When people say Umamusume should collaborate with Vocaloid, we don’t think this is what they had in mind.

Sunday’s Super GT season finale from Mobility Resort Motegi ended after just one lap for the two itasha on the grid. Pacific Racing Team’s Umamusume-sponsored #9 BMW M4 and Goodsmile Racing’s Hatsune Miku-backed #4 Mercedes-AMG, GT300 classmates, tangled in the S-curves’ Turn 5 and spun into the gravel.

Tatsuya Kataoka, who was driving the #4 to start the race, ran wide while trying to avoid contact ahead between Pacific’s Yuta Fujiwara and Arnest Iwata Racing’s Yusuke Mitsui. The bumping caused Fujiwara to get loose and spin into Kataoka, destroying the Mercedes’ right side.

The accident necessitated a caution flag.

Racer Network’s booth, providing the English-language broadcast, lamented the DNFs given the obvious appeal of anime-themed cars on the grid. RJ O’Connell even brought attention to “some of our more cultured viewers” who’d surely be disappointed by the sight.

Both itasha are beloved by fans, with Goodsmile having long sported Miku-themed liveries whereas Pacific has collaborated with several IPs including Love Live!, Girls und Panzer, and Idolmaster. 2026 is the first season of Pacific’s partnership with Umamusume: Pretty Derby, which has exploded in popularity since the game’s global launch in 2025. In August, Pacific broke through for its maiden victory at Suzuka Circuit.

“It’s a shame,” O’Connell continued. “Goodsmile Racing and the Hatsune Miku AMG, the world-famous Vocaloid character which is the mascot of that team, that’s a championship-winning organization. Unfortunately, their race effectively done on the first lap, as is the Pacific BMW that won at Suzuka, which of course we know how that race went.

“On behalf of us, we say thank you to the entire Umamusume fan community for all your love and support. It’s great that they’ve been able to sponsor that car, that team. We hope it continues and we hope to see bigger and better things coming along the way. It’s part of what makes Super GT so unique, I’d say.”

Incidentally, Motegi was the site of Cygames’ other major motorsports promotion in September when Umamusume served as the official event partner of the MotoGP weekend.

Featured image credit: Goodsmile Racing