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The first race of the finals took place on Suzuka Circuit with the competitors driving N500 class supercars.

Japan’s Ryota Kokubun (Akagi_1942mi) [911 GT3] took pole position after putting down the top time in qualifying mere moments before qualifying time was up. Second on the grid was Hong Kong’s Jonathan Wong (saika159-) [458 Italia]. Japan’s Shogo Yoshida (gilles_honda_v12) [NSX] and Tomoaki Yamanaka (yamado_racing38) [AMG GT S] sat just behind on the second row.

The race started clean for all the drivers, with no upsets in sight.

Among the cars second and behind, Wong (saika159-) kept a slower pace, as did Yoshida (gilles_honda_v12) who had problems with tyre wear early on. In 1st place, Kokubun (Akagi_1942mi) ran alone, furthering his lead over the pack.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the pack, despite running off the track at the chicane on lap 1 after a slight collision with another driver, Australian Cody Nikola Latkovski (Nik_Makozi) [Viper GTS] moved up to 6th.

On lap 3, still struggling with his tyres, Yoshida (gilles_honda_v12) oversteered on the 130R, allowing Yamanaka (yamado_racing38) to move up to 3rd.

In the upper ranks on lap 4, 4th place runner Yoshida (gilles_honda_v12) headed into the pits for a tyre change. Latkovski (Nik_Makozi) was given a 5 second time penalty for cutting the white line leaving the pits.

Not wanting to get caught in pit traffic, Kokubun (Akagi_1942mi), Wong (saika159-) and Yamanaka (yamado_racing38) waited another lap, saving their pit stops for lap 5.

Thanks to his keen tyre conservation Kokubun (Akagi_1942mi) further widened the lead.

With 2 laps left, Yamanaka (yamado_racing38) had managed to close the gap between him and Wong (saika159-) but was unable to overtake.

After completely dominating the race keeping pole position for the entire race, the victory went to Japan’s Ryota Kokubun (Akagi_1942mi) in a stunning pole-to-win finish.

Comments from the winner: Japan, Ryota Kokubun (Akagi_1842mi)

Much like the race on day 1, I started from pole position, so I was able to lay out my own plans for the race. Because I changed tyres on lap 5, after the halfway point on this 8-lap race, I was able to avoid any traffic and keep my own pace throughout and that was my key to victory.