Dramatic last-gasp decider

While the attention at Suzuka might be on the Japanese factory frontrunners, the new Endurance World Championship format sees the series running from September to July which means that the title will be decided at Suzuka – with only a point separating the Suzuki and Yamaha teams at the top of the table, there is everything to fight for. Reigning champions SERT Suzuka go into the final round of the series, holding a mere one point lead over fellow French squad GMT 94 Yamaha. And there’s a huge 45 points up for grabs at Suzuka thanks to its unique scoring structure. That also means that third-placed Yamaha Austria could steal the title as they are just 27 points off the championship leaders. And, with an influx of one-off factory teams, the regular EWC teams normally struggle to even challenge for podium contention at the prestigious race. So, it could well mean more than one enthralling battle throughout the eight hours of action on Sunday.