Who will come out on top in Kyojo Cup's six-way title fight?
Heading into the final round of the 2026 Kyojo Cup season, six drivers remain in mathematical contention for the crown. With 33 points on offer between qualifying and the two races, who will become Kyojo Cup's newest champion in the series' closest-ever title fight?
After four thrilling rounds in Kyojo Cup's second season in its "Kyojo Formula" era, six drivers are still in contention for the title a pair of races yet to be run this weekend on 31 October–1 November.
Cerumo/INGING's Riona Tomishita (#39) leads the way on 75 points. The Chiba native began the season with two convincing wins at the first round back in May and only briefly surrendered the points lead this year. The 20-year-old most recently won the third Kyojo Sprint in September, but a podium-less round in October, in which she regained the points lead, only gave her a slim advantage over the rest of the field.
Five points behind her is Joanne Ciconte (#10), who spearheads KCMG's title fight with the aim of becoming Kyojo Cup's first-ever foreign champion. The 17-year-old Australian has been a force to be reckoned with since her double podium in May, which kickstarted her title aspirations. Ciconte proceeded to finish no lower than sixth in the following three rounds, which included a pair of podiums most recently in October. Curiously enough, the KCMG racer is still yet to win a race this year, which gives her a unique opportunity in becoming Kyojo Cup's first-ever winless champion in series history.
Six points away from the lead is TOM'S racer Aimi Saito (#36), who aims to secure her second title in three seasons. Aside from a retirement last time out, Saito has also been one of the most consistent drivers all season, finishing no lower than fifth in the first seven races of the season, during which she momentarily became points leader with her Kyojo Final win in July. Despite a double podium in September, Saito lost the points lead last time out, before a retirement in the final while battling with Tomishita only further hampered her title aspirations.
Fourth on 64 points is Tomishita's own teammate, Kokoro Sato (#38), who heads into the finale with momentum on her side after winning the Kyojo Final earlier this month. The 18-year-old Hyogo native has finished no lower than seventh this year, which included four additional podiums in the first four rounds of the season, placing her within close reach of her maiden title in car racing.
Rounding out the top five on 59 points is series mainstay Miki Onaga (#7), who is yet to finish lower than second in points since her debut season in 2019. The KCMG driver won the Kyojo Sprint last time out, but an unusually rocky third round of the season in September saw her title aspirations take a hit, when the Okinawan was unable to take any points home after stalling at the start of the Sprint. Aside from that, Onaga's consistency has kept her in the title fight, with two other podiums to her name and a next worst result of fourth allowing her to stay close to the rest of the top five.
The sixth and final driver in contention for the crown is reigning champion Rio Shimono (#86) on 49 points. Following an utterly dominant title-winning campaign in 2025, in which she won eight of the season's ten races, Shimono has had an up-and-down campaign thus far, but remains in mathematical contention with a round to go. This year, she and Dr.Dry Racing have taken a win in the wet in the Kyojo Final in September, which was her highlight round of the season, in which she took additional silverware by finishing second in the Kyojo Sprint. The Osaka native has shown she has the pace to contend at the front and will be looking to climb up the championship order in this weekend's finale.
On-track action will start on Thursday, with three free practice sessions being held at 11:20, 13:00 and 14:20 local time (UTC+9), while Friday's practice sessions will begin at 10:20, 12:30 and 14:30. Saturday will host the final qualifying session of the season at 9:30, while the 10-lap Kyojo Sprint will commence at 13:05. On Sunday, the season-closing 15-lap Kyojo Final will be begin at 12:45. Qualifying and both races will be live streamed on Inter Proto Series x Kyojo Cup's official YouTube channel.
