For a fifth time in seven races, Zen Mitani is an IDEMITSU Asia Talent Cup race in 2024 after a trio of Japanese stars go head-to-head in a Race 1 thriller at Motegi. The winning margin was just 0.115s to second place Ryota Ogiwara, while rookie Seiryu Ikegami finished a close third to see the leading three split by 0.150s at the chequered flag.

Mitani – from pole – grabbed the holeshot into Turn 1 as we saw a lead group of three quickly form at the front. The aforementioned trio were over three seconds up the road from the chasers within three laps, as Riichi Takahira – from the back row of the grid – and Kiandra Ramadhipa made it a two-rider fight for P4 and P5.

The race lead changed hands several times, mainly between Mitani and Ikegami, as Ogiwara kept his powder dry until the #16 made a move at Turn 3 on the penultimate lap. That didn’t work though as Mitani and Ikegami carved back past as Ogiwara ran wide, and heading onto the last lap, Mitani led. Could Ikegami and Ogiwara have an answer?

Defending well and putting his Honda right where he needed, Mitani didn’t give Ogiwara or Ikegami a sniff. The #2 won to continue his march towards the crown, with Ogiwara and Ikegami settling for P2 and P3 on home soil.

Ramadhipa pipped Takahira to P4, with the duo nine seconds away from the top three fight. 15 seconds down the road a great fight played out for P6 which was won by Rintaro Takamoto. Wildcard rider Shingo Iidaka picked up P7 after starting from the front row, as Levi Russo, Kiattisak Singhapong and Archie Schmidt completed the top 10 following a last lap Turn 11 crash that saw Alfonsi Daquigan and Rikki Henry unfortunately go down.

Can Mitani’s momentum be halted on home turf in Race 2? Find out at 08:45 local time (UTC +9) on YouTube.