D1 NEXT Niigata 2026 Rd.2 Maze Results: Kazama Wins, Inoue Tops Series

Kazama (風間光輝) won D1 NEXT Niigata Series Round 2 at Nihonkai Maze Circuit (Niigata) on Sunday 19 July 2026, beating second qualifier Sakaguchi (坂口征臣) in the final after putting out top qualifier Hamamoto (濱本廣斗) in the semi-final. The official series table gives him 25 points, Sakaguchi 21, Hamamoto 18 and the other semi-finalist, Hayashi (林和樹), 16. The D1 NEXT schedule lists two Niigata rounds, 18 and 19 July, and no third date, so the table after Round 2 is the final one: Stuart Inoue (スチュアート井上), who won Round 1 the day before, tops it on 37 points, 8 clear of Shinohara (篠原百貴). This report was written up on 7 September 2026 from D1’s official post, and every number in it was checked on the official pages on 7 Sep 2026.

D1 publishes D1 NEXT results in Japanese only, with no romanised entry list, so the readings we use, Koki Kazama, Masaomi Sakaguchi, Hiroto Hamamoto and the rest, are ours and unconfirmed by the organiser; the kanji sits beside every name so you can search it.

Who won Round 2, and how?

D1 NEXT is the open-entry regional tier of the D1 ladder, single-day events run by local organisers; our D1 NEXT explainer covers the format, fees and licence. The Niigata series was two of those days back to back at Nihonkai Maze Circuit, on the Sea of Japan coast in Niigata Prefecture, organised by GP Sports (GPスポーツ) and judged by Tanaka and Inaoka (田中省己・稲岡拓也).

Sunday’s tansō (単走), the solo judged runs, gave each driver two scored runs, ranked on the better one with the second as tie-break. Hamamoto topped the sheet on 97.70; Sakaguchi and Endo (遠藤空) both ran 97.55, and Sakaguchi’s 97.20 backup put him second; Kazama was fifth on 97.10. Forty-two drivers appear on the sheet plus one listed as 賞典外, running outside classification; the top 32 went into the bracket, the cut fell at 92.50, and six drivers are listed as リタイア, retired without a score.

Then the tsuisō (追走), the tandem chase battles that decide the round, two runs per pairing with lead and chase swapped. Kazama’s route is the story of the day: 28th qualifier Hario (針尾良治), then Sekai no Oka-chan (世界の岡ちゃん, an entry name that reads “Oka-chan of the World”), then Saturday’s winner Inoue in the Top 8, Hamamoto in the semi-final and Sakaguchi in the final. The official bracket records who won each pairing, not the judges’ scores, so we will not invent them. On Saturday the same driver had qualified 25th and gone out in the Top 16 for 3 points; Sakaguchi had gone out in the Top 32, and Hamamoto is listed as retired on the Round 1 sheet before topping Sunday’s.

The bracket: which battles are worth knowing about?

The low seeds did their damage early. Shinohara, 23rd in qualifying, beat tenth-placed Melonpan Fujimoto (メロンパン藤本) and then seventh-placed Koyama before Sakaguchi stopped him; Okuda, 24th, beat ninth-placed Takoyaki Mifune (たこやきミフネ) and eighth-placed Ogawa. One note on the source: the bracket graphic on D1’s Round 2 page is headed Rd.1, but its seeding is Sunday’s qualifying order and the official series points match it, so we have read the header as a slip.

How did the Niigata Series table finish?

Read off the official table, the scale is 25 for the win, 21, 18 and 16 for the next three, 13 down to 10 for the four beaten in the Top 8 and 8 down to 1 for the eight beaten in the Top 16; a Top 32 exit scores nothing, which is why Sakaguchi, Hamamoto and Hayashi have a blank Saturday column. Where two drivers fell at the same stage the table orders them by qualifying position, Hamamoto ahead of Hayashi for third.

Saturday’s Round 1 on the same track went to Inoue over Yoshimura in the final, with Shinohara third; that day has its own Round 1 report. Kazama and Hamamoto also appear in the official Central table, with 3 and 7 points from the spring rounds at Mobara and Nikko.

Where the season went next

The Niigata series was done that Sunday. The next D1 NEXT round within reach of Tokyo is Central Rd.3 at Mobara Twin Circuit (Chiba) on Sunday 13 September 2026: one day on the forward layout, entry desk and scrutineering 6:45–7:30, ¥19,800 to enter with tax and the circuit’s accident-benefit scheme included, plus ¥2,200 on the day for the provisional-licence briefing if you hold no D1 licence, entries closing 10 September. The circuit’s September sheet marks 13 September as a paid-admission day without printing the amount; our calendar entry, checked on 4 September, has ¥1,000 plus ¥1,000 parking per car. Our Mobara guide has the train from Tokyo Station, about 45 minutes to Mobara Station and a 15–20 minute bus or taxi.

Entering is where it stops being easy. Mobara’s process runs in Japanese from start to finish: a web form, an entry sheet sent back by fax or email, a bank transfer within three days, and no cancellation once the form is in; forget the acceptance letter on the day and you pay the gate as well.

Every remaining 2026 D1 NEXT date sits on the event calendar, rechecked against the official series table each month.