No.100 RAYBRIG NSX Presently at the top of the table, the No.100 RAYBRIG NSX (Sebastian Philippe/Shinya Hosokawa) has the distinct possibility of taking the driver's title at the final round, while right down to 8th-ranked Benoit Treluyer and Kazuki Hoshino in the No.12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z, the crown is still open.

From this group, the No.100 RAYBRIG NSX of Philippe/Hosokawa stands out the most. Right behind and locked in a battle for 2nd in the standings, is the No.36 OPEN INTERFACE TOM'S SC430 of Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer and the No.18 TAKATA DOME NSX of Ryo Michigami/Takashi Kogure, both seven points off the lead. If the RAYBRIG car takes victory or comes in 2nd, they'll capture the title regardless. However, the 100kg 'Weight Handi' on the car will surely be a burden; therefore knowing how to move up is key.

By the way: At the final round of SUPER GT, only points for the race are awarded: There are no points awarded for qualifying or for fastest lap, only race result points are awarded.

No.36 OPEN INTERFACE TOM'S SC430 / No.1 ZENT CERUMO SC

At the end of Round 8, the points ranking among the GT500 machines showed two SC430 entries, the No.36 OPEN INTERFACE TOM'S SC430 (Juichi Wakisaka/Andre Lotterer) and the 4th-placed No.1 ZENT Cerumo SC (Yuji Tachikawa/Toranosuke Takagi), two teams fighting for it. Both the No.36 (70kg) and No.1 (80kg) will have to come either third or fourth in the race if they're to have any chance of taking the title. There's the point of compatibility the SC430 enjoys at this track, though conditions are sure to be tough in the race. With its long straight and overall high-speed nature, cars with a lot of engine power have the advantage here. If the No.100 car finishes in 9th or lower, there's a chance for either of these cars.

Apart from the No.100 NSX, other examples of the car include the No.18 (Ryo Michigami/Takashi Kogure), in a tie for second with the No.36 SC430. Conditions being the same, the NSX would not be expected to do as well as the SC430 at Fuji. There's a chance of the car getting points, but it would be very tough. On the other hand, the No.8 ARTA NSX (Daisuke Ito/Ralph Firman) will need to aim at outright victory if they are to have any chance.

No.18 TAKATA DOME NSX / No.8 ARTA NSX

Among Z power, the No.22 MOTUL AUTECH Z (Michael Krumm/Richard Lyons) and the No.23 XANAVI NISMO Z (Satoshi Motoyama/Tsugio Matsuda) are in fifth and sixth place in the standings. Because Lyons has competed only since round four, it is Krumm for who the title is an objective in the No.22. Getting onto the podium is essential, and the 80kgs of ballast on the car will make getting a good position that much harder. However, the No.23 car fought a good fight in the rain at the final round last year to be just one step short of reaching the victory of the race. If the car had won the race, the drivers would have gotten the title as well. NISMO, a team good at race strategies, will most likely do everything they can in their fight to capture victory.

Recently, the biggest news was the announcement of the early running in the No.22, of the new engine to be used next year, a 4.5 liter N.A. (normally aspirated) powerplant. The car will compete with the motor this coming weekend, while the No.23 will use its conventional turbo unit for the final round, the strategy being to mitigate risk in their hunt to capture the title. There is a chance for one other car, the No.12 of Treluyer/Hoshino. However, it is considerably slim; the pair needing to win or at least come second, such is the gap to the No.100.

No.22 MOTUL AUTECH Z / No.23 XANAVI NISMO Z / CALSONIC IMPUL Z

The top ranked competitors fighting for the title will be competing more for points than going for outright victories; but we want to give some attention to those who are here purely in search of a win.

Teams anxious to make their mark at Fuji include the winners of Round three at this circuit, the No.35 BANDAI DIREZZA SC430 (Naoki Hattori/Peter Dumbreck); and even though it's an NSX, the No.32 EPSON NSX (Loic Duval/Hideki Mutoh), which should be good at Fuji. Also, though without any top results yet this season, the No.6 Mobil 1 SC (Akira Iida/Tatsuya Kataoka) and the No.24 WOODONE ADVAN KONDO Z (Masataka Yanagida/Seiji Ara) cannot be ignored.

No.2 Privée Zurich Shiden In the GT300 driver's title battle, it's between the No.2 Privée Zurich Shiden (Kazuho Takahashi/Hideki Katoh), the No.7 Amemiya Aspara Drink RX-7 (Tetsuya Yamano/Hiroyuki Iiri), and the No.61 Enable ADVAN VEMAC 320R (Shogo Mitsuyama/Nobuteru Taniguchi).

No.7 Amemiya AsparaDrink RX7 In terms of points, the top-ranked No.2 Takahashi/Katoh machine leads the way. The No. 61 of Mitsuyama/Taniguchi is 11 points back, and has to place third or better to win the title, though this will be difficult. Both the No.2 and No. 7 cars are not very well suited to a high speed track like Fuji, but the No. 61 car is merely good. The 70kg 'weight handi' on the car makes it a difficult, though not impossible task.


No.61 enable ADVAN VEMAC320R The top-ranked No.2 car carries 100kgs success ballast going into this race, and realistically, can only expect to come 6th or 7th - meaning it will take a total haul of 90 around points for the season. For the No.7 and No.61 cars to get anywhere near the title, they must make it to the podium. Conditions among the three teams are pretty much equal, with strengths and weaknesses in each.

Also, the No.62 WILLCOM ADVAN VEMAC 408R (Shinsuke Shibahara/Haruki Kurosawa), victorious here in Round three, and the similar No.96 EBBRO BTEC MAZZIORA 350R (Takuya Kurosawa/Tsubasa Kurosawa), as well as the No. 110 TOTAL BENEFIT GREENTEC BOXSTER (Hideshi Matsuda/Ichijo Suga), known for its strong straight line speed, and the other Porsche entries are all strong candidates for the win. If they put up a good fight, it may have a huge outcome on the title battle.

In GT500 and GT300, until the race has been run, we won't know anything. Will there be tears of joy, or tears of frustration? Let's wait for the final round at Fuji Speedway to find out.