TheIceman729 won Australia's E1 race from P4 and scored 30 points. Darth Ussh finished second from pole on 26, reducing the championship gap from 12 to eight with one round remaining.
Ussh still occupied first on 248 and TheIceman729 second on 240. Australia changed the pressure rather than the order: Japan would begin with a single-digit margin between leader and challenger.
P4 beats P1; P5 completes the podium
The podium contained three different grid-to-flag routes. TheIceman729 gained three places to win, Ussh moved from P1 to P2 and JGelinas11 advanced from P5 to third for McLaren.
The gap refuses to move in one direction
Ussh led by 29 after Jeddah, by 10 after Baku and by 12 after Brazil. Australia's 30-26 split brought the margin back to eight, the smallest it had been since TheIceman729's Baku win closed it to 10.
The sequence mattered more than a straight-line comeback would have. TheIceman729 had twice cut into the lead, Ussh had steadied it in Brazil, and Australia reopened the final-round question without changing who held first place.
Japan was the final scheduled event. Ussh carried the eight-point advantage there; TheIceman729 carried the most recent victory. Australia supplied both sides of the finale without supplying its answer.
Career ledger for TheIceman729: win number 5
For TheIceman729, career start 11 gave TheIceman729 a 5th IMS victory at Australia. Through that flag, TheIceman729 had 5 wins, 7 podiums, 4 poles, 4 fastest laps and 266 points across S2. Below, Australia stays in TheIceman729's season table.
