Tsukuba 400 Race Review: Riba Secures First Win with Dominance and Elgore's Victory Amid Weather Delays

Tsukuba, 4 July — The Tsukuba 400 weekend delivered a thrilling spectacle in the Hololive GT3 series, with standout performances and dramatic twists across both the Zako and Tsuyo Series races.

Zako Series

The Zako Series race on Saturday saw Riba secure his maiden Hololive GT3 victory, driving for Shishiro Botan. Starting from pole position, Riba maintained a commanding lead throughout the 98-lap race, narrowly missing a grand slam as Roboco's Callum Gibbens snatched the fastest lap. Riba's flawless performance marked Shishiro Botan's first win in Hololive GT3 since June 2022.

The race also witnessed intense battles for the podium with Shawn Goh executing a bump-and-run maneuver on Lap 92 at Turns 5 and 6, overtaking Shaneil Marcman for second place. This maneuver ensured a historic moment with two ReGloss cars finishing on the podium, as Shawn Goh for Ichijou Ririka and Shaneil Marcman for Juufuutei Raden took second and third, respectively.

Johan Sinful, who started on the front row, finished in fourth place, while Mohamed Khashiu secured fifth for Tsunomaki Watame. Martinez dropped from fifth to sixth, and Barguer fell from fourth to seventh. Ryo, showcasing impressive racecraft, climbed from 18th to finish eighth. Leo, Asano, and Mendes finished outside the points in 16th, 17th, and 18th, respectively. Antanarau's string of bad luck continued with a mechanical failure on Lap 49, resulting in his fifth consecutive DNF this season.

Top 5 in the Zako Series after Tsukuba:

Kaminari Riba - 200 points

Shawn Goh - 175 points

Shaneil Marcman - 150 points

Johan Sinful - 130 points

Mohamed Khashiu - 108 points

Tsuyo Series

Isekaijin Mikolev for Sakura Miko and Ookami Mio's Jake Goodwin set the pace on Sunday, with both starting on the front row for Sunday's race. But Sunday's Tsuyo Series race faced interruptions due to torrential rain, leading to a suspension after just 19 laps. The race was eventually reset and rescheduled for Monday, requiring a new round of qualifying.

Despite initial struggles in Sunday's qualifying with backmarker pace, Shazren Redza and Raijin Kacyznski found pace in their cars for Monday's session, qualifying fourth and fifth, respectively. Rim Elgore secured his first pole in HoloGT3 since last year's Tsukuba 400, with Tyler Williams starting alongside him in second.

The race began with drama as Jake Goodwin and Airi Nakamura suffered suspension damage, crashing into the pit wall and recording DNFs. Krzysztof Salmonman battled persistent issues, ultimately finishing five laps down in 18th place.

Ho Phu-My, starting third, made significant strides, recording the fastest lap and challenging the leaders. Traffic played a crucial role in the race outcome, with Mohd Shazren Redza unable to overtake Kaczynski and Elgore due to being held up by Alex Grant, who pitted late.

Rim Elgore claimed victory, marking his second Hololive GT3 win for Oozora Subaru and Subaru's fifth overall. Kaczynski delivered a solid second place for Yuzuki Choco, while Shazren Redza secured his first podium of the 2024 season for Himemori Luna. Houshou Marine's Ricci and Amane Kanata's Tyler Williams finished fourth and fifth, one lap down, owing to Tsukuba's short track length.

Mikolev ended his day with seventh despite having control of the race the day before.

Phu-My dropped to eighth due to an undercut strategy which led to him losing time to traffic.

At the back, Alex Grant and Jeff Rohan join Salmonman in 16th and 17th respectively as finishers outside the points, in addition to Nakamura and Goodwin who crashed at the start.

Top 5 in the Tsuyo Series after Tsukuba:

Rim Elgore - 200 points

Raijin Kacyznski - 175 points

Mohd Shazren Redza - 150 points

Lorenzo Ricci - 130 points

Tyler Williams - 108 points

With the early results laid down, drivers now focus their attention to Formula Hololive Japan's Tsuyo/Zako Cup opener, the Tokachi Superprix due this weekend, and later in August, Hololive GT3's second round of the Tsuyo/Zako Series, the Sepang 500.