Sho Tsuboi wrapped up the Tremendous Formulation title with second place in Sunday’s ultimate race of the season at Suzuka, as Kakunoshin Ota accomplished a dominant double victory.
After ending second in Saturday’s opener and selecting up one other bonus level in qualifying on Sunday morning, TOM’S driver Tsuboi went into the ultimate race needing solely a single level to place the championship out of attain of his sole remaining rival Tadasuke Makino.
As Ota overtook poleman Tomoki Nojiri to place himself in an early lead, Tsuboi was in no temper to play the odds as he handed Nojiri across the outdoors into Flip 1 to seize second place as early because the second lap of 31.
Though Dandelion Racing driver Ota had pulled out a five-second benefit by the point the pit window opened on lap 10, it seemed as if the undercut may enable Tsuboi again into the battle for the win as he got here in for his necessary cease on lap 11.
A searing outlap meant that Tsuboi was proper on Ota’s tail by the point the chief was midway round his outlap, after having pitted one lap later, however Ota held on to the lead earlier than pulling away as soon as extra.
Ota went on to attain his third profession win and his second of the weekend by a margin of 5.4 seconds, serving to Dandelion cement the groups’ title forward of Staff Mugen within the course of.
Tsuboi in the meantime turned the fifth totally different driver for TOM’S to win the Tremendous Formulation title, becoming a member of Kazuki Nakajima, Andre Lotterer, Nick Cassidy and final yr’s champion Ritomo Miyata on the flagship Toyota squad’s roll of honour.
The 29-year-old heads into subsequent month’s SUPER GT finale at Suzuka with an opportunity of changing into solely the sixth driver in historical past to win each of Japan’s high two championships in the identical yr.
Kakunoshin Ohta, DOCOMO TEAM DANDELION RACING
Picture by: Masahide Kamio
Makino on the opposite endured a nightmare day as he certified down in tenth and will solely handle eighth within the race, being handed by Ayumu Iwasa for seventh on the ultimate lap.
With Nojiri ending fourth behind Nirei Fukuzumi (KCMG), who handed the Mugen man on the finish of the second lap on the chicane, it meant Makino misplaced out within the battle for runner-up within the championship to Nojiri by a single level.
Ren Sato accomplished the highest 5 for Nakajima Racing forward of his team-mate Naoki Yamamoto, who bowed out of Tremendous Formulation with a sixth-place end.
Pink Bull junior Iwasa accomplished a disappointing season in seventh after qualifying down in eleventh place, dropping out to Ota for fourth within the ultimate standings.
Kenta Yamashita (Kondo Racing) and Kamui Kobayashi (KCMG) accomplished the factors scorers in ninth and tenth locations.
Ukyo Sasahara seemed like he is perhaps ready to attain his first factors of the yr for TOM’S as he held up Makino for the primary a part of the race, however a dramatic lack of tempo after his pit cease meant he ended up down in 14th place on the end.
In contrast to Saturday’s race, the finale was a tame affair by way of on-track incidents, with Hiroki Otsu the one driver to endure a major delay in his TGM Grand Prix automotive as he was wheeled into the storage earlier than rejoining, ending six laps down.
