Round 7 introduced a reworked layout built around three swings through the main straight's passing zones, placing greater emphasis on precision, speed and angle. Nakagawa emerged as the strongest performer, progressing through a demanding pursuit tournament before defeating Koji Yanagi in the final.
Naoki Ando had impressed during the solo runs with a strong opening sequence, but Nakagawa's execution through the latter half of the course and into Turn 1 proved decisive. Championship leader Junichi Asano, meanwhile, suffered an early exit against Seto, unable to produce the close-drift execution that had defined his previous performances.
Nakagawa continued through the knockout stages, edging Seto in the quarterfinal before overcoming Genki Mogami in the semi-final. Yanagi reached the final after Yuichiro Toyoda was suspended for a paddock speed-limit violation.
The final required a rematch after the opening runs could not separate the pair. Nakagawa's speed and angle kept Yanagi under pressure, before a fourth-zone error from Yanagi in the deciding run allowed Nakagawa to secure his second win of the season.
The course changed completely for Round 8, with the layout running through the opening corners, around the outer perimeter and into a hairpin before the infield. A new limit line through the straight placed renewed emphasis on judging the approach to Turn 1.
Seto adapted quickest, taking the solo run victory ahead of Mogami and Nakagawa. The pursuit tournament then produced another major shift, with Asano eliminating Nakagawa in the Round of 16 after the latter's drift corrected entering the first corner.
Seto progressed to the final after Akihito Fujio's damaged intercooler could not be repaired within the allotted window. On the other side of the bracket, Asano's weekend ended with an unrepaired drivetrain issue, sending Kenichi Nakamura into his first D1 Lights final.
The final between Seto and Nakamura also went to a rematch after Nakamura missed two zones while leading. In the tiebreaker, Seto closed the gap tightly while chasing, forcing another mistake from Nakamura and securing his first D1 Lights victory.
Nakamura finished second and Fujio third, while the championship picture tightened further at the top. Nakagawa now leads the standings, with Ando and Igarashi closely behind, while Asano's early exits across both rounds have put further pressure on his title challenge.
With two different winners from the Bihoku doubleheader and the leading contenders separated by small margins, the D1 Lights championship heads into its next round with the fight increasingly open.
