I knew that with this new route using the Japanese, a sub-9 run was possible, and I got pretty close. The biggest stumble was getting Great Builders for my first two Great People (VERY rare) and bungling the use of the second one; I also got punished when I built a spaceship part and just didn't get credit for it, increasing the number of turns it took for the flight to complete. If I clean those things up, getting this sub-9 is very realistic.