JOEL KEEPS MOMENTUM
The two titles continue to get closer and closer after a rainy Suzuka saw a legendary win from Rautavaara. Starting 15th, the Finn quickly scythed through the field, and once his teammate was out of the way, promptly began to dominate the field. Nathan Cornes' day was looking good, but a spin off at Spoon midway through meant he fell behind his championship rival, and set upon a long day trying to catch up.
In between the two competitors, Oorjit Mishra showed some class, but ultimately fell well short of a race winning effort as he took second place. He overtook a sneaky Daniel Harvey, the Brit changing to full wet tyres a bit earlier than most, and nearly got to the front as a result. Stephan Bohner took 4th, just holding off a fast charging Cornes at the end.
Aaron Reed made a late pass on Rui Martins to secure 6th, with Yamaguchi taking 8th at home ending a strong day for JHR again. Takuma Ishikawa also returned to the points, with the local crowd leaving their largest cheers of the day for the two drivers as they crossed the line. Andy Graham was the final point scored in 10th.
Behind, Manolis Sigoulakis had a late problem that robbed him of points in 11th, Sharp was 12th with Diehl, Laskey, Rinneaho and Ana completing the classified runners. McNamara, Utzer, Cocks, Noack, Brugman and Costello all found early ends to their days.
Current standings see Cornes lead Rautavaara by 36 points with 50 up for offer. Razor also lead Apex, but only by a mere 9 points with 86 points to go.
Next round is from Phillip Island for the Pacific Grand Prix. As ever,
Marketplace closes 10am Thursday AEDT.
RDFIA Press Conference
@Joel A hell of a drive, did it ever go that well for you in your imagination?
@oorjit07 A maiden podium for you today, did you feel you could have done better versus Rautavaara though?
@Millsy24 A cunning strategy from the pit wall secured a very strong 3rd again. Two races to go, can you grab the magical S3 win for DTK?
Press Paddock
@T.Yamaguchi @Takuma Ishikawa Talk us through scoring points at your home GP?
@Milos One car good, one didn't make it. But only 9 points down now. Thoughts?
@Smartbean 4th for you, looking to next year and maybe something better, definitely something new in regards to a teammate?