. I hope he takes things one step at a time and steadily gains experience.
Overall, everyone raced under the same conditions this time; while some were able to win, others didn’t achieve the results they were hoping for. The next race will be the final one of the season, so we’ll do our best to make it a race that serves as a fitting culmination of the entire year.
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- Rider: Kohta Nozane
It was a week marked by unstable weather, but with the introduction of new parts, we were able to confirm the machine’s strong points. In qualifying, my feel for the bike improved toward the end, and I was able to secure pole position. Since it was a hard-fought pole, I was genuinely happy. However, in the race, as the gap to the rider in front gradually widened, I suffered a highside just as I was trying to push one more level. It’s truly frustrating that I couldn’t bring home a result after starting from pole position. The next race is the season finale at Suzuka, so I’ll make sure to put this experience to good use. Together with the team, I’ll do my best to see the race through to the end this time and secure the victory.
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- Rider: Taiga Hada
As for the wet qualifying session, to be honest, I didn’t intend to push for a fast lap time from the start—I was just aiming to line up around the third row—but I ended up in the fourth row. However, I was able to get off to a solid start as planned and move up the field smoothly, so I think it went well. Okayama is a track where I’ve always found it easy to set my own pace, so I didn’t encounter any major issues during the race either. Since things have been going so well so far, I’ll do my best to maintain my own pace at the next race in Suzuka and aim to stand in the center of the podium.
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- Rider: Kohta Arakawa
I couldn’t quite get into my rhythm the way I wanted to, so it turned out to be a tough race. After racing in both dry and wet conditions this time, I realized that even though the conditions were different, the challenges I’m facing are surprisingly similar. I think I need to thoroughly analyze these issues and use them to improve for the next race. The next race at Suzuka will be the season finale, so I want to work with the team to prepare thoroughly, overcome at least one of the challenges I identified this time, and aim for the win in the final race.
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- Rider: Kanta Hamada
Unlike Motegi, where I felt comfortable in the wet, the track conditions here were different, and it was quite a struggle. After qualifying, we made significant changes to the setup, and they worked out well, putting me in a position where I could attack the race with confidence. It’s frustrating that my low qualifying position meant it took time to pass the riders in front of me, and I ultimately wasn’t able to move up the order. While we still have work to do in terms of overall performance, we’re making progress toward being competitive in both dry and wet conditions. I want to take what I learned here and apply it fully at Suzuka, aiming for an even higher position.
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- Rider: Kenshin Nakatani
I felt really bad for the team because I had severely damaged the car about twice during pre-race testing. In the race, I wasn’t able to find the right setup, and I struggled with acceleration at times. I was really hoping to show off my strength in wet conditions this time, so it’s truly frustrating that things didn’t come together and I ended up finishing in 15th place. The next race at Suzuka is my home track, so I plan to put this behind me and approach it with a fresh mindset.
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- Rider: Techin Inaphai
Since I didn’t have much experience racing this track in the rain, I struggled at the start, but I gradually moved up through the field and managed to climb to fifth place by the end of the race. Things were going well until I passed the two cars in front of me on the final lap, but then a red flag was displayed due to the rain. I gave it my all until the very end, so I’m disappointed that I couldn’t finish a little higher, but I was able to battle it out until the end despite the challenging conditions. I’m determined to make it onto the podium in the next race.
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- Rider: Vachiravit Maidadpan
I felt the best during the warm-up on the morning of the final, so I went into the race feeling confident. I had planned to get off to a good start in the final, but I didn’t get off to a great start. From there, I gradually made my way up through the field and managed to move up to 7th place. However, on the final lap, I suddenly crashed due to the rain and was unable to finish the race. It’s a shame I couldn’t secure a good result, especially since I had been feeling so good. I want to build on this experience and continue to grow as a rider.
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- Rider: Rintaro Todaka
I crashed twice in the qualifying round, but to be honest, I think I was lucky to end up in 7th place. In the final, I was able to gradually pick up the pace. My tires were starting to wear out toward the end, but I’m glad I was able to maintain my pace to some extent. It came down to a head-to-head battle with another rider at the very end, but I lost, so I realize in hindsight that I should have assessed the situation more carefully before making my decision. The next race is finally the season finale, so I’ll give it my all until the very end to make sure I give everything I’ve got based on everything I’ve worked on so far this year.
