Hitotsuyama Racing competed in the ST-X class of the ENEOS Super Taikyu Series 2025 Empowered by BRIDGESTONE Round 2, "SUZUKA S-Tai 5 Hours x 1 Race," held at Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture from April 26th to 27th, 2025, with an Audi R8 LMS GT3.

The #101 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS took on the five-hour race with the same driver lineup as in the opening race: A: Kenji Suzuki, B: Sota Ogawa, C: James Pull, and D: Anna Inotsume. Having run out of gas just before the finish line in the previous race at Motegi and missing out on a podium finish, the team is looking to get revenge at Suzuka.

On April 26th, the Suzuka Circuit was blessed with clear skies, and the A driver's qualifying began at 2:41 pm. Suzuki, who stepped up to the GT3 ST-X class this season, spun on his out lap and was unable to get into a rhythm, meaning he was unable to show his true speed, and his time of 2:05.834 seconds on his third lap placed him in 6th place. Meanwhile, in the B driver qualifying session, which began at 2:45 pm, Ogawa recorded a time of 2:00.032  third lap, putting him in second place against a host of talented drivers, demonstrating a strong performance. The combined time for A and B drivers was 4:05.866, meaning they will aim to move up from sixth place, the last place in their class, in the final.

Afterwards, qualifying took place for the C/D drivers, with Pull clearing the qualifying standard in a time of 2:01.974, and Inotsume recording a time of 2:05.763. Ultimately, the team lined up in sixth place for the race.

On April 27th, the Suzuka Circuit was sunny and the five-hour race started at 11am under strong sunlight reminiscent of summer. Three driver changes were mandatory in this final race, and Ogawa took the first stint.

With most of his rivals being ace B-drivers, Ogawa showed off his speed by moving up to 5th place on the opening lap and 4th by the second lap. He later dropped to 5th place, but continued to lap at roughly the same pace as the leaders. As if to dampen Ogawa's speed, 40 minutes into the race, other cars began to have trouble and accidents one after another. By the time Ogawa finished his stint at 32 laps, the race had already seen four FCY (Full Course Yellow) periods.

Immediately after the fourth FCY was lifted, Ogawa headed for the pit lane and Inotsume handed the driver's seat over to him. Returning to the track in fifth place, Inotsume repeatedly recorded times in the 2-minute 5-second range, almost identical to his qualifying time. By lap 38, he had risen to third place, closing in on the #23 TKRI Matsunaga Construction AMG GT3, which was running 16 seconds ahead. With one FCY in between, Inotsume closed the gap to second place, and by the second half of lap 50 he was nose-to-tail with his rival. Unfortunately, Inotsume had been ordered to pit on this lap, so he could not make any overtaking attempts.

Suzuki, who took the wheel from Inotsume, was noticeably a little cautious in the early stages, perhaps due to the effects of his spin in qualifying. Midway through the race, he seemed to regain his confidence and suddenly picked up his pace, completing the 90-minute race. Meanwhile, Suzuki had to serve two drive-through penalties during his own stint. This was because the #101 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS was found to have sped twice during the first stint's FCY. This meant the #101 Hitotsuyama Audi R8 LMS fell more than a lap behind its rivals, and its hopes of a podium finish were dimmed.

Nevertheless, James Pull was entrusted with the final stint. He kept up with his rivals, occasionally recording times in the 2:04 range. Then, on the final lap, lap 124, he safely guided the car to the finish line and finished in 6th place.