Points after Long Beach!
Ibuki's back out front! She now leads by 17 over rival Dalia. Near the bottom, Maho has escaped the forbidden ones (those outside the top 20) for the first time ever!
Up next... we go back home again in Indiana!
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And that's it! While Mana led a majority of the race, leave it to the #10 team and an untimely caution to leave her disappointed.
That's win #3 on the year for the defending champion!
#D4LetsRace #D4DJ #IndyCar
Masterfully done!
Ibuki Niijima denies her rivals again at Long Beach, taking back the points lead!
#D4LetsRace #D4DJ #IndyCar
Final lap! One more time around for the leader, she leads by 5 seconds!
Dalia's hunting down 3rd-place Noa. Ibuki has the points lead as they run, but Dalia is her biggest threat and Ibuki's teammate may be able to give her rival some fits!
10 laps to go. Ibuki maintains a 5.5 second lead.
Sorry, Mana.
20 laps to go, Ibuki leads by 4 seconds and that lead is growing quickly!
Penalty for Weronika (#26)! She hit a #4 crew member on the last stop.
Noa is on soft tires and wants to pass Mana for 2nd. Mana and Ibuki are on the primaries. 27 laps remaining!
Mana had all the momentum in the world... and she loses it all! The racing gods say the #10 has to be out front, and Ibuki gaps by a second.
This is gonna get good... The champ is finally out front, but will she hold serve on the restart?
Ibuki Niijima leads! Mana Kase, Noa Fukushima, and Dalia Matsuyama trail her as the green flag flies with 29 laps to go! They all accelerate single-file!
#D4LetsRace #D4DJ #IndyCar
Here comes the final stop of the day! Mana leads them in...
Ibuki is out first! It's Ibuki, Mana, Noa, Dalia, Shinobu!
Mana's 3 second lead has been erased, and everyone comes to pit road under a blanket.
Rinku (#2) clobbered the debris. Nice.
Lap 57 sees the caution flag fly! There's debris on the track.
Saki (#28) has fallen out of the race with hybrid issues.
We're halfway done! The top 10 is...
Mana Kase (#60)
Ibuki Niijima (#10)
Dalia Matsuyama (#27)
Marika Mizushima (#12)
Shinobu Inuyose (#5)
Noa Fukushima (#9)
Weronika (#26)
Kyoko Yamate (#3)
Towa Hanamaki (#8)
Nagisa Tsukumiyama (#7)
Rinku (#2) heads to pit road again. While the other frontrunners are going to do 2 stops, Rinku's doing 3. She pits for softs and comes out 14th, about where she was before she stopped earlier on.
Rinku (#2) leads the race by 11 seconds on her alternate strategy! Mana (#60) is 2nd, staving off 3rd-place Ibuki (#10) by about a second.
Mana gets the edge and stays ahead! Both are on softs.
Mana and Ibuki come to pit road together! Dalia, Marika, and Noa follow them in!
Ibuki bided her time for 29 laps, and as we reach the first third of the race, she's ready to pounce on Mana for the lead!
You know how it is: Ibuki overcuts everyone and then leads the rest of the race. Ready for another special by the champ?
20 laps complete, Mana leads Ibuki by a sizeable 1.5 second gap. Rinku is on her own and is about a second faster than the leader per lap!
Rinku (#2) is next to pit, looking to run some fast times in clean air away from the pack. She was around 13th.
Esora (#76) takes to pit road early on lap 9.
This'll either be a two-stop race or a three-stopper. The frontrunners want to do two, but it all depends on how well the alternate soft tires hold up. Each team is required to run 2 sets of those.
Mana leads, Ibuki is 2nd, Shinobu is 3rd, Dalia is 4th, Marika is 5th!
If you're just joining us from the Idol Racing League, welcome to the California coast. This is the biggest street race of the year, and everyone feels the energy!
Mana Kase and Shinobu Inuyose lead the start on the streets of Long Beach! Let's party!
#D4LetsRace #D4DJ #IndyCar
Drivers, start your engines! We're ready to rock today!
Results from this afternoon's warmup. We race in about 2 hours!
oops wrong account
The lineup is set!
Mana leads the charge, hoping to turn the streets into a boulevard of broken dreams for the drivers behind her!
The race is on tomorrow at 6 PM Eastern!
#D4LetsRace #D4DJ #IndyCar