Balu3580 converted D1 pole into victory in Japan, holding piastrigoat to a margin of 0.214 seconds. It was the second-closest finish IMS had recorded by the end of Season 2.
The race winner stayed where he started. The championship leader did almost everything else: piastrigoat climbed from P10 to second, scored 32 points and finished the season first in D1 on 253, 37 clear of TheMekanic17.
Eight places gained, 0.214 seconds missing
Piastrigoat's P10-to-P2 route was the largest gain on the D1 podium. Rochamoya moved from fourth to third for Mercedes, but finished 12.733 seconds behind the runner-up; the contest at the front was the one settled in tenths.
Only TheMekanic17's 0.111-second Baku win over Rochamoya had produced a smaller winning margin. Japan displaced neither the Baku finish nor the season's 0.275-second Jeddah result; it fitted between them.
The late-season lead stops behaving like a contest
Piastrigoat had led TheMekanic17 by five after Baku, 16 after Brazil and 20 after Australia. Japan's 32 points against 15 widened the last of those gaps to 37. Across the final four rounds, the direction changed only once: the lead kept growing.
That left Japan with two distinct D1 outcomes. Balu3580 owned the race by 0.214 seconds; piastrigoat owned the season by 37 points. The finishing order allowed both statements to be true on the same podium.
Career ledger for Balu3580: win number 1
For Balu3580, career start 1 gave Balu3580 a first IMS victory at Japan. Through that flag, Balu3580 had 1 wins, 1 podiums, 1 poles, 0 fastest laps and 31 points across S2. Below, Japan stays in Balu3580's season table.
