Then Katayama and Kondo took the EV KARTs out for a four-lap mini-race. Sparks seemed to fly between the two motorsportsmen as they lined up on the starting grid. The flag went down and the battle began. At the start, Kondo took off like he was tempting Katayama. Tailgating Kondo, Katayama flew into the first corner, but Kondo showed him no way to get around. Then, on the second lap, Katayama took the lead. For a while, it looked like Katayama was going to run away with the race, but he spun out on the second corner of the fourth lap. Kondo went inside him to take the lead and the checquered flag.

Back in the pits, Katayama first said, “Damn, I hated losing that race.” Apparently the EV car had become just another racing machine in Katayama’s mind, and had lit the fire of his competitive spirit.

Katayama had advice for YOKOHAMA. He said YOKOHAMA should dig deeper than ever in developing this new generation of racing machines. “As a maker of sports tyres, YOKOHAMA faces of the challenge of developing the next generation of eco-friendly cars,” he said. “In the past, YOKOHAMA has utilised the feedback from motorsports to improve overall tyre performance.” Now eco-friendliness is the critical issue, and YOKOHAMA felt this test driving session opened the door to new possibilities in terms of eco-friendly tyres.