At the start of the race, polesitter Nojiri immediately moved to the right to cover off a fast-charging Toshiki Oyu, who had made a blistering start from third on the grid to pass Ritomo Miyata for second.
While Nojiri managed to initially hold off Oyu, the TGM driver was the quicker of the two and went around the outside of the double champion into Coca-Cola corner to take the lead.
