Defending Champion Tadashi Kugimura takes Japan Enduro Championship Rnds 2/3

Two months after the opening round of the 2021 Japanese Enduro Championship (JEC) the ‘Inabe Motor Sports Land’ hosted rounds two and three of the season with reigning champion Tadashi Kugimura mastering the mix of timecard, Supertest and Cross test racing to take the win.

With the Covid-19 situation is still on-going in Japan, the event organisers are still managing to put on events and are having to be creative about it too. With a limited area in the Inabe Motor Sports off-road park they needed some ingenuity to make it interesting for both riders and spectators.

The first day was a combination of traditional timecard enduro in the morning followed by an EnduroGP-style Supertest in the afternoon. And on the second day riders faced more timecard enduro in the morning before a final cross race in the afternoon. Across the two days riders needed to have varied enduro skills and a lot of effort.

Tadashi Kugimura, the defending 2020 Champion, was in top form during both days. The Beta Japan rider says, “I made a mistake only once but apart from that I was able to attack for two days and I think I had a good race.”

Yoshikazu Hosaka, riding the new GASGAS, finished second on the first day and third on day two behind Sherco Japan’s Tsubasa Iizuka – the result means Hosaka moves up to the top in the points standings. “I don't really feel like I deserve it,” Hoasaka said, “but I’m in the lead so I’ll do my best to finish the 2021 season in good shape.”

Multi-time JEC champion Kenja Suzuki sadly had to retire due to physical condition. On the second day, Tsubasa Iizuka made a good fight with 2nd place with his four-stroke Sherco.

Results, day 1

A-class:

1. Tadashi Kugimura Beta RR2T 300, 28:18.79

2. Yoshikazu Hosaka GASGAS EC250, 29:16.19

3. Kenji Suzuki Yamaha YZ250F, 29:18.89

4. Yukihito Ota KTM 250EXC-F, 30:34.66

5. Yutaro Saitoh Beta RR2T, 30:42.15

6. Yutaro Uchiyama Yamaha YZ250FX

B-class:

1. Youhei Tominaga Honda CRF450R, 26:27.23

2. Toshiyasu Yamanishi Yamaha YZ250, 26:30.20

3. Masakuni Tamura KTM250EXC-F, 26:50.02

4. Masashi Nagashima Beata RR4T350, 27:17.73

5. Takaya Fujimura Yamaha YZ250X, 27:28.79

6. Koutaro Kusaki Husqvarana TE250i, 27:39.99

Women's class:

1. Harumi Ota Yamaha YZ125, 30:52.56

2. Asuna Hosaka Kawasaki KX100, 37:05.56

3. Ayako Wada Yamaha YZ125X, 37:30.54

Results, day 2

A-class:

1. Tadashi Kugimura Beta RR2T300, 51:41.57 -

2. Tsubasa Iizuka Sherco 300SEF-R, 53:04.03

3. Yoshikazu Hosaka GASGAS EC250, 53:11.86

4. Ryousuke Enokida Yamaha YZ250FX, 53:12.97

5. Tomoki Ogami Beta RR2T250,55:19.28

6. Yutaro Saitoh Beta RR2T, 55:26.88

B-class:

1. Tomoya Suzaki Kawasaki KX250SE, 45:22.58

2. Youhei Tominaga  Honda CRF450R, 47:26.02

3. Hiroshi Kawamura Kawasaki KX250F, 48:21.22

4. Kohaku Aoki Beta RR2T125, 42:35.82

5. Takayuki Baba Kawasaki KX250F, 48:55.73

6. Takaya Fujimura Yamaha YZ250X, 48:57.55

Women's class:

1. Asuna Hosaka Kawasaki KX100, 42:03.9

2. Harumi Ota Yamaha YZ125, 42:04.06

3. Ayako Wada Yamaha YZ125X, 43:10.41

The next race will be Rusutsu 2 Days Enduro in Hokkaido in September. Unfortunately, both Hidaka Rocks Hard Enduro and the International Hadaka 2 Day Enduro have been cancelled again this year.

Words Credit: Hisashi -Haruki - BIG TANK

Photo Credit: Masanori Inagaki - off1.jp