In the second round of the MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship at Sportsland SUGO in Miyagi Prefecture, Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing saw a remarkable recovery from the performance in the previous round. Despite the unstable weather cloudy on Saturday, May 24 and rain turning into cloudy weather on the following day around 320 Astemo employees and their families came to cheer on the team amidst unusually chilly weather.

From Astemo Pro Honda SI Racing, Nozane competed in the JSB1000 class, while Hada and Arakawa entered the ST1000 class, and Suzuki raced in ST600. From Astemo SI Racing with Thai Honda, Nakarin entered ST1000, while Thanachat, Noprutpong, and Techin joined the J-GP3 class. Astemo SI Racing with RSC fielded Todaka in J-GP3. In total, nine riders competed across four classes.

In Saturday afternoon’s JSB1000 Race 1, Nozane started from 3rd on the grid and made a great start to take the lead into turn 1. Although he was passed by Yamaha’s Nakatsuga on lap 3, he stayed in close pursuit. On the final lap, Nozane briefly took the lead again but was overtaken in the “Umanose Corner” and finished 2nd—just 0.004 seconds behind the winner for his first podium of the season.

In Race 2 on Sunday, held under tricky damp conditions, Nozane again took the top spot into Turn 1. However, he hit a wet patch in Turn 2 and unfortunately crashed, resulting in a DNF.

Sunday’s ST1000 final was also held in wet conditions. Starting from 9th, Nakarin quickly found his rhythm and climbed to 2nd by lap 9. He set the fastest lap on lap 17 and closed in on the leader by the final lap. Unfortunately, he was momentarily blocked by a lapped rider in Turn 3, slightly losing momentum. Still, he finished just 0.117 seconds behind the winner, taking a well-earned 2nd place. Hada finished 7th and Arakawa 9th.

In Saturday’s ST600 Race 1, Suzuki finished 16th, narrowly missing points. In Sunday’s Race 2, which saw two red flags, he secured 14th place and earned points.

In Sunday’s J-GP3 final, all four riders showed spirited performances. Notably, Noprutpong in his All Japan Road Race debut climbed from 7th on the grid to finish 4th. Thanachat took 11th, Techin 13th, and Todaka retired due to an issue.

The next round will be held on June 21–22 at Tsukuba Circuit in Ibaraki Prefecture. Four riders from Astemo SI Racing with Thai Honda and Astemo SI Racing with RSC are set to compete in the J-GP3 class. We appreciate your continued support.