Goodsmile Racing finished the season finale of Super GT at the Twin Ring Motegi in 5th position after struggling during the qualifying session the previous day and were out of championship contention as they failed to secure pole position. The team qualified in 7th.
The race went underway with the #4 Hatsune Miku AMG overtaking the #33 EVA Nissan GT-R at the start of the race. There were overtakes here and there as teams have been let go of all their success ballast in the shortest race of the season at only 250 kilometres or 53 laps.
The #12 Calsonic Impul GT-R suffered an engine failure on the 15th lap forcing the car to retire. No Safety car was deployed.
As the race reached its halfway point, teams started to do their pit stops. This would play an important role to the position of when cars would come out of the pitlane especially with a championship at risk in both categories.
While the #55 ARTA NSX GT3 was sitting comfortably in a good position to win the championship. Meanwhile in GT500 the fight was still on for the championship with the #37 Keeper TOM’s LC500 leading the race and the #6 WAKO’s LC500 needing at least 2nd place to secure the championship. The latter would then overtake the #36 au TOM’s after a late lunge and both cars going off the track.
The pass that ultimately decided the championship battle, commentated by @sascha348 and Takuya Yura. @kentayamashitaa and @yuhisekiguchi go side-by-side and through the dirt in the final corners. #supergt #もてぎGT250km pic.twitter.com/zLzLDQM86o
— geinou (@geinou) November 3, 2019
In the end, the #37 Keeper TOM’s won the race but the #6 WAKO’s won the championship in the GT500 category by just 2 points. Meanwhile in GT300 the #65 Leon AMG was hoping for a third consecutive win at Motegi but suddenly, the car slowed down as it was reaching the finish line. The car has run out of fuel! And the #11 Gainer TANAX GT-R snatched the win from them! The #55 ARTA NSX would secure the championship finishing in fourth place followed by the #4 Miku AMG in fifth place.
WHAT A FINISH IN GT300! 😲
— Super GT World (@supergtworld) November 3, 2019
The #65 LEON AMG is just metres away from its third Motegi win in a row - until the car slows down and the @GAINER1110 GT-R of @K_Hiranaka @hiroyasuda snatches the victory! 🏁#SuperGT #MotegiGrandFinal pic.twitter.com/63K6vNwnvJ
Goodsmile Racing has placed 4th in the drivers’ championship standing. It was still an impressive finish even after struggling with race pace and strategies. ARTA has got their redemption after losing to the title last year to Leon. A provisional 2020 calendar was unveiled which would see the return of the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for the first time since 2013 and will be Super GT’s first ever night race.
The season may be over but there will be one more race which is the Super GT x DTM Dream Race where GT500 cars would once again take on the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters that is happening on the 23rd and 24th of November at Fuji International Speedway. This is a non-championship race, so it does not affect the standings. GT300s will also be racing in a separate support race during the weekend.
Until then, Fight GSR!