The second round of the inaugural Japanese Le Mans Challenge got underway at the beginning of this month with heavy rain pounding the Twin Ring Motegi circuit during the free practice sessions on Friday and Saturday morning. However it lifted for final qualifying although the track was wet. The Hitotsuyama Racing entered Ferrari 550 Maranello, fresh from its opening round win, posted the fastest time in the LM-GT1 class in the hands of Tatsuya Kataoka, Naoki Hattori and Eiichi Tajima, the trio who had piloted the red car to victory at Sugo in May. They also qualified third overall (1:32.975), although more than eight seconds adrift of the pole-winning LMP1 class Zytek which set an undisputed best lap of 1:24.141. Second went to the fastest of the LMP2 entries, the Lav-Tec GC-21 (1:31.044). Come the race (2nd July), in the LMGT1 class the Prodrive-built Ferrari would face opposition from the Team JLOC Reiter Engineering-built Lamborghini Murciélago RG-1 driven by Koji Yamanishi, Yasutaka Hinoi and Wada-Q (which qualified fifth overall, 1:33.309); and the Team Leyjun Mosler MT900R of Osamu, Masaki Tanaka and Hiroya Iijima (8th overall, 1:35.953).

Come race day the rain had once again soaked the Motegi track during the night, so the morning warm up was held in wet track conditions. Fortunately the track dried up just in time for the race which was eventually held in completely dry conditions. The field was reduced though when the Courage-Mugen LC70 and the Lav-Tec GC-21 failed to make the starting grid due to engine and fuel pump issues respectively.

The race started with the pole-sitting Hitotsuyama Racing-entered LMP1 prototype Zytek 05S, driven on its first stint by Hiroki Kato, leading the 10-car field into the first turn and building up a 6 second advantage on the opening lap, and quickly distancing itself from the rest of the chasing group. The first lap saw a fierce battle for second place developing between the Aim Sports-run prototype-class GC-21 of Shinsuke Yamazaki/Yuji Aso/Masaru Tomizawa and the Ferrari 550 Maranello GT1. The Italian machine had the speed advantage on the straights but wasn't able to compete with the cornering ability of the LMP2 GC-21 and Yamazaki, starting the GC-21, despatched Kataoka in the 550 Maranello GT1.

Two laps from the start, the Lav-Tec GC-21 screamed out of the pits to joins the race, and now there were 11 cars competing for a position on the final podium. The race proceeded a steady pace. The first car to pit stop was Zytek 05S, 34 laps and one hour after the start. Hideki Noda, taking over, was able exit the pits in time to keep a firm hold of the top position. Their second pit stop came on the 69th lap at the end of the second hour. Everything was completely under control for the Dunlop-sponsored car, now with a 5 lap advantage in relation to the other competitors. However, 45 minutes later the Zytek returned to the pits unexpectedly.
 

The Hitotsuyama Racing pit crew swiftly changed the transmission oil of the Zytek and the car returned to the track, then the exhaust system started blowing, and the car's pace suddenly started to drop down, and 2 laps later on their 96th lap, it returned to the pits never to venture back on track.

The departure of the Zytek 05S from the race let the Aim Sports LMP2 class GC-21 into the overall lead, followed by the Ferrari 550 Maranello GT1 in second place and the Lav-Tec GC-21 in third. Each of the top three cars, were at this point keeping a steady distance from each other and a very consistent pace. However after 158 laps, the Aim Sports GC-21's exhaust started blowing white smoke, which reduced the car to a walking speed and immediate retirement.

Suddenly the Hitotsuyama Racing Ferrari 550 Maranello Gt1 was elevated into the race lead, and was in prime position to win its second race overall, as well as the LMGT1 class, with just a few laps remaining. Although the Prodrive-built Ferrari 550 Maranello has now virtually ended its top-line European racing career, with a list of glittering achievements that include winning the GTS class at the 2003 Le Mans 24 Hours, its pace and reliability have allowed it to shine in the inaugural Japanese Le Mans Challenge this year. And a steady pace during the closing laps at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit allowed the car's crew - Tatsuya Kataoka, Naoki Hattori and Eiichi Tajima - to make it two wins out of two in this new series.