The last (8th) Round of the Super Taikyu Endurance Series 2005 was held at Twin Link Motegi in Tochigi, Japan, on the 19th and 20th of November.

#2 Fujitsubo hpi Impreza (Toshihiro Yoshida and Kazuhiro Koizumi) started from the pole position of the class and won the championship for the first time in three years (7th overall)!

The official qualifying was held on November 19th and a total of eleven teams (four Impreza teams and seven Lancer teams) competed in the ST2 Class. The sky was clear all day and the temperature was as cold as 52° early in the morning. The driver qualifying, which lasted for 30 minutes, started at 10:00am and the grid qualifying to determine positions started at 2:00pm. Despite the sunny sky, the temperature never got above 53° due to cold wind.

The first 20 minutes was only for the ST 1/2/5 Classes and Yoshida driving #2 Impreza went into the track close to the end of the time frame just for warming up and came back to the pit. The last 20 minutes of the official qualifying was open to all the cars. #11 Lancer, currently 2nd in the series, came into the track in the middle stage of the time frame, but the Lancer started smoking and caught fire due to engine trouble in the last corner of their attack lap and stopped at the main straight. Shortly after that, the Impreza came onto the track.

The #2 Impreza marked 2:13'316 but got the red flag and the race was stopped. The qualifying resumed at 4:03pm and there were only four minutes left to make a record for two laps. The track surface temperature was pretty low and tires didn't have a chance to warm up enough, however, there were not many cars on the track and it looked possible to finish the laps without other cars getting in the way. The Impreza marked 2:01'592 to become 2nd in Class in the first attack. Right after the Impreza started its attack in the 2nd lap, the checkered flag was waved to mark the final lap and Yoshida driving #2 Impreza marked the track record of 2:00'728 to top the Class!

Yoshida not only stopped #11 Lancer's consecutive pole record since the beginning of the series last year but also snatched the pole position for the first time in two years. #2 Impreza got in the ST 1 Class (overall) and got Grid #5, which was a perfect grid for the final. The Fujitsubo HPI Impreza could now win the championship by completing the race and taking 9th or better position in the final regardless of #11 Lancer's position, so there was not much pressure for the team.

Toshihiro Yoshida:
I made an attack at the very end as I had planned. The track surface was quite cold and, when I was hoping that my tires would warm up properly, the race was suspended due to the red flag. So, I tried to use some imagery rehearsal to keep a good rhythm. Although our car was a bit difficult to control at the beginning of the attack, I made the track record in the 2nd lap and managed to stop #11 Lancer's consecutive pole record. I am happy about it and I want to give it my all in the final.

It was sunny but pretty cold (50°) on November 20 and the final rounds started with the formation laps at 12:00. The starting driver for #2 Impreza was Yoshida and it was planned to have one pit stop this time, while the Lancer planned two pit stops. As the race started, #2 Impreza topped the race followed by #56 Lancer, #6 Lancer and #63 Impreza. #6 Lancer collided with #56 Lancer in the second lap to allow two Impreza cars to occupy 1st and 2nd positions, followed by #56 Lancer and #13 Lancer.

Starting from Grid #40, #11 Lancer (2nd position in the series) ran fast and went up to 5th, 7 seconds behind #2 Impreza, in the 23rd lap. However, #11 Lancer soon hit another car and damaged its front cowl to slow down and lose a chance to win. #2 Impreza now had the chance to win the championship as long as it took 9th or better position in the final but Yoshida kept leading the race with no sign of slowing down. In the 37th lap, #13 Lancer (4th) and #11 Lancer (5th) made a pit stop for refueling and driver switching. While a safety car (SC) was running to remove a car that stopped in the 46th lap, #2 Impreza took the opportunity to make a pit stop for refueling and exchanging tires. Koizumi took over the driving seat and went back to the track. #2 Impreza driven by Koizumi was 4th at the time, following #63 Impreza, #26 Lancer and #30 Lancer.

#63 Impreza made a pit stop in the 49th lap. After refueling and exchanging tires, #63 Impreza came back to the track and kept the 1st position in the class, which created about one lap margin from #2 Impreza. However, a little after the 80th lap, #63 Impreza slowed down to the speed of around 2:10 per lap due to a damaged shift gear.

Then, in the 89th lap, #2 Impreza running at about 2:04-2:05 per lap finally passed #63 Impreza! #2 Impreza kept the position and Koizumi took the checkered flag with his fist in the air. Having won the pole position, #2 Impreza won back the championship for the first ftime in three years.

Toshihiro Yoshida: My heart is too full for words. Two years ago I missed the championship at this Motegi Track just by one second and I felt great bitterness. So, I'm so happy to win back the championship for the first time in three years. I'm particularly appreciative of our team and tires. I feel relieved now. Kazuhiro Koizumi: This is my first title. I was expecting a wild race today and I trusted myself to drive the car. I believe what brought the championship to us was the efforts by everyone involved and I very much appreciate it. I saw some cheering flags in the spectators' stands and they were so encouraging to me.

SERIES POINT

Pos No Car Drivers Total Points 1 2 Fujitsubo hpi Impreza Toshihiro Yoshida and Kazuhiro Koizumi 145 2 11 Ohlins Lancer EVO IX Akihiko Nakaya and Takayuki Kinoshita 110 3 63 Wing Permagard Impreza Motonari Higuchi and Mahahiro Ikeda 98