It's race day, welcome to the Japanese GP. We expect no rain so this should be a straight fight to the end.
2nd place man Kederer has his eyes fixed on the lights
Away we go. Solid getaways for the contenders for the race win.
Keder has to go for the outside of T1 and loses out to Buitenhuis and De Bruyker
De Bruyker attacking Buitenhuis and Hinz is having a go at Kederer
Both make their moves stick
The Mistrals are enjoying their private battle
Majumdar runs wide at the chicane
The replay shows he got a nudge by Gilson. Good thinking by Gilson if you ask me
It's a close race for the final podium spot with Hinz attacking Buitenhius and Pedersen challenging Kederer
Positions remain unchanged however
No gaps opening up yet, this could be a race decided by tactics
The only tactic McCarthy knows is attack
The battle for 3rd is still going on with nobody gaining a decisive advantage
McClure certainly feeling lucky in 11th
At the back Majumdar is still trying to make up lost ground
Karda enjoys a solid lead over De Bruyker
O'Neill trying to pass Russell's Lego car
It doesn't work out for him
The Demons enjoy each others company
Silva and Williams squabble over the last points position
Kederer is still trying to keep in touch with the podium positions
Slipstreaming on the run up to 130r is a constant theme in this race. However, due to everyone using a boost, it rarely works
De Bruyker hasn't given up on winning this race. Karda is unable to escape
O'Neill finaly takes Russell's 8th place
Elleker is copying O'Neill's move to pass Williams for 12th
Business as usual for 3rd to 6th
Scala is loosing 10th to McClure. One of the rare cases of slipstreaming working out for the attacker
Williams now gets under pressure from Sakata. Williams is clearly struggling in his first stint
Greidanus won't be happy with 20th. He is stuck behind Parachki and the two Demons
Silva in a lonely 16th
No news on 3rd to 8th
A look at the standing on lap 10
The race leader is the first to pit on lap 11. Is he trying to secure 1st by undercutting?
Pedersen also stopping early. Good call by his crew to move him out of traffic
Sudddenly everyone seems to have the same idea
The question is: can De Bruyker make the overcut work? This is getting interesting
De Bruyker goes for another lap
Kederer opts for a long first stint and is up into 2nd
De Bruyker rejoins behind Karda, the undercut worked for now. However, Karda will have to take care of his tyres to make it to the end while maintaining good pace
Crucially, there are cars in between Karda and De Bruyker
Still no
Buitenhuis has not stopped yet and takes the lead in front of Kederer
Both Karda and De Bruyker try to pass traffic quickly, to hinder the late stoppers from making any inroads
Buitenhuis and Kederer finally in the pits
Hinz made the undercut on Buitenhuis work
McCarthy hasn't stopped yet and enjoys his time in the lead
It's hammer time for both Karda and De Bruyker as they try to slice through traffic
McCarthy and Greidanus finally pit at the end of lap 14
They rejoin at the back of the field
Gilson in a lonely 22th. Horrible race for him
Towards the pointy end of the field the gaps are decreasing
De Bruyker is closing th gap to the leader. Is Karda struggling with his tyres? Still 9 laps to go
And De Bruyker sets himself up for a first move for the lead
Pedersen is leading a group covering positions 9th to 13th
De Bruyker sticking his nose in at 130r. Kudos to both drivers for having this under control
Their battle enables Hinz to close the gap
Kederer is stuck behind Buitenhuis. I'm pretty sure he would rather join the party for the podium
O'Neill in a solid 8th place
Elleker also made good progress so far
The two Demons are still inseparable
Uh oh, Hinz is slowing down
He is quickly overtaken by Buitenhuis and Kederer
The AMR crew confirms its an electrical problem
Intersting tactics going on here: Hinz uses his stricken car to block Pedersen and enable teammate Elleker to overtake both of them in one go.
Looking out of my commentator's box I can see MAC boss McGregor shaking his fist at AMR boss Ingers
Meanwhile Kederer finally finds his way past Buitenhuis
Hinz pits for repairs
Karda is now under massive pressure from De Bruyker
A look at the standings as we enter the last 5 laps
MMM is in for a great result with positions 4th and 5th
The battling at the front helped the drivers in positions 3rd to 7th closing the gap to the leaders.
The repaired AMR is good enough for the fastest lap of the race
The pressure is rising with 3 laps to go
McClure seems to be in trouble. A shame, he droe a solid race so far
Pedersen is trying to fend of a charging Rodriguez
Kederer is now into the mix for the win
McClure calls it a day. The team reports a loose wheel
De Bruyker throws another attack at Karda who defends brilliantly into the final chicane
The fight for the wooden spoon
We're on the last lap and De Bruyker goes for a move into the Degner curves
He pushes Karda wide and makes it stick! Wow! Heartbreak for Karda as he looses the top spot with half a lap to go.
Kederer finds no way to profit from the situation and stays in 3rd
De Bruyker manages to open up a small gap
Karda is beaten and is now under a final attack from Kederer. He is able to defend 2nd however
De Bruyker wins. He only led for half a lap but he did so when it mattered. Great drive!
Karda 2nd, probably mixed feelings for him
Kederer 3rd, keeping himself out of trouble and earning a solid podium finish
And the remaining points positions
Elleker in 8th was too fast for the GPGSL cameras for some reason. Insert a mental image of him here
Someone has to be last so it's only fair to pay tribute to Parachki as well