The 8th and final round of the series saw our HPI Racing sponsored
Subaru Impreza take a very impressive 2nd place finish! After
battling it out in the qualifying rounds, drivers Kazuhiro Koizumi
and Yasushi Kikuchi held their nerve for an overall 4th place
finish in 2004 Super Taikyu Endurance Series Class 2 – well done
guys! In the penultimate 7th round, the HPI Racing Impreza finished
4th during some tough rainy conditions. The Impreza demonstrated a
strong performance and clocked up speeds higher than some of the
rival cars in Class 1! Round six of this year’s season, a 400km
race, was held at the TI Circuit Aida in the Okayama region, from
September 11 to 12. Driver qualifying took place on the Saturday
morning and the rain from the previous few days had cleared up so
all drivers in the all-wheel-drive class cleared their standard
time! Grid qualifying was held in the afternoon and the HPI
sponsored Impreza came in a decent 4th! 34,300 spectators gathered
on Sunday morning awaiting the 1pm start of the 109 lap race.
Although the Impreza dropped a few places down to 7th by the 20th
lap, some good driving meant it climbed back up the rankings to an
eventual 4th place class finish and 10 more points in the bag! Race
five in this years season on August 8th, 2004 took our Impreza to
the Hokkaido & Tokachi speedway for the Tokachi 24 hour race. It
was a hot day with temperatures reaching 86° F around noon. The
Impreza had a few problems during this run. The car did have to
make a pit stop due to fuel defects. The car got a break in the
night when two cars had to make long pit-ins. #20 needed to get its
brakes replaced while #11 lost 4th gear and had to stop for a new
transmission. The Impreza took 2nd place in its class and 9th
overall. We're in the fourth race of the season and our team
drivers are still doing a spectacular job. This race took place on
June 27th, 2004 at the CP-MINE circuit, a 500km race in 155 laps.
Once again, poor weather conditions caused the race track to become
wet for a short period during the race, but cleared up before it
was over. The HPI Racing Subaru finished 4th place in its class and
an admirable 7th place overall! Race three of the season at the
Suzuka 300 circuit has brought the HPI Racing Subaru closer to
victory than ever, taking an incredible 5th place overall and 2nd
place in class. The fastest lap for the Subaru Impreza STi was
3:32'48.348 on lap 80. The Suzuka track was quite overcast and
foggy during the preliminary race but cleared up for the finals.
The second race of the season was held on April 24th, 2004 at the
Sendai Highland Raceway. The HPI Racing Subaru again placed 8th
overall but took an amazing 3rd place in class! The Sendai Highland
track was shortened from 100 laps to 80 laps due to an overnight
accumulation of snow. Round 3 will take place on May 15th, 2004.
Stay tuned! In the first race of the season on March 21, 2004 at
the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, the HPI Racing Subaru grabbed an
impressive 8th place overall finish out of a field of 34 cars and
5th place in class. We'll be tracking the car throughout the season
here on the web page, so keep an eye on our news section for the
latest results and photos. A replica R/C body and decal package are
in the works, stay tuned!
Race
Results
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Round | Date | Event | Circuit | Final Results |
1 | 03.20-21 | Motegi Super Endurance 500 | Twinring Motegi | 5th |
2 | 04.24-25 | Highland Super Endurance Race | The Sendai Highland | 3rd |
3 | 05.15-16 | Suzuka Super Endurance 300 mile | Suzuka Circuit | 2nd |
4 | 06.26-27 | CP-MINE 500km race | CP-MINE circuit | 7th |
5 | 08.06-07 | 11th Tokachi 24 hour races | The Tokachi speedway | 2nd |
6 | 09.11-12 | TI Super Endurance Race | TI circuit Aida | 4th |
7 | 10.02-03 | SUGO Super Endurance Race | Sport land Sugo | 4th |
8 | 11.13-14 | Motegi Super Endurance | Twinring Motegi | 2nd |
Final Result |
Class 2 Series
|
4th |