Shinohara wins again in TCR Japan’s Saturday Series

Third victory from three races for Takuro Shinohara in TCR Japan’s Saturday Series at Okayama. The driver of the Hitotsuyama Racing’s Audi RS 3 LMS pipped pole sitter Takeshi Matsumoto at the start and sailed towards a comfortable win. Matsumoto followed a few seconds behind, but had to settle in second, while ‘Hirobon’ completed the podium on his first race in the BRP CUPRA, which has replaced the Volkswagen Golf GTI he had previously driven.
Matsumoto had claimed the pole position, beating Shinohara by less than two tenths, but the latter made a better start and took the lead; Resshu Shioya’s Honda Civic, fourth in Qualifying, did not start due to an engine issue.
Shinohara created a small gap ahead of Matsumoto, while Ryo Shimono and ‘Hirobon’ began a close fight for third. After several attempts, ‘Hirobon’ passed Shimono at the beginning of the fifth lap and she was then unable to retake the position.
Further behind, two Alfa Romeo cars were fighting for P5: Junichi Umemoto’s Giulietta and Mineki Okura’s Giulietta Veloce. Umemoto defended the position until lap 8, when Okura found a gap to pass him. In the following lap they made contact, with Umemoto pushing Okura sideways into a corner; Okura managed to control his skidding car, but a few hundredths metres further he went off at the last turn and remained stranded onto the gravel.
Positions did not change until the end, with Shinohara taking the chequered flag with a margin of three seconds over Matsumoto, while ‘Hirobon’ finished third ahead of Shimono.
The Sunday Series’ race is scheduled to start tomorrow at 13:35 local time (06:35 CEST), Matsumoto will start from the pole position again, with Shinohara alongside. Live streaming at www.tcr-series.com.  

Race 1
1. Takuro Shinohara (Hitotsuyama Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS), 14 laps
2. Takeshi Matsumoto (Team Wakayama, Volkswagen Golf GTI), 3.174
3. ‘Hirobon’ (Birth Racing Project, CUPRA), 12.103
4. Ryo Shimono (Drago Racing, Honda Civic Type R), 13.633
5. Junichi Umemoto (55 Moto with J'S Racing, Alfa Romeo Giulietta), 40.360

Championship points – Saturday series
1. Takuro Shinohara 84 pts; 2. Takeshi Matsumoto 60; 3. Ryo Shimono 41

Picture: TCR Japan