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The fight for the Independents’ Trophy title seems now restricted to two men: Tom Coronel of SUNRED Engineering and Félix Porteiro of Proteam Motorsport. By winning pole position and the first race in Okayama and being classified third in the second race, Coronel stretched his lead by one point only, as the young Spaniard collected two second places in Japan.
The Dutchman’s advantage before the final meeting in Macau totals to 30 points, but with double points and possible bonuses for scoring in the overall classification to be awarded, anything is still possible.
Wiechers-Sport’s Stefano D’Aste (winner of the second race in Okayama) and Franz Engstler of the Liqui Moly Team are out of contention and will focus on the battle for the third position, as they are split by five points only.
Local drivers put in brilliant performances in the races at Okayama. Seiji Ara (Wiechers-Sport) claimed a podium in Race 1, with Nobuteru Taniguchi (Proteam Motorsport) finishing 6^th. Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Masaki Kano and Henry Ho both managed to score points, while João Paulo Lima de Oliveira impresssed for his speed in the SUNRED SEAT, setting the fastest lap in both races. However the Brazilian was hit by two drive-through penalties for causing avoidable collisions.