Nick Cassidy and Ryo Hirakawa clinched the 2017 Super GT championship after finishing second in the final round of the season at Motegi.
The #37 TOM’S Lexus duo needed to finish in the top-two to claim the title, irrespective of how their rivals performed.
They qualified third and dispatched the sister #6 Lexus of Team LeMans on lap four to put themselves in a championship-winning position.
Although they were no match to the victorious #23 Nissan of Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda, second place was enough to become the youngest Super GT champions.
Quintarelli and Matsuda finished second in the championship following their – and Nissan’s – first victory of the season, ending two points behind Cassidy and Hirakawa in the final standings.
The #23 GT-R led the race through its entirety from pole position, despite a scare on the formation lap when it made contact with the #6 LeMans Lexus, causing minor damage.
Meanwhile, outgoing GT500 champions Heikki Kovalainen and Kohei Hirate finished third in the #1 Sard Lexus, scoring their first podium finish since July’s Sugo round.
Honda was reduced to the third best manufacturer at its home track, with the #17 Real Racing NSX of Koudai Tsukakoshi and Takashi Kogure finishing fourth.
The Japanese duo were involved in a race-long scrap with the #100 Team Kunimitsu Honda of Naoki Yamamoto and Takuya Izawa, their battle settled only in the final part of the 53-lap race.
The #46 Mola Nissan had a slow stop on lap 27, dropping Satoshi Motoyama and Katsumasa Chiyo from third to sixth.
James Rossiter, who had a remote chance of winning the title, made plenty of progress in the opening dozen laps, jumping from seventh to third.
However, suspension damage forced him to pit for lengthy repairs, leaving the #36 TOM’S machine he shares with Kazuki Nakajima out of contention for top honours.
Nobuteru Taniguchi and Tatsuya Kataoka claimed the GT300 class crown in the #4 Team Ukyo Mercedes, despite only finishing third in the race.
