The opening round of the Civic Inter Series was held at Suzuka Circuit. With no major changes from the previous season, all drivers and teams set up their cars making full use of last years data. 2 time consecutive champion and TEIN user Matsui had some trouble with his car and was not able to extend his times during the qualifying session and ended up qualifying in 8^th position. Pole position went to GT driver, Taniguchi while 2^nd and 3^rd positions went to last season's runner-ups Tomoaki and Kobayashi.

 

Rain fell the night before the start and remained on some patches of the course which worried the teams. But luckily by the time the final race started the conditions dried up. As the race got underway, Tomoaki had a slow start and was passed but Kobayashi heading into the first corner. Kobayashi lead his pursuit of the top running Taniguchi, but was unable to pass due to skillful driving by Taniguchi. Near the end of the race, Kobayshi's efforts took a toll on his tires and he started losing pace. Tomoaki took full advantage and overtook Kobayashi to finish the race in 3^rd position. Unfortunately Matsui still couldn't get his car right and was unable to match the times of the top runners and finished 7^th overall.