March Rundown: The HoloGT3 Tsuyo/Zako Lineups Confirmed, With FHolo Japan's CTM GP Weekend Wrap-Up

Fuji, March 31st ー As March comes to a close, so does the Japanese Racing Season covering Hololive GT3 Japan and Formula Hololive Japan for the 2024 season. For Hololive GT3, Fuji saw the final round of the four qualifier races to determine the 20 drivers racing in the 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Tsuyo Series, and who will race in the secondary 2024 Hololive GT3 Japan Zako Series. As for Formula Hololive on the other hand, four races coincide with Hololive's biggest weekend of 2024, their annual Expo and Fes, with the Fes concert titled "Capture the Moment", with Splits A, B and C being part of the Capture the Moment Grand Prix weekend at Fuji Speedway plus an invitational race, the Honeyworks Invitational at the same track hours before the Honeyworks concert was due to take place on Sunday afternoon on March 17th.

The Race That Decided The 20 in the Tsuyo

One week before the Capture the Moment weekend, Hololive GT3 saw one more race to decide the 20 drivers entering the Tsuyo Series at Fuji Speedway, the Capture the Moment 500 @ Fuji. As for the championship order, it was relatively easy for the Plusmates' Rustim Kurashio who has built a huge gap to second-placed Airi Nakamura by 157 points after Okayama. Kurashio stood at 764 points after 3 races, with consistent Top 10 finishes to Kurashio's aid, and his maiden podium in the Okayama 400 race helped his cause immensely.

Isekaijin Mikolev representing Sakura Miko was only 16 points behind 20th placed Ed Skye for Kazama Iroha with 377 points for the Iroha driver, while 2022 champion Ho Phu-My for Tokino Sora sat 69 points behind the cutoff line for the Tsuyo Series, as did Shaqif Redza for Momosuzu Nene, but Shaqif stood at 115 points, and his task was real daunting.

The Lexus drivers have struggled badly after the opening SUGO 500, with balance changes not helping their cause. Defending champion, Roboco's Callum Gibbens only stood 14th with 429 points, but with the Nissans in the Zako spots showing more pace than ever, Gibbens know his place in the Tsuyo is at serious risk. SSRB's Kaminari Riba was in 12th with 433 points.

Come qualifying, and Takane Lui's Yu Chae-Yon scored her first pole position for the Lui-tomo and herself in ARO competitions and Hololive GT3, with other Nissans showing serious pace with the front three spots plus 7th being Nissans, such as Shaqif Redza qualifying on the front row, Alticer Antanarau who has had rotten luck in the Qualifiers so far with no points for the Onigirya qualifying 3rd for this race alongside Phu-My in 4th, Seo Byeong-Eun in 5th for Shiranui Flare, Kurashio in 6th and the Hoshiyomi's Daniel Barguer in 7th. The first Honda was Danilo Goyena for Usada Pekora in 8th, and the best Lexus in qualifying was 21st placed Johan Sinful for Natsuiro Matsuri, out from the Tsuyo spots in the standings.

The Capture the Moment 500 @ Fuji race was underway, and Phu-My had a dream launch and went up to 2nd after Lap 1. The field would not see much change at the front, until the pit stops started cycling. Chae-Yon pitted on Lap 23, giving Phu-My the temporary lead, until he pitted on Lap 26, by then Chae-Yon retook the race lead.

Alticer Antanarau was battling Seo until he went off wide into the grass on the outside of the Hairpin corner, losing control and spinning out in the process. Unfortunately, this meant Antanarau had no chance to qualify for the Tsuyo Series, and to make things worse, he had no points entering Fuji, and with this incident, he would be out of the points as he rejoined the race in 32nd, placing him last in the Qualifiers standings, the only driver this Qualifiers season to not score any points.

As one end of the Nissan garage fell in anguish, the other end would see jubilation. Yu-Chae Yon converted her pole into a win in the Capture the Moment 500 @ Fuji, sealing her spot in the Tsuyo Series. After a hard-fought battle between them on the final eleven laps, Phu-My scored a second place finish and Shaqif Redza equalled his best ever Hololive GT3 finish with his second trip to the podium in third.

By the end of the Qualifers phase, Kurashio's 6th place sealed his crown as the Qualifiers Champion, 1st in the standings after 4 races. AZKi's Krzysztof Salmonman snatched second place in the final Qualifiers standings after yet another top 10 finish from him at Fuji. There were multiple tiebreakers too. Rim Elgore (Oozora Subaru) and Ed Skye (Kazama Iroha) both finished 15th with 505 points, but Elgore's sole win in the Qualifiers with Skye's best finish of 5th put Elgore ahead.

Only 3 drivers made it in the cutline after being outside of the Tsuyo cutoff line before this race; Phu-My and Shaqif Redza's podium runs were enough to place them 9th and 19th respectively and with Isekaijin Mikolev finishing 18th, he tied with Gibbens for the final Tsuyo Series spot, but since both had a best finish of 3rd in the Qualifiers, their second-best finishes in the qualifers decided who was ahead. In the end, Mikolev grabbed the final Tsuyo Series spot after his 18th place at Fuji beat Gibbens' second-best finish of 21st at Autopolis. As a result, Gibbens will no longer be able to defend the Hololive GT3 Japan Series title.

The Big Weekend: Running Down the CTM GP @ Fuji

On the 16-17 March weekend, on the same weekend Hololive hosted their 2024 Expo and their 5th Fes titled "Capture the Moment" spread over three stages in two days, Formula Hololive took to Fuji Speedway to contest their skills. The JP class drivers raced for points in the FHolo Japan 2024 Qualifiers while the INT class drivers raced as guest entries, meaning they were ineligible to score points. (There was also the Honeyworks concert spanning 36 members on Sunday, and all drivers called up to represent the members who participated in the Honeyworks race compete for fun)

Split A: First-Lap Drama And A Winner Long Coming

Split A kicked off the Capture the Moment 500 @ Fuji weekend on a 9AM Saturday morning with Tyler Williams for Amane Kanata scoring the pole for the first race of the weekend, his first in Formula Hololive, and alongside him was the driver for Natsuiro Matsuri, Johan Sinful. Third was Sean Poly for Inugami Korone and the SSRB's Kaminari Riba lined up alongside Poly in 4th.

The race started with incidents at Turn 1, as Raijin Kacyznski (Yuzuki Choco) and Michael Turner (Shirogane Noel) were involved in incidents that put them at the back.

Lap 2 then saw bold three wide action from Aziz Muazif (Ayunda Risu), Yuri-Rafael de Oliviera (Pavolia Reine) and Corey-Rico Mendez (Takanashi Kiara) at 100R which started all the way from the front straight starting the lap.

Pit stops began 10 laps into the race, with some drivers having made errors in their fuel calculations, Sinful being one of them. He would be out from the running to win the race when he pitted on Lap 10.

Riba, Williams and Poly fought closely by the halfway stage, and by then, pitstops really start in earnest. Riba had a faster pitstop than the others, and when Poly pitted on Lap 21 and both Riba and Williams pitted on Lap 22, it was Riba who leapfrogged Williams and Poly.

By the end of the race, three of these drivers were still in contention to win the Split A race at Fuji, however that became a two-horse race as Poly ran out of fuel and had to pit again on Lap 41, 4 laps before the end.

Even so, Riba fended off Williams to earn him and Shishiro Botan their first win in Formula Hololive. Williams for Kanata finished second and Vladislav Domaschnev snuck through to third for Aki Rosenthal after starting 5th. Riba has had a breakout season in ARO competitions this year with a 4th place at SUGO in Hololive GT3 in late 2023, and this win would surely elevate his confidence to make it to the Tsuyo Cup. Turner made a good comeback to tenth after his Lap 1 kerfuffle.

In the EN class, Shawn Goh started 10th overall and 2nd in the INT and EN class, but had a strategy masterclass and finished 4th, winning in the INT and EN class. Yuri-Rafael de Oliviera who started 15th overall, 5th in the INT class and 2nd amongst the ID class also made a stroke of strategic genius and came home 6th overall and winning the ID class.

Split B: A Surprise Full of Hope

About 20 minutes after Split A saw the checkered flag, it was Split B's turn to rodeo. An anomaly in Split B would be Airi Nakamura starting in this race despite Akai Haato initially not being in the list for the Stage 2 concert (but Haato did perform in a surprise appearance on the Stage 2 concert, rendering Nakamura's efforts to be worth it).

Qualifying saw Rim Elgore (Oozora Subaru) continue his amazing form in FHolo Japan Qualifiers with a pole position for the Split B race, and Kate Garcia for Vestia Zeta (and on what would be her final start in ARO competitions) started 2nd overall, leading the INT and ID class. Nakamura started 4th.

Sven Jensen was planning to attend Stage 2 of the Capture the Moment concerts later that day, but first he needed to give IRyS a good performance at Fuji Speedway. He would qualify 6th, best among the EN class.

Shazren Redza made his last points paying Formula Hololive Japan start for Himemori Luna this race. He started dead last in 18th.

The race start went off without a hitch in terms of crashes, but Garcia and Elgore went at it between each other on the first lap, with fans being entrertained to great racing between the two. On Lap 4, 2023 FHolo Japan Postseason Champion Phu-My for Tokino Sora hijacked Elgore for the race lead into Turn 1, but like some others, Phu-My miscalculated his fuel loads and pitted on Lap 7, too soon for a one-stop. So did Elgore, and he would fall down the order as the race progressed.

After Phu-My and Elgore's botched strategies, Lap 8 saw four drivers battling for the lead; the Koboker's Hanaori Miyuki in the lead, with Garcia, Nakamura and Jensen chasing. Jensen's race pace was amazing with him controlling his pace well into his pitstop.

There were multiple leaders as the pit stop cycle began, but the constant are that the drivers in the top spots, Jensen, Garcia and Nakamura duked it out for the top 3. Jensen had a quick pit stop to put him in clean air, maximizing his pace and gap to take the net race lead. Garcia had to settle for second, and Miyuki had a slow stop, putting her down the order. In terms of strategy, Nakamura pitted on Lap 21, and didn't put in enough fuel in her car, meaning that she had to pit again on Lap 41, leaving Jensen to lead the field, with Garcia chasing in second, seven seconds behind.

Seo Byeong-Eun for Shiranui Flare also made the fuel miscalculation error and made his first pit stop on Lap 8, since then he's made one more pit stop by Lap 23. Coming in to Dunlop, Miyuki was behind Seo when she went into the back of him, putting the Korean into a spin.

That left Jensen virtually uncontested to win the Split B race in convincing fashion, as he started from 6th and he clawed his way to the front with great moves, a savvy pit call and amazing race pace, for IRyS, the ray of hope he invested his energy on. Sven Jensen also became the first FHolo INT driver to win a FHolo JP race overall. Kate Garcia finished 2nd overall, and won the ID class for Vestia Zeta. Airi Nakamura finished on the podium in third, capping off a good race for Akai Haato. Miyuki would finish 6th.

As for Shazren Redza, he finished his last points race for Himemori Luna in 13th, an okay comeback for the 2023 FHolo Japan Champion. Phu-My finished 14th while Rim Elgore made 4 pit stops and finished in 17th, 2 laps down.

The Honeyworks: Race Start Chaos and an Emerging Race Winner

As Sunday rolled around at Fuji Speedway, before any racing was done, an announcement was made to shorten the Honeyworks Invitational Race to 100km or 22 laps, and the Split C race to be hosted immediately after the Honeyworks Invitational. As a result, no pit stops were scheduled, meaning this would be a straight race to the flag.

Rustim Kurashio showed serious pace in qualifying for La+ Darknesss, and as a result, grabbed his first pole in ARO competitions, albeit in a non points race. Houshou Marine's Lorenzo Ricci lined up 2nd.

The race immediately saw drama before turn 1, as Jeff Rohan (Tokoyami Towa) bumped Skye at the start, sending him into a spin, and later merged back on to traffic and got collected by Mohamed Khashiu (Tsunomaki Watame). Michael Turner was involved in a separate incident as Skye made that rejoin, as he was tapped by Richie Rodd (Shirakami Fubuki) braking into Turn 1.

On Lap 17, Momosuzu Nene's Mohd Shaqif Redza was tagged by Johan Sinful (Natsuiro Matsuri) at the Dunlop Chicane, causing a jam momentarily. However Rim Elgore did not get the memo and collected Shaqif Redza, sending both further down the order.

After 22 laps, Rustim Kurashio managed to defend his spot up front, leading all laps to win the Honeyworks Invitational. Ricci finished second, with the Shiokkos' Kizuhara Leo finishing third. Hanaori Miyuki won in the INT and ID class for this race with 13th overall, and Corey-Rico Mendez with his 18th place won in the EN class.

After winning the Formula Hololive Japan Championship in 2023, making 12 starts for Himemori Luna since then in the series, Shazren Redza ended his tenure with a 16th place finish after starting 22nd.

Split C: Reversal of Fortunes, With Time Becoming A Serious Force

Immediately after the Honeyworks race, Split C began with qualifying, and it would be a shock polesitter up front, with the EN class' Watson Amelia's Bernardo Santiago occupying that spot. Shirakami Fubuki's Richie Rodd lined up in second as the fastest JP class car, and in 3rd was Angela Sims, representing Anya Melfissa as the best ID class car.

The Nanashi Mumei car was hyped before the weekend, with Ethan Berthelsen taking the helm to race for Mumei in the EN class. He started 5th.

As the race got underway, again there was drama at Turn 1, with recent FHolo INT race winner at Buriram, Zeke Wimberley for Ceres Fauna, diving down the inside of Alex Grant (Yukihana Lamy), sending Grant into a spin and collecting Daniel Barguer in the process, but the Suisei driver would have no issues so far, as the damage was minimal.

Sims made the pass on Richie Rodd for second at 100R on Lap 1, and the race would still be dictated by Bernardo Santiago.

On Lap 5, Daniel Barguer (Hoshimachi Suisei) and Geoff Clark (Nakiri Ayame) went at it at Turn 1, but Barguer turned Clark, sending Clark into a spin. Behind them, Zeke Wimberley spun out Krzysztof Salmonman in the AZKi car at the same place, and Clark rejoined the track, but collected Hinochi Taiyo (Hoshinova Moona) in the process in two separate incidents involving five cars.

Lap 23 saw a battle with Rustim Kurashio and Alticer Antanarau (Nekomata Okayu) end with Kurashio being spun by Antanarau at Turn 1, putting Kurashio in dead last. This was a reversal of fortune from the Honeyworks race where he got his first win.

After the leaders pitted, with Sims on Lap 20, Santiago on Lap 23 and Rodd on Lap 24. Sims had a slow stop, which sent her 2 positions down to a net 5th, but Santiago and Rodd kept their net positions.

As the race progressed to the end, the gap between leader Santiago and Rodd was at 5.3 seconds by Lap 26. But Rodd's second stint saw pace back in the Shirakami Fubuki machine as Rodd closed the gap to Santiago with no help from lapped traffic, and at one point, Rodd set a lap a second faster than Santiago at one point.

By Lap 37, both drivers met up in what would be a tense battle until the end. Rodd had more grip in the corners which benefitted his gains to Santiago, but Santiago had an ace up his sleeve; a car with serious acceleration and straight-line speed. Rodd closed the gap in the corners, but Santiago kept accelerating away from Rodd at the 1.5 kilometer straight. Rodd had no answer at the end.

With that, time travelling detective Watson Amelia's Bernardo Santiago won their first ARO and Formula Hololive race, both for the driver and talent, with the overall, INT and EN class win for Sanitago. Richie Rodd could at least secure the JP class win for Shirakami Fubuki after starting 2nd. Another stroke of strategic genius, a good race pace and a good pit stop went Berthelsen's way as he finished on the podium in 3rd, second in the INT and EN class. Angela Sims finished 5th overall, 1st in the ID class.

Formula Hololive Japan's Championship Standings after Fuji

In the Split A race, great races from Domaschnev and Riba and Split C's Antanarau helped seal the top 3 spots in Qualifiers Split A, with 325, 290 and 260 points respectively. After DNFing at Sepang, Rodd's 2nd place in the Split C race helped him climb inside the top 10, the Tsuyo Cup spot with 176 points in 6th. Michael Turner's recovery drive helped Turner remain inside the top 10, with 140 points in 8th.

As for unfortunate drivers, Kacyznski and Salmonman who were involved in incidents in their respective races dropped down to the Zako Cup slots.

Meanwhile in Split B, the top spots remain unchanged, with Elgore, Chae-Yon and Shazren Redza having unremarkable finishes in the Split B race. However Airi Nakamura who scored 3rd overall in that race saw Nakamura jump into the top 5 spot in the Split B Qualifers standings with 151 points. Ed Skye's fourth sees him jump to eighth with 130 points.

Concluding Remarks

In conclusion, the racing events at Fuji Speedway marked the culmination of the Japanese Racing Season for both Hololive GT3 Japan and Formula Hololive Japan in March 2024. The excitement and drama unfolded across various races and splits, showcasing the talent and skills of the drivers competing in these competitions.

Every race provided its own set of thrills and challenges. The Capture the Moment weekend witnessed remarkable performances from drivers like Kaminari Riba, Sven Jensen, Rustim Kurashio and Bernardo Santiago, who clinched victories in Hololive's biggest weekend of the year. As for HoloGT3, Phu-My, Shaqif Redza and Mikolev went from being on the outside looking in to qualifying for the Tsuyo Series in the end.

As the racing season progresses, April will see more Qualifiers action for Formula Hololive Japan, continuing with the Tsukuba SP on April 6-7. Then Formula Hololive International will resume operations with the third last race of the season, Round 8, the Spielberg GP at the Red Bull Ring on April 27th.

All in all, fans have been treated to a racing spectacle with no other, and they will be sure to see more in the coming weeks.