RIONA TOMISHITA Wins Endurance Debut as ANNA INOTSUME Loses Podium on Final Lap

March 25, 2025

GRRL! SUMMARY:

RIONA TOMISHITA proved that sometimes the best debuts come from those who’ve been grinding away in smaller series, taking her first endurance race win in ST-2 class at Motegi. The Kyojo Cup veteran showed zero rookie nerves as part of the #225 KTMS crew, helping deliver a class victory by nearly two seconds – not exactly a nail-biter, but we’ll take dominant any day over lucky.
ANNA INOTSUME’s ST-X debut story reads like motorsport’s cruelest joke: the 2023 TCR Japan champion ran in podium position for most of the race, only to watch her #101 Hitotsuyama Racing Audi grind to a halt on the final lap. After holding third early and battling back to podium contention in the closing stages, mechanical failure stole what should have been a statement-making debut in the premier GT3 class.
The weekend’s narrative perfectly captures what we see constantly in women’s racing – one driver breaking through with a breakthrough performance while another gets robbed by circumstances beyond her control. TOMISHITA enters her next Kyojo Cup round with serious momentum, while INOTSUME heads to Suzuka on April 26-27 with unfinished business and probably some choice words for her crew chief about reliability.