February in Review - Surprises, Heartbreaks and A Setup to An Intense March

March 2 2024 - February saw tons of racing action from all three racing series from the Adak-RMS Organization. The 2024 Formula Hololive Japan Qualifiers kicked off at Sepang earlier on February 10th and 11th for Round 1 of the Qualifiers season, the Sepang Grand Prix. The very next week, the drivers in Formula Hololive Japan head to Okayama to compete in the Okayama 400, Round 3 of the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series Qualifiers on February 17th.

On the other hand, the International drivers took themselves to Sepang two weeks after the JP class drivers raced there two weeks prior on February 22nd and 25th, for the Sepang Superprix and the Malaysia Grand Prix respectively.

Three weekends of racing action did not disappoint anyone who watched these races, as the racing was close, the strategies got them on their edges of their seats, and the winners were well deserved of their wins.

Formula Hololive Japan kicks off at Sepang

The month of February for the ARO kicked off with Formula Hololive Japan's 2024 season opener, the Sepang Grand Prix. Two splits raced on the weekend, with Split A on Saturday and Split B on Sunday.

Split A

In Split A, Lorenzo Ricci, driving for Houshou Marine in car #6 showed promising pace in qualifying, and as such, secured pole for the Split A race of the Sepang Grand Prix weekend with a 1:43:069, seven hundredths of a second over Alticer Antanarau (#5 Nekomata Okayu).

With the race starting, Ricci maintains his lead into turn 1, but Antanarau had his good starting positions undone with a bogged down start, overtaken by Rustim Kurashio in #39 for Laplus Darknesss by the first few turns. But Ricci's lead did not last, as by Turn 2, Kurashio immediately challenged Ricci for the race lead.

By Turn 3, Kurashio took the lead. Sean Poly in car #56 for Inugami Korone who started 5th got up to 3rd by the end of the first sector.

By Lap 3, Ricci's superb race pace was too much for Kurashio to defend, and Ricci retook the lead.

Before 20 laps were completed, the order looks like this in the top 5:

1) Ricci

2) Poly

3) Kurashio

4) Antanarau

5) Turner

By the time pit stops start by Lap 20/56, Poly who was in 2nd, pitted on Lap 23 with him trailing Ricci by 11 seconds at that time, but a costly error due to him being stationary in the pits for too long, allowed Ricci to extend his lead to about 30 seconds near the end. Poly meanwhile lost at least 5 positions for pitting too early and thus spending more time to refuel.

By lap 42, the net top 5 order looked like this (drivers who have already pitted):

1) Ricci

3) Domaschnev

4) Kurashio

5) Antanarau

6) Turner

Vladislav Domaschnev (#19 Aki Rosenthal) who started in 7th at the start executed his strategy very well; he pitted from 6th on Lap 30, with Antanarau at the same time. By pitting in this right window, with other drivers making strategy mistakes, Domaschnev slowly climbed up the field, up to second after pit stops by this point.

Shirogane Noel's driver, Michael Turner pitted on Lap 33 from 3rd, and with him pitting later, and others having strategy misfortunes, he is up in 5th after pit stop cycles. Having started 6th, this is less of a surprise.

As the checkered flag drops, Ricci wins in the Sepang Grand Prix Split A race, taking his second win in Formula Hololive Japan in his second Sepang race, and maintaining a 100% record at Sepang. As such, Ricci leads the rankings in the Split A qualifiers. Domaschnev hung on to second, and Rustim Kurashio finishing third in his Formula Hololive Japan debut for La+ Darknesss is in third in the Split A Qualifiers rankings.

Split B

The next day, Split B kicked off with Alif Hartoyo starting on pole on his debut race for Minato Aqua in car #9 with a time of 1:42:848. Fellow Gen 2 teammate Kizuhara Leo in the Murasaki Shion #8 car started alongside Hartoyo on the front row, only a tenth and a half behind the polesitter. Oozora Subaru representative Rim Elgore started third, two tenths behind Hartoyo.

The race started, and Elgore had a dream launch to get himself in the lead, with Hartoyo and Leo sparring between each other after Elgore overtook the two with a dive into turn 1. The three would trade blows between each other until a red flag was dropped on Lap 13 due to software issues from the host. Drivers were free to change tires and adjust fuel loads during the red flag.

After the issues were resolved, the race resumed with a standing start with the following order:

1) Elgore

2) Hartoyo

3) Leo

4) Phu-My

5) Chae-Yon

6) Nakamura

7) Rohan

8) Shazren Redza

9) Mikolev

10) Shaqif Redza

11) Deuxieme

12) Khashiu

13) Goodwin

14) Goyena

15) Tanaka

16) Barguer

17) Skye

The race would eventually get restarted, and it was Leo on the inside and Hartoyo on the outside at Turn 1. Rim Elgore got caught up in the middle of a three-wide battle, and was squeezed out by the #9 and #8 cars and dropped down to third.

Jake Goodwin (#30 Ookami Mio) was battling Shaqif Redza racing for Momosuzu Nene for 9th when the latter briefly clipped the kerb at Turn 12, send car #77 into a half-spin, and under pressure from Goodwin on the outside of Turns 13-14. Shaqif tried to defend on the inside line at Turn 14, but he hit the kerb so hard that his car barrel rolled into the gravel trap at the exit of Turn 14, putting him out of contention to get a good result.

Elgore didn't need to think much about strategies, with Leo having a light car on the restart, meaning he had to pit soon, and Hartoyo lost race pace.

Lap 45 would see the race leader after the restart Rim Elgore take to the pits, but with him pitting quite late into the race, he didn't spend much time in the pitlane, and got out of the pits only 7.6 seconds behind the yet-to-pit Chae Yon.

Chae-Yon took the lead on Lap 45, but still required a pit stop. 5 laps later debutant for Takane Lui Yu Chae-Yon who started this race 5th, and after the restart, pitted on Lap 50, six laps before the finish. She would exit back to the track behind Elgore by 28 seconds. Chae-Yon would later be in Shazren Redza's clutches as she defended her second place. After turn 2, Chae-Yon was free to hang on to her runner-up spot.

Hartoyo was 4th by Lap 54 but hadn't made a pit stop all race since the restart. Compounding this fact was Hartoyo's loss of race pace since the restart, which dropped him from second to seventh at one point in the race. By Lap 55, he finally made his one pitstop to have a slight splash of fuel, but a long time being taken to change tires didn't help Hartoyo's chances of at least a Top 10 finish. He would finish 12th, a lap down to the eventual winner.

Shazren Redza started 11th this race, the Himemori Luna representative made a wonderfully executed strategy to pit as late as possible in order to lose less time in the pits to refuel. He was third when he made his only stop in green flag conditions on Lap 55, but with him having a big enough lead, and only needing fuel, his pit stop was brief, and he managed to stay ahead of the new 4th placed driver Goyena. Shazren was up to 3rd.

Rim Elgore would hang on to win the Sepang Grand Prix Split B race by over 22 seconds to Chae-Yon's second place, giving Elgore and Subaru their first wins in Formula Hololive respectively, and placing them in the lead of the Split B qualifiers rankings. As such, Chae-Yon placed her Takane Lui #61 in second in the Qualifiers rankings.

Shazren Redza's 3rd place would give Himemori Luna a bright start to the Qualifiers in Split B, with 3rd place in the rankings after Round 1.

With this race providing the base outline of the 2024 Formula Hololive Japan Qualifiers standings, the stage is set for what would be a thrilling 5th fes race weekend at Fuji Speedway. But first, the JP Class drivers would head back to Japan the next Saturday at Okayama to contest the 2024 Okayama 400, Round 3 of the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series Qualifiers.

A remarkable win for Nissan before the Qualifiers finale

February 17th, Okayama International Circuit. Round 3 of the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series Qualifiers, the Okayama 400. After the first two rounds, the grid order looked different, as with the retirement of the #66 Yozora Mel Lexus forced Mohamed Khashiu to seek refuge to the #3 Tsunomaki Watame Lexus, at the time, still without a full-time driver, after Aran Mazi left the series before 2024. Aki Tanaka left the series once again, this time permanently, giving Seo Byeong-Eun his debut in Hololive GT3 for Shiranui Flare.

Come qualifying, lots of drivers who are not inside the top 20 in the Qualifiers points rankings pushed hard to perform well in qualifying. One of which being Nekomata Okayu's representative, Alticer Antanarau, who qualified inside the Top 10 for the first time this season. But his performances would be overshadowed by Ed Skye for Kazama Iroha who had his best ever qualifying position in 5th. Byeong-Eun qualified 4th in this Hololive GT3 debut, and Rustim Kurashio in Nissan car #39 for Laplus Darknesss started in 12th.

But the front row was dictated by Tyler Williams, who started 2nd for Amane Kanata, and Danilo Goyena who scored the pole for Usada Pekora for the first time since Buriram Split B Race 1 back in 2022, and the first of Goyena's career.

The Lexus machines were not up to snuff in this race, as the highest Lexus car, Callum Gibbens, the 2023 HoloGT3 Japan champion for Roboco started 22nd. Raijin Kacyznski, then championship leader representing Yuzuki Choco started a lowly 24th. Second placed Mohd Shazren Redza in the Qualifiers Rankings, racing for Himemori Luna started in the mid-pack too in 20th.

The race got underway, and there was a spin at turn 1 when Jeff Rohan (#10 Tokoyami Towa Honda) pushed Byeong-Eun at turn 1, sending the Korean into a spin and collected part of the field, fortunately, everyone managed to continue. But not for Shazren Redza at the end of Lap 1, as he went wide at Mike Knight Corner battling Jake Goodwin in the #30 Ookami Mio Honda, losing control, spinning out, and collecting Goodwin in the process. Shazren would become the first DNFer of the Okayama 400.

Antanarau's 2024 Qualifiers were off to a horrible start, with retirements in the first two of four qualifiers races. While battling Byeong-Eun for 9th on Lap 18/55, Antanarau went wide at Mike Knight, spinning his car towards the inside wall. Yet another gut-wrenching retirement from Antanarau would see him be virtually out of contention from qualifying for the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Tsuyo Series.

Goyena maintained his lead over the first few laps, then Goyena and his crew made a catastrophic error to send him to the pits early, by which after the first pit stop, the fuel loads were miscalculated twice, leading him to make three pit stops this race, rendering him out of race-winning contention.

Tyler Williams who was in second took the opportunity to snatch the lead from Goyena and never looked back.

Late in the race, Jake Goodwin tangled with Michael Turner (#08 Shirogane Noel Lexus) and put Turner out of the race late on.

As for Tyler Williams, he took the win at the 2024 Okayama 400 with emphatic fashion, scoring his first win for Amane Kanata since July 2022 and in the ARO and Hololive GT3. Him screaming while singing "Soran Bushi" on the team radio of course captured his emotions very well, and explained what it meant to win for his oshi(favorite). Yu-Chae Yon and Rustim Kurashio who scored a 2nd and a 3rd in Formula Hololive respectively the previous week were 2nd and 3rd in this race respectively as well, scoring theirs and their oshis' first podiums in Hololive GT3.

After three races, with Kurashio's amazingly consistent run in the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series Qualifiers campaign, he sits at 764 points, over 160 points over runner-up Airi Nakamura (#81 Akai Haato Honda) who had a consistent season herself, finishing no lower than 10th and no higher than 9th in their first three races of the Qualifiers. Kacyznski's 18th place finish was enough to defend 3rd place from onlookers.

Tyler Williams' win at the Okayama 400 sees him place 4th in the Qualifiers rankings after three races and AZKi's Krzysztof Salmonman's comeback after his DNF at SUGO with an 8th at Autopolis and a 4th from this race at Okayama places him 5th in the Qualifiers rankings.

The final race of the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series Qualifiers at Fuji, the Capture the Moment 500 at Fuji would oversee a tight battle for the top of the Qualifiers ranking and the remaining spots for the Tsuyo Series.

The International Midway Point; The Favorites Take Shape

Sepang Superprix

After the JP drivers finished racing at Okayama, it was the International Drivers' turn to race, this time, back at Sepang International Circuit for Rounds 5 and 6 of Formula Hololive Japan, Round 5 being the Sepang Superprix with a 250km race distance, and the Malaysia GP with a 305km race distance. However, for Round 5, the round would be moved up from the original date of Saturday, February 24th to Thursday, February 22nd to accommodate the host's unavailability during Saturday due to a family commitment.

As for driver changes, Monika Shilage has finally hung up her helmet on her stint in Formula Hololive International, leaving the Kaela Kovalskia ride open to Egyptian-Malaysian Ahmed El-Ashour to take her place.

With the Sepang SP moved up to Thursday night, it was time for the drivers to continue where they left off. As for the Saplings' Zeke Wimberley, he put on a clinic in qualifying, setting the fastest time with a 1:44:896 ahead of Kento Kai (#85 Hakos Baelz), only 6 hundredths behind. Then championship leader Takeda Adachi for Ninomae Ina'nis started down in 15th.

With the race underway, there were no big problems at the start, and Wimberly as well as Kai showed their talents by opening a gap to third, leaving them to a two-horse race for the win.

On Lap 15, the Chumbuds' Gawr Gura made contact with Keiko Takaboshi racing for Kureiji Ollie, putting Golael into a spin, and the Merakyats' Yuri=Rafael de Oliviera unfortunately got collected by a recovering Golael. Both would suffer damage, and would return to the pits the same lap. But neither would retire, though both would be in 18th and 19th respectively.

Due to the Sepang SP's shorter race distance, no one made a scheduled pit stop, of course excluding the two mentioned who got into each other. Therefore, Wimberley continued to lead over Kai, and while Kai did try to challenge Wimberley overtime throughout the race, by the latter stages, Wimberley managed to keep his car and tires under control. Unfortunately for Kai, he lost pace to Wimberley by the latter stages of the race.

de Oliviera and Golael, due to them changing tires while repairing their cars, they were able to catch themselves back up to the back of the pack. And slowly but surely, the two would make moves to the outer fringes of the points finishes in 15th.

Ethan Berthelsen racing for Nanashi Mumei was racing with Dan Evans (#15 Airani Iofifteen) when Evans used tactics more suited from 70s' touring car racing when he bumped the back of Berthelsen at Turn 9 at the latter stages of the race. Berthelsen was not happy with the outcome, although he can agree with the decision of no penalty.

Zeke Wimberley scored the pole, grabbed the fastest lap and led all 46 laps to win the Sepang Superprix in dominating fashion, in doing so scored the first grand slam in ARO history.

For Kento Kai, he couldn't even hang on to second with a waning car as Anya Melfissa's Angela Sims put up a consistent race to be in position to steal Kai's second place in the closing phases of the race, and that she did. Sims scored her first podium in Formula Hololive International with Kento Kai still in a solid third.

For the championship protagonists, Aziz Muazif (#62 Ayunda Risu) continues his consistent Top 5 run with a 4th placed finish, the Deadbeats' Jake Martinez grabbed fifth, while second in the rankings Juani Castanto for Ouro Kronii finished 9th after starting 10th, and Adachi scored 10th, gaining 5 places from his starting position.

This left Aziz Muazif, with his 3rd, 3rd and 4th from the previous three races, Muazif took the lead in the Formula Hololive International rankings, with 495 points, 6 above Adachi, 29 ahead of Martinez, 40 ahead of Castanto and 55 ahead of Wimberley.

With the Malaysia GP coming up later in the weekend, the championship battle in Formula Hololive International is at a boiling point, with a 5-way battle brewing.

Malaysia Grand Prix

With a three-day gap between the Sepang Superprix and the Malaysia Grand Prix, tensions only brewed even more in the top of the standings. By the middle of the season, some ID class drivers like Vestia Zeta's Kate Garcia and Hoshinova Moona's Hinochi Taiyo are near rock-bottom of the table, rock bottom already if it is Hinochi, due to their poor first-half of the season. Drivers like them would undoubtedly try their luck to improve their results by the second half of the Formula Hololive International championship battle.

By Sunday, the scorching sky oversees Sepang International Circuit for the Malaysia Grand Prix. 56 laps were to be due, and longer distances also mean an inevitable pit stop.

In qualifying, nature continues to show its strengths with Zeke Wimberley leaving behind another scorching lap time, enough for him to snag a third consecutive pole position. The Merakyats had something to smile about, as de Oliviera qualified on the front row in second. Jake Martinez continued to showcase his impeccable form this season with a row two start in third. Golael started fourth.

The race started, firstly, Wimberley managed to defend his lead and suddenly Garcia, who started 5th, had an impeccable start off the line, and by the end of Lap 1, she made it up to second.

Wimberley led the race for the first 6 laps, and on Lap 7, pitted. However, he found out that the window hadn't come yet to make a full-tank fill, so he only made a splash and dash and rejoined the race at the back, but he needed to pit again, therefore removing much of his chances to win this race.

Due to the longer race length, pit stops must be taken, and for the leader, Martinez, he elected to pit early enough on Lap 10 for the undercut strategy; pit early, use clean air to set faster lap times than your opponents at the front, hope that they are slower than you, and when they pit, you overtake them through strategy. And since Martinez pitted late enough to only need one stop, he would be uncontested for the win, despite some challenges from de Oliviera.

After the halfway stage, all drivers would have finished their scheduled pit stops, and the order in the top 5 looked like this:

1) Martinez

2) de Oliviera

3) Muazif

4) Sims

5) Mendez

With Martinez running away with the win in Sepang, Wimberley slowly climbed up the standings with a very fast #98 Ceres Fauna car, and by Lap 54, he would be up in 5th. de Oliviera though had his work cut out, with waning pace, he was being reeled in by 3rd placed Aziz Muazif and KFP's Corey-Rico Mendez in 4th.

However the top 5 would see out their positions. But for Jake Martinez, he would not mind, as he grabbed his first win in Formula Hololive International, and Mori Calliope her first win in FHolo INT and her first win in ARO competitions since November 2022. Adachi and Castanto had subpar races with 9th and 13th respectively.

As a result, before the trip to Buriram, Martinez reassumed his place in the lead in the FHolo INT standings, with 666 points. Muazif is in second with only 645 points. Wimberley's 5th and Mendez' 4th see them place 3rd with 548 points and 5th with 479 points in the rankings respectively. Adachi dropped to fourth at 533 points, while Castanto dropped to sixth with only 463 points.

Concluding remarks

As we see with these races, February has proven to be dramatic in all facets in all series that raced in the month. Formula Hololive Japan 2024 Qualifiers started off with intriguing results from debutants, as did the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series Qualifiers with a surprise winner, plus odd finishers, and Formula Hololive International 2023-24 providing us with a tightly fought championship battle.

March would see one more Formula Hololive International race at Buriram, the Buriram Superprix on March 9th 2024, and the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Series Qualifiers finale at Fuji Speedway, the Capture the Moment 500 @ Fuji before the biggest weekend in ARO competitions take place at Fuji Speedway; the Capture the Moment Grand Prix @ Fuji for Round 2 of Formula Hololive Japan Qualifiers 2024, coinciding with Hololive's 5th fes "Capture the Moment". Fans can look forward for both the races and the idol performances that ensue at the 5th fes, no matter the fan, Hololive fan or motorsport fan.