Saihara-Greater Kanto Rivalry

**The Saihara-Greater Kanto Rivalry** is an ESPLAR Elite Series rivalry between rival Japanese teams **Saihara Motorsports** of Shiga and Osaka Prefectures and **Greater Kanto Motorsports** (formerly 6AM Motorsports) ofTokyo and Tochigi Prefecture. The rivalry began in 2018 during Greater Kanto's first season in the ESPLAR Elite Series and quickly challenged Saihara's hegemony on the Japanese ESPLAR scene. The rivalry intensified in 2019, with both teams winning a combined 20 races out of 30 held in the season. Although Greater Kanto lost the Morson-Austin trophy that season, they vow revenge on Saihara and are currently close on their rivals in the 2020 Driver's championship, while trailing them by only 11 points in the team's championship (as of race 9).

## 2018 Season

In a 2018 season filled with the most parity in ESPLAR top class history, both Saihara Motorsports and Greater Kanto Motorsports combined for just 5 wins out of 25, though midway through the season Julia Truong led the points. However, reliability issues at Talladega and Auto Club erased her points lead, and at Evanshire that season 37 drivers were in contention to win the championship. Even though Kazuichi Saihara and Yoshihiro Ishikawa put up a good fight at the Evanshire 700, Julia Truong won the Evanshire 700 to emerge as champion.

## 2019 Season

The title defense would not start well for Truong, failing to finish in the points for the first 3 races as Saihara Motorsports' rookie prospect Hayato Kitanami won at Carbondale in a GWC finish. Kitanami would maintain his advantage for most of the early portion of the season, while Truong would only taste the team's first victory at Moncton while maintaining a consistent pace throughout. At Portland fortunes would turn in favor of Greater Kanto as Kitanami would fail to finish a single lap despite winning the pole. In Japan, Saihara would barely win out over Greater Kanto, but Truong would sweep both Australian races closing the gap to the points. At Ciudad Juarez, Truong would win to seal the #1 seed in that year's ESPLAR playoffs, but neither Truong or Kitanami would win for the rest of the year, with the title coming down to Evanshire. Despite qualifying on pole for that race, Truong would lose the championship defense by just two points. Had the playoffs not been implemented, Truong would have still lost the title, after struggling at Decatur.

In the interim, both Katya Alarcon and Yoshihiro Ishikawa notched 4 and 3 wins respectively, with Alarcon going on a 3 race win streak at Oswego, Arcadia, and Krakow. Alarcon would seal Greater Kanto's second consecutive teams championship via consistency.

## 2020 Season

Often seen as the 'last hurrah' of the current core of Greater Kanto Motorsports, the team announced both Julia Truong and Katya Alarcon would not return in 2021. The two dominated the season, holding their rival team to just 6 wins, while Greater Kanto scored 13 wins altogether. Julia Truong wrapped up the Morson-Austin Trophy a record 5 races early, setting a record that is most likely never going to be set again. Crashes and bad luck hampered Saihara, with chaotic races at New York, Tyleiden, and Texas.

## 2021 Season

Greater Kanto reset their lineup, adding Kazumi Furukawa and Natsumi Aoyagi to their lineup, while Kitanami and Uemura remained at Saihara. The season was shortened due to the BNV-20 pandemic, but the racing between the two teams remained as fierce as ever. At times, the rivalry nearly led to on-track fighting, only to be broken up by the teams hoping for a better way to settle their disputes, such as cardfights. Ultimately, neither team would taste the Morson-Austin Trophy, as Laura Kerrivan ended her team's Legacy of Failure at Evanshire, coming 3rd to hold off a spirited charge from Saihara Motorsports.