The fourth and penultimate round of the 2026 Kyojo Cup Season took place at Fuji Speedway in Japan at the start of this month and proved to be a decisive round in what is already a closely contested series. From potential Championship altering results to comeback drives and series firsts, the all female Japanese Series proved its value once again, not just for driver development but as essential viewing for motorsport fans across the globe.
All to Play For in the Championship
While the top six drivers in the standings are all still mathematically in the hunt for the Driver’s Championship as the Kyojo Cup approaches its final round of the season, realistically five of those are still in with a shot - thanks in part to Miki Onaga’s standout performance in this second to last contest. Having finished outside of the points in both races from the third round of the Championship, Onaga faced a sizable challenge to rebound and put herself back in with a chance at winning the title. That’s exactly what she did this time out though as she qualified in Pole Position before going on to win the Sprint Race and then finished in third place in the Final Race. Not only was it her first Pole Position of the season but her first victory too and neither could have come at a better moment for her. The experience that she’s garnered so far this season repaid her handsomely and highlights one of the benefits of running an entire Championship at a single circuit. Fifth place overall, Onaga still perhaps has the most difficult job of clinching the title (besides Shimono in sixth) but as this weekend proved, it’s not over until it’s over.
That’s a sentiment that Aimi Saito will be repeating to herself heading into the final round of the season. After equalling her worst result of the season so far of fifth place (not that bad really) in the Sprint Race, she then got caught up in what was almost a collision on track. Taking avoiding action of the cars ahead of her, Saito went off track at the first turn but damaged her car in the process in the Final Race which ultimately resulted in her retiring from the race. Thus she was only able to collect four points from the entire weekend - a serious blow to her Championship ambitions. While just six points away from the top spot in the Championship, all bar one of her main rivals had stellar weekends. Onaga brought herself back into play, as mentioned, while Kokoro Sato was the second of three drivers to finish on the podium in both races with a second place finish and a victory in the Final Race to her name. Not only was it Sato’s first second place finish of the year but also her very first victory too. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she was the only driver aside from Onaga to be even happier with her performance across this penultimate round. Sato is now just five points behind Saito and could at the very least leap frog her in the standings next time out.
But even if all of these drivers have dream weekends next time out at Fuji, there are still two drivers they’ll need to somehow get past.
Tomishita Vs Ciconte
Saito wasn’t the only one to potentially feel the pressure of a Championship run in Fuji. Riona Tomishita, Championship leader, had not only her worst Qualifying of the season so far (seventh place) but then had an uncharacteristically underwhelming pair of results as she finished in sixth place in both races. This is surprising because aside from her thirteenth place finish back in the Sprint Race at the second round of the year, Tomishita hasn’t finished outside of the top five all year.
Behind her though is the personification of consistency - Joanne Ciconte. The Australian continues to absorb pressure like a sponge and does all that she needs to to stay very much in the hunt for winning the title in her rookie season. Having qualified in fourth, she finished in third in the Sprint Race before going one better and finishing in second place in the Final Race. Less than twenty points away from Tomishita following the last round, she’s now cut that deficit to just five points. While yet to win a race this season, Ciconte has had a lowest finishing position of sixth and has just been showing up and doing the work week in, week out. It’s a method that’s working. Tomishita has more wins. Saito and Sato have more podiums. But Ciconte could steal the limelight from all of them and win this Championship without ever having placed a foot on the top step of the podium at all. Regardless of what happens next time out, Ciconte has proved to be remarkable this year and teams in other series around the globe should sit up and take notice if they haven’t already.
Season High Points
Further down the order, there were some good news stories. Kilei Kanemoto had her best result of the season so far when she finished in fifth place in Sunday’s Final. She’d previously risen only as high as ninth. Shiraishi’s seventh place in the same race was not only her best result yet but also her first time in the points since the second round of the Championship too. Hirakawa finished just behind her in the final in eighth to collect her maiden points of the season, having only competed in the second round of the Championship prior to this.
Despite no points being on offer, several other drivers also had their best results of the season so far at Fuji this time out. Iwaoka finished just outside of the points in eleventh with Ito and Sitarvee equalling their best results of the season in twelfth and thirteenth. Yun Quing finished in fourteenth place in the final which was a step up too and hopefully an encouraging sign for the Chinese driver that she’s moving in the right direction.
Half a Dozen of One and the Other
Rami Sasaki had her best qualifying of the year in second place but unfortunately slid down the order in both races. Still, she finished in the points for both the Sprint and the Final, one of only five of the twenty drivers to do so, in eighth and tenth respectively. It was a close call in the Sprint though as she had an edge of the seat photo finish for the final points paying position as she and Shimono drag raced one another to the finish line.
Paide Raddatz had a difficult weekend but was able to finish it on a high. Contact in the Sprint led to retirement and a fightback through the pack, ultimately back up to ninth by the end of the Final Race. It won’t have been the weekend that Raddatz will have wanted heading into it but her resilience and determination were on full display here which was great to see.
Following decent results for both Matusi (fourth) and Miura (seventh) in the Sprint, both drivers then came together on just the second lap of the Final Race, with both forced to retire from the race as a result and bringing out the Safety Car. It was both drivers’ first DNF of the season in what has been a respectable campaign for the pair thus far. They’ll both be hoping to come back stronger for the final round of the season.
Final Thought
Just five points sit between first and second place in the Championship. There is only one more point separating third place from this fight too with six drivers in contention overall. Barring any major mishaps though, it looks like it’ll be a straight fight between Tomishita and Ciconte with Saito searching for a remarkable comeback after her DNF this time out.
A further six drivers have yet to score a single point so far this season and each will desperately want to change that in the final round of the year. As for everyone else, they’ll all be searching for a season best result in the season finale too, not just to go into the off-season on a high but to also sell themselves to other teams in other series looking at who they want on their roster for any of the remaining races on their dockets in 2026 and then looking ahead too to 2027.
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Kyojo Cup returns October 31st at Fuji Speedway.