Atsushi Hara retains Japanese 1/8th title
The 1/8th scale Japanese Nationals tool place at the Mugen Seiki owned track in Chiba this weekend, thankfully under dry conditions. Qualifying saw Hot Bodies driver, and 2wd World Champion, Hayato Matsuzaki take pole position with 3 round wins from Mugen man Kenji Osaka in 2nd, both of whom took the 2 direct final placings while current World & Japanese Champion Atsushi Hara placed 3rd and had to race in the semis. The Semi Finals saw Hara easily win, with a time 26 seconds faster than the winner of the semi B, Kyosho driver Kazua Tanaka and both of these would line up in 3rd and 4th respectively in the final. The 1 hour long final saw Hara get to the front early where he controlled the pace keeping a safe distance to 2nd placed runner and team mate Matsuzaki with Osaka and Kawamoto spending the majority of the race in 3rd and 4th. Hara would take the win by 12 seconds from Matsuzaki in 2nd, while Kenji Osaka took 3rd a further 15 seconds back.
Source: Hot Bodies [hb-buggy.jugem.jp]