The deciding race of the 60th Macau Grand Prix Road Sport Challenge was held on Saturday, November 16th, and Tatsuya Tanigawa, competing in the Knight Sports RX-8 as the only Japanese driver, ended up third on the podium.

Beginning on the front row after coming second in qualifying, Tanigawa was passed at the standing start by the 4WD cars behind, before maintaining his position until the middle of the race. In the latter half, Tanigawa was working up to attack the leading cars when an accident occurred at Fishermen's Bend on lap 6, resulting in the Safety Car being brought out while the crash was cleared and the track swept. The gap shrank between the three leading machines, meaning there was a good chance that Tanigawa could come from behind, but it was not to be. With the cars still under caution, the red flag was flown, bringing an end to the race. There was no chance to make a play, which caused frustration, but Tanigawa was smiling on the podium as he applauded the victor.

Tanigawa said, “I let victory slip away, so it was a regrettable result. As the only FR car, I think we were outstanding at the start, but we were expecting the 4WD cars to get ahead of us. That's an issue for us, but I thought I could offset it with speed on the straights. There is also an issue with exiting the corners more quickly. If I can compete again next time, I will overcome these issues and aim for an even stronger finish.” Team Director Nakamura said, “People say, ‘That's Macau for you’. Everyone from Van Iek, the local dealer, said it wasn't a bad result as well, but all the same it was frustrating. I'd like to come back here again.”

After the race, the Knight Sports RX-8 was transported by air to Japan, where it is due to appear on December 8th at the ‘Mazda Fan Festa in Okayama’.