Round 7 of Super Taikyu was held at Autopolis (Hita City, Oita Prefecture) on November 9 and 10, where the #99 RS-R Demio (RYU1/Ryo Hamaguchi/Hiroshi Nomura) stood on the second place of the podium in the ST-5 class.

Qualifying was held in fair weather and good conditions, with the #99 RS-R Demio taking third place on the grid, and the #17 NOPRO Demio (Toshihiko Nogami/Kenichi Obara/Tatsuya Nogami) earning fifth. Attention was focused on the battle for the top of the series' standings, involving both Demio teams and the #36 Vitz.

For the race, there was fog and rain from the morning onward, just like at last year's season-ending event. The warm up session was cancelled, and the race started at 2:00pm behind the Safety Car, which led the machines around for the first five laps. With the regulation for the maximum driving time for a single driver no longer applicable, the two Demio entries headed for the pit on the second lap after the start to change drivers. On the next lap, they changed drivers again, thereby completing their mandatory pit stops, before going back to following the Safety Car in the rain. Obara started, and returned to the track after the second pit stop.

The NOPRO Demio climbed to third place in its class thanks to speedy pit work. As the fog cleared and the rain let up, the Safety Car left the track. It was then that the RS-R Demio, which had slipped down the order due to its pit stops, began to climb back up through the ranks with ferocious momentum. The car overtook machines ahead of it to rise from sixth place to third. In the wildly shifting weather, the Safety Car came back out on track several more times, and with 10 minutes remaining, the RS-R Demio seized second place before crossing the finish line. The NOPRO Demio finished fifth.

The Demio entries made a good showing this season, with the RS-R Demio placing third in the series' standings, and the NOPRO Demio placing fourth. At the seven-hour round at Fuji, the NOPRO Demio took their first victory, and at the Suzuka sprint, the RS-R Demio took its first victory as well, making for an exciting series. Let's look forward to their performance next season, too.