Please select your country / region

This was the final event of the Manufacturer Series, held at the Autódromo de Interlagos. Each of the manufacturers staked their pride on this, the deciding race.

#12 Kawakana222 (Lexus), who began in pole position, and #9 Akagi_1942mi (Nissan), second on the grid, didn’t quite get off the starting line as quickly as they might have hoped, but third-placed #13 CLS63AMG-sc (Mercedes-Benz) took the lead and soared into the first corner.
While #7 yamado_racing38 (Toyota) came into this final race at the top of the rankings, a failed bid for pole position in the qualifier resulted in a disappointing start at 11th on the grid.

As the race progressed, #13 CLS63AMG-sc (Mercedes-Benz) continued to extend an already impressive lead over the rest of the pack. A group vying for second place trailed some distance behind, consisting of #12 Kawakana222 (Lexus), who was it had been hoped might seize the title in a surprise upset, #3 s-shohei (Honda) and #9 Akagi_1942mi.

#7 yamado_racing38 (Toyota) managed to move steadily up from 11th to 6th, but that hunger for the title came to nothing thanks to a series of off-track and contact penalties.

The second-place group, led by #12 Kawakana222 (Lexus), finally managed to diminish race leader #13 CLS63AMG-sc (Mercedes-Benz)’s lead in the 9th lap, before making a mid-race pit stop during the 11th.

At this point, positions within the leading group changed significantly. #12 Kawakana222 (Lexus) and #9 Akagi_1942mi (Nissan) succeeded in regaining the 1-2 positioning they enjoyed on the starting grid thanks to a strategy of restraining pace in the first half in order to conserve fuel.
#13 CLS63AMG-sc (Mercedes-Benz), who until then had been in the lead, was hemmed in by #24 Adam_2167 (Ford), who had pushed into third place after employing a two-stop strategy, preventing a return to the front line of the battle for first place.

A breathtaking fight for the top spot then ensued between Kawakana222 and Akagi_1942mi.

On the home straight of the 17th lap, #9 Akagi_1942 (Nissan) finally pushed into the lead. While both drivers had picked up time penalties, a wide line taken by #12 Kawakana222 (Lexus) resulted in a further penalty, putting paid to any ambitions of recovering the top spot.

#9 Akagi_1942mi (Nissan) crosses the finish line ahead of the veteran #12 Kawakana222 (Lexus), despite initial expectations that the nature of the track would put the GT-R at a disadvantage, and Nissan secures the Manufacturer Series title.

This was a second title in a row for Akagi_1942, who also won the Nations Cup held just before the final Manufacturer Series race.

After the race, yamado_racing38, a veteran driver in online Gran Turismo events, had this to say: “I’m happy with the fact that I worked my way up from 11th to 5th place, and the penalties I picked up were my fault—if I hadn’t dropped to 11th in the qualifier, they would never have happened.”

While many Japanese veteran drivers are losing speed and motivation, only yamado_racing38 succeeds in continuing to maintain prime position at the top. Despite this perennial champion narrowly missing out on the series title, it was a truly enjoyable race that proved not only to be a clash between manufacturers, but also between veterans and new talent.