KMSA Motorsport N team complete dominant season in Japan

Elantra N TCR driver Jeon Weon Choi won two of the three races at the TCR Japan season finale at Motegi (November 30-December 1) to clinch the title.

The Korean won both Race 1 and Race 2 from pole position. In the opening encounter he was unchallenged once he had fended off a lap one attack, while his KMSA Motorsport N team-mate, and title rival, Masanobu Kato climbed the order to finish third after starting last after a technical issue in Qualifying.

Choi was briefly pushed back to second on the opening lap of Race 2, before retaking the top spot. He led Kato, who again moved up the order from his qualifying spot, home in a 1-2 for the team. Though Kato was less than a second behind at the line, Choi’s victory allowed him to clinch the title with the final race of the meeting still go to.

Even so, the KMSA Motorsport N pair’s pace remained unchanged in Race 3. Despite starting fourth and fifth they quickly made their way to the front of the field, battling fiercely over the lead. It was Kato who scored the final win of the year, less than two tenths clear of his team-mate to seal the squad’s seventh 1-2 finish of a dominant season where they won they also won the manufacturers’ championship for Hyundai and the teams’ title.