Round 7, the final race of the 2004 AUTOBACS JGTC season was held at Suzuka Circuit on November 21 under bright blue skies. The green light was given in front of a crowd of 36,500 spectators, all there to witness the final battle of the year and the crowning of the 2004 JGTC Drivers Champions titles.

Immediately after the start, there was a multiple accident at the first corner involving six cars. Victims included the No.22 NISMO, the No.25 Supra, and the No.18 and No.8 Honda NSXs which all went off track. The race continued as there was no danger posed to other competitors on track.

Pole sitter Takeshi Tsuchiya made a smooth start, putting the No.36 Supra into the lead. Following behind Tsuchiya were Erik Comas in the No.3 Fairlady Z, Andre Lotterer in the No.32 Honda NSX and Benoit Treluyer in the No.12 Fairlady Z. On the second lap, Treluyer overtook Lotterer under braking into the chicane to take third.

Meanwhile, Seiji Ara in the No.38 Supra was lying in fifth place in the early laps, though the gap between him and the fourth-placed car was increased steadily as the race went on. The top three cars maintained a quick pace, steadily increasing the gap over the fourth-placed Lotterer. On lap 18, it was over 16 seconds between Treluyer and the NSX. Treluyer was right up behind Comas and piling on the pressure but the ex-Formula 1 driver held him off well.

After lap 19, the top runners began to make their routine stops. Treluyer in the No.12 Nissan pitted after 24 laps, handing the wheel over to partner Yuji Ide. On the following lap, race-leader Tsuchiya in the No.36 Toyota made his stop, Marco Apicella taking over driving duties. The No.39 Supra, the No.8 Honda, and the No.6 Supra all pitted on the same lap.

At the first corner on lap 27, Yuji Ide in the No.12 Nissan showed his skills in a brave overtaking move on Apicella in the No.36 Supra when the tires of the car were still coming up to temperature. Comas pitted on lap 27, the latest among the top runners. His driver partner Toshihiro Kaneishi joined the race just behind the No.12 car. Consequently, Ide came out on top.

Shortly thereafter, the No.6 Supra suddenly returned to the pits as Juichi Wakisaka was lying in 10th place. Wakisaka and Akira Iida had to give up on their hopes of championship glory after the car quit due to an overheating engine.

Jeremie Dufour in the No.39 Supra closed the gap on Richard Lyons in the No.1 Fairlady Z, then running in eighth place. The Irish Nissan driver drove remarkably well considering the maximum 120kg handicap weight on the car. In the closing stages of the race, the gap between two cars competing for the drivers' title decreased significantly and the two cars began to run tail-to-nose - though the gap in the championship standings remained...

At the same time, Apicella was pushing hard through traffic in his efforts to reduce the gap over Ide. In the end it was not enough however, and the Italian had to settle for 2nd with Ide crossing the finish line first.

The driver's title went to Satoshi Motoyama and Richard Lyons in the No.1 Fairlady Z entered by NISMO. Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan Motor visited the circuit to express his congratulations to the winning drivers - both of the race and the championship.

GT500 Winner - No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z

Benoit Treluyer : "I'm very happy to have won the race. I was worried about the oversteer we were suffering from in the warm-up session this morning but we changed the set-up of the car just before the start and it worked out well. I drove my stint being very careful to mind the tires. The team pit crew gave us a fantastic stop and sent Yuji back on the track in lightning-quick time. I enjoyed my time in the car and also watching Yuji. I think this was one of the best races I've ever seen! In the opening stage of the race, I concentrated on following the No.36 and No.3 cars. I was waiting for Erik (Comas) to make a mistake, but he is after all, my boss and he didn't put a foot wrong."

Yuji Ide : "I'm very happy to have crossed the line first, it was a pleasure to see the flag. We've had several races this season where we've missed out on the win so it's very satisfying to finish the campaign with a victory. It's a fantastic feeling. I thought the race would be decided during the pit stops and the first few laps after while everybody was still on cold tires. The team did a perfect job today and I pushed hard to overtake the No.36 car. I knew that had to be my main objective and I pushed really hard to achieve that."

GT500 Driver's Champions - No.1 Xanavi NISMO Z

Satoshi Motoyama: "I thought we'd have been able to take the title if we just drove sensibly. The result of the previous round at Autopolis influenced this hugely. Fortunately, the No.39 and No.6 cars were far enough behind me after the start and I thought Richard (Lyons) would be able to run faster than the No.39 car if I could just maintain the situation until the routine stop. With a handicap weight of 120kg, it was very hard to drive today. I realized the superiority of the NISMO team, clearly in evidence today; and the outright speed of the Z.
Richard is a genuinely quick driver and he has matured a lot this season. His efforts have really helped us."

Richard Lyons: "This is just a fantastic feeling! I appreciate the massive efforts of everybody in the team who helped us get this championship victory. Satoshi (Motoyama) is a great driver who has won the title many times before. As we were loaded with the maximum weight allowed by the regulations, I had to drive carefully. The battle with the No.39 car was very important, and I had to drive mindful of the tires.
Our victory in the first round of the season at TI Aida was very important. I felt with that win we would be able to take the championship with a new car, the Fairlady Z. Satoshi and I then improved our understanding about the car as the season went on. After winning the previous round at Autopolis with so much weight on the car, our confidence was boosted for taking the championship."

Morio Nitta in the No.43 Garaiya shot off the line smoothly from pole, taking the lead into the first corner. Tetsuya Tanaka in the No.10 Ferrari also made a clear start from the second row to take second place by the end of the first lap. Mirroring the top group in the GT500 class, the top three cars fought a close battle as they increased the gap over the fourth-placed No.81 Fairlady Z of Masataka Yanagida.

Yamano in the No.16 NSX overtook Tanaka on lap 15 to take second place. The Honda driver then caught up with Nitta and started to really pile on the pressure. Tanaka however, was on a charge up through the field and was soon on the tail of the NSX. He arrived just behind Yamano toward the last part of the first stint and tried to overtake him as the pair battled amidst traffic. The entire crowd applauded their intensely exciting side-by-side but fair battle.

Top runner Nitta pitted after 25 laps, a lap earlier than rival Yamano. The huge crowd in the grand stand opposite the pits watched in amazement as the M-TEC crew had the car out in record time. The No.16 Honda was back on track over four seconds quicker than the Garaiya, with the Ferrari taking considerably longer in its driver switch.

The second half of the race therefore, turned out to be a single contest between Yagi in the No.16 Honda and Shinichi Takagi in the No.43 Garaiya. Takagi tried everything to catch the leader as passing him meant not only the race win, but also the coveted driver's title. With only two laps to go, the gap had shrunk to a mere 1.2 seconds. Yagi, a newcomer to the JGTC, drove steadily to keep the lead until the flag for a well-deserved victory. Atsushi Yogo in the No.10 Ferrari took third, some 39 seconds adrift of the second-placed Garaiya.

Tetsuya Yamano and Hiroyuki Yagi (No.16 Honda NSX) won the 2004 driver's title.

GT300 Winner & Driver's Champions - No.16 M-TEC NSX

Tetsuya Yamano: "It is a great feeling to have won! I drove very calmly in the first half of the race as we knew we had to win today to get the title. Throughout my stint, I concentrated on saving my tires. I had exciting battles with the Garaiya and the Ferrari, and I think I completed my task without pushing too hard or backing off too much. This has been a really fantastic race - and an incredible day."

Hiroyuki Yagi: "Our tires worked well right after the pitstop and we were able to maintain a good pace straight away. It's very satisfying as we had set up the car to perform this way. I heard what was happening with the Garaiya on every lap over the team radio from the pit. The laps felt very long, but I never gave up on fighting for the victory. I really tried hard today, particularly as we've lost several races due to my errors."