‘Hirobon’ wins TCR Japan’s last race to become Sunday champion

‘Hirobon’ finished the 2021 TCR Japan season on a high, taking a dominant victory in Suzuka’s Race 2 and adding the Sunday Series’ title to the Saturday Series’ he had already clinched two weeks ago at Motegi.
After dominating the early morning qualifying on a wet track, ‘Hirobon’ made good use of the pole to lead the field at the start ahead of Masanobu Kato and Mineki Okura. Saturday race’s winner Resshu Shioya, who had been second fastest in Qualifying but had his best time disallowed for track limit infringements, started from P5 and took to the inside at Turn 1 to pass Anna Inotsume for fourth. During the first lap Shioya advanced to second overtaking Okura and Kato; soon afterwards, both Masayoshi Oyama and Inotsume passed Okura moving up to fourth and fifth respectively.
Mastering his CUPRA on a tarmac that was still slippery after the morning shower, ‘Hirobon’ built a 5.3 second margin at the end of the first lap, while Kato retook the second position from Shioya.
In lap 3, Inotsume passed Oyama for P4 and one lap later the latter lost another place to Okura; eventually Oyama dropped to seventh as he was passed by Kenji Suzuki in lap 6 and ‘Mototino’ in lap 7.
As the track dried, Kato increased his pace and cut down on the leader’s advantage, but ‘Hirobon’ comfortably controlled the situation and took his fifth victory of the season ahead of Kato and Shioya. 
In the final standings of the Sunday Series, ‘Hirobon’ edged out Kato by 26 points. 

Suzuka – Race 2
1. ‘Hirobon’ (Birth Racing Project, CUPRA), 10 laps
2. Masanobu Kato (Team Mars, Audi RS 3 LMS), 4.619
3. Resshu Shioya (Team G/Motion, Honda Civic Type R FK8), 16.543
4. Anna Inotsume (DOME Racing, Honda Civic Type R FK8), 18.256
5. Mineki Okura (M-Prototyping Stile Corse, Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce), 20.016

Championship points – Sunday series
1. ‘Hirobon’ 126 pts; 2. M. Kato 100; 3. T. Matsumoto 60

Picture: TCR Japan