SRF GT-MES Season 15: Finished

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LAST CHANCE

We are just one race away from Le Mans Finale, and things are starting to get tense. This is last chance to improve your position ahead of the Finale, that can be so unpredictable. There is still many drivers that can keep their fight going with great result here, some are looking for big points for Manufacturer.
Sardegna is very interesting circuit, not that popular in racing world, but those that have chance to drive there, really enjoy flowing fast corners of it. There is some great overtaking spots, and many different style of corners. But especially those fast, long corners are punishing tires, so not only you need to keep it clean, you need to keep tires alive.

Gr3
Nissan
really has come alive 2nd part of the season. Wesley_VR_99 was one of the favorites heading to wet Spa-race, after his dominant win in Season 10. He took pole position in last second, and early stages of the race he kept it clean. Late in the race though he got traffic in wrong spot, losing him quite a bit time, and was overtaken for the lead. But he kept on it, making overtake couple laps later to win his first race since Season 12: ''Had awesome pace in the wet and managed to get pole on the final run in qualifying. In the race I managed to pull away from Fred but after encountering traffic at Eau Rouge he managed to overtake me which led to a great battle during the rest of the race and I am happy I came out on top to celebrate the first win of the season''.
After win and podium last 2 races, Wesley_VR_99 is still mathematicly in title-fight, but he needs to get some top results last 2 races. And that will be difficult, as success comes with ballast, and he already has one of the heaviest cars in the class: ''Carrying a lot of confidence after last weeks when and hoping to score another win in Sardegna to get back in the title fight''.
His teammate RA-A_MrT17 is returning this weekend, he also has win from his last race in Blue Moon Bay 2 weeks ago. Will be interesting to see what he does with ballast: ''Well, It's going to be entertaining for sure... Clean race will beat pace there''.

Subaru had great weekend in Spa, as they are looking for both titles. Freddude was close to poleposition in his homerace, just missing out in the end. He was running in second place all race, keeping close to leader incase there was a mistake. And when there was chance to take the lead, he took it with both hands. But sadly that was not enough, as he was overtaken couple laps later. He pushed right until the finish, but had to settle with 2nd place. Still great result for his championship-hopes. de-luck4 had solid pace, made his way to 3rd in early part of the race. But in second stint he slowly faded down to 5th place.
Subaru has been struggling with consistancy lately, and that has held them back in Manufacturers-championship. Gap to top is not large, but they pretty much need to win this weekend to have realistic chance to secure title in Le Mans. Freddude moved to drivers-points lead last weekend, and is in solid position to win title in his debut season. But door his still wideopen for his rivals to beat him, so he needs to still get some great results. Subaru has not been in Le Mans podium last two seasons, so you could say, Freddude needs to secure as many points from Sardegna as possible. His ballast is the biggest in class, so clean, smart race will be critical: ''Hope to get a clean race and maybe a good result despite my weight''.
de-luck4 has had hard season. Often pace has been there, but reason or another he has not secured big result. But sounds like he has found something ahead of Round 7: ''With some help from Zokeo, now i can set WRX like i want and enjoy driving it. A bit shame that season is going to the end and i only now enjoy driving practice laps with it. Sardegna is original track, there i normaly drive fast, so maybe i can get another podium''.

Ford had another podium from Spa last weekend, as TSR_Tomsoft extended his podium-streak to 4 races. He dropped down to 4th place after start, but got back on podium after pitstops. He did not have pace to match leaders, but clean race got him some big points.
TSR_Tomsoft has 5 podium from 6 races, incredible season in very difficult and competitive class. But lack of win will put him to backfoot for Le Mans Finale. If he was to unable to do it last 2 races, it is important to get still as much points as possible, and have his rivals outside the podium this weekend: ''I think Round 7 will be very interesting for me, a lot of drivers have less Ballast than me and I definitely need to concentrate more on staying fast for more than one lap. There's obviously the title pressure still on and this season has been quite good so Far with an unexpected amount of podiums. I'm still waiting for that win and I'm aware that it needs to be done in the next 2 races''.
His biggest help could be y_bearr_ finishing as high as possible this weekend, taking points away from rivals. Indonesian has had good pace this weekend, but only pair of 5th places from 2 races. Podium from Sardegna would be huge for him, Ford and his teammate.

Mercedes came in to season as heavy favorites to win Manufacturers-title and drivers title. After first half of the season, they were looking very strong, but after bad 2 weekends, they need to bounce back. TSR_JoeToGuy was only Mercedes in Spa, and was running off the pace. He managed to get 4th place in the end, but podiums are needed.
TSR_JoeToGuy is behind in points after only 2 podiums from 6 races, including win from Mount Panorama. But difficult 2 races means he has far less ballast than his title rivals. This gives him great chance to fight for wins in last 2 races, and it is important that he secures atleast podium here in Sardegna; ''I'll need to have a good result to be in a good place in the championship ahead of Le Mans. Luckily im low on ballast, so it should be a podium at least if things go smoothly''.
TSR_Swablu had great start to the season, but since then has been quite unlucky, having to miss 2 races. This means he is behind in points, while still having quite a bit ballast. But good result here, he has still shot to challenge for title in Le Mans: ''Feeling ok to race which is a big positive. Due to the missed races and missed results i think the title is gonna be hard to win from here. Going into these rounds with a "whatever happens, happens" mindset''.

Gr4

Toyota
were very dominant last season in Gr3, and were send down to Gr4 to create more equal classes. But with 2 races to go, Toyota is looking like favorite to defend their Manufacturers-title, and leading drivers-championship. Nils was favorite heading in to Spa, even though he himself was bit concerned. But poleposition, and then dominating performance in race landed him to his 2nd win of the season, first podium in 3 races and championship-lead: ''It's the first time I've won a wet race since August 2017, making this a very special victory for me! I didn't expect to win though, because I expected some drivers to try a 0 stop strategy. I tried my best to build up a healthy gap between me and second place and as soon as I saw everyone pitted for fuel I knew I had a realistic chance! I tried to maintain the gap to 2nd place afterwards and luckily I managed to keep my car on the track until the end of the race!'' It was 30th race win for Nils and he also took his 30th fastest lap of the race, landing him extra championship-point.
Sardegna is quite big race for Toyota. Podium for them could land them on best position heading to Le Mans Finale. Nils is also looking to improve his lead in championship, even though biggest work is done: ''I think I'll have a rather difficult race this week because of all the ballast I have from winning at Spa. I hope for a podium, but I'd be happy with a top 5''.
Biggest key for Toyota could be how amuda54 performs. But as he missed last race, he has quite a bit ballast still: ''I hope to just survive until we get to Le Mans. I think it will be difficult but we can score good points here. A top 5 is the goal''.

Porsche is still in fight for both titles, especially after their double podium last weekend in Spa. sota59 and GTO250GTO landed 2nd and 3rd places in qualifying, they were unable to fight for win, but both had smart, uneventfull race.
sota59 has sofar this season had win and several podiums, and is set to be in good position for Le Mans-title fight. He would need quite a big result this weekend to help his own championship position ahead of Le Mans, but can score important points for Porsche: ''Personally for me, pressure is off after last weekends result. Everything that comes after this is bonus. I will keep pushing, but i can now enjoy races more. Sardegna is great track, but i dont know if i can translate it to pace and result, will be close''.
GTO250GTO is mathematicly still in the fight for drivers title, but would need big result from Sardegna to stay in the fight. Of two Porsche's, he is lightest in terms of ballast, and his pace has been solid in practice. But he had nightmare race here last season: ''It probably can’t get any worse than last seasons Sardegna race for me. So there is some reason to be optimistic. The car feels okay so far, another podium would be nice''.

Honda is starting to look like outside for Manufacturers-title after Spa. thunderpigeon was only Honda in Spa, and despite driving solid race, he just could not find pace, finishing 4th place.
thunderpigeon is still in title fight, but is set to miss all important Le Mans Finale. So best he can do in his final race this season is to take his first win since Season 6, and get fastest lap. That could move him to championship lead, and maybe has marginal chance to win title despite not racing in Le Mans: ''I'm hoping for a much better performance compared to last week, where I was 4s off the pace. It's a similar style track to BMR where the nsx was strong, so I'm hoping to finish on the podium. It will likely be my last race of this season, so my last opportunity to get a win!''
doc-shipman is back this weekend, and is fresh from his win from 2 weeks ago. He had brilliant race here last season, so expectations are high for another good race: ''Enjoying practice and still flying high mentally from the win 2 weeks ago. Hoping I can pull that confidence and momentum through, but nervous to see how my pace stacks up. Got some good consistency, though, so hoping my race pace holds up''.

Lexus had struggle in Spa. BenMK was running lot of ballast, and was struggling with pace. And with DNF, his title hopes seem to be almost dead. G4 Rotary is other car was drafted in just minutes before the start and was expectedly off the pace, finishing 5th.
Sardegna could be good track for Lexus, but there is questionmark of tyre-wear being issue. And with their star driver BenMK running massive success ballast still, his title hopes could die unless he pulls miracle: ''Don’t have a lot of experience driving GR4 round here, hopefully I’ll be able to apply my GR3 knowledge and perform well''.
Emilius73 is hoping to end season with couple good races: ''Last time I raced at Sardegna was during Season 8 in the Aston, and I normally race it the other way round. It’ll be interesting to return there''.
 
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LE MANS FINALE!!!

End of the season is here! Time to decide your Season 15 GT-MES champions.
Battle for all 3 titles is very tense, and almost impossible to predict. Some drivers have built themselves good foundation, but now they need to deliver good race, otherwise their 8 weeks of work might go waste.
Le Mans has been keypart of the GT-MES calendar since Season 2, and most of the drivers have lot of experience around it. Top Speed is often talked about due the long straights, but testing indicates it should not be big factor between cars. You need to be able to drive consistant laptimes, avoid accidents and limit tracklimit penalties. Ability of staying in 2 stop strategy is also very important, extra pitstop will hurt badly.

Gr3

Freddude
joined GT-MES with big expectations, as he was known as dominant force in other series. First driver from Belgium in GT-MES history joined Subaru, car he did not have lot of experience with before. Despite this, he was quickly up to speed in Round 1, fighting for win, only to miscalculate fuel, slipping down to 6th place in the end. Next weekend he got it perfect, making his way from 4th place to victory after smart race. But Mount Panorama, early pitstop for damage ended his hopes for podium, and he ended up 5th place. Interlagos was big race for him, circuit suited for Subaru, and he took his 2nd victory of the season, despite avarage qualifying again. Second half of the season, he was looking for more consistancy, and he found it. 4th place in Blue Moon Bay with plenty of ballast was surprise, and in rainy race in Spa he just missed out on home-win, finishing 2nd place. Sardegna last week was bit of a mess for Freddude, accident left him 5th but after penalties for others, he managed to get another 4th place: ''Quite a rollercoaster of events i'd say during the season, not as consistent as i'd hope it'd be but managed to still get two wins in during the season, so i'm happy with that and wasn't expecting to lead the championship either at some point''.
Subaru has been suffering past 2 seasons in Le Mans, testing indicates that top speed should not be issue, but there is still some doubts. If they can nail the setup Freddude should be solid, especially later in the stints: ''Just important to keep the car on the road, keep it consistent and get a good strategy going''.
To win title, Freddude basicly needs to beat his main rival TSR_JoeToGuy in the race, and avoid falling outside the top 5.

TSR_JoeToGuy entered season as favorite, after winning titles past 3 seasons, 1 in Gr3 and 2 in Gr2. British-driver returned to Mercedes, very familiar car to him, especially from Season 12 when he won his first GT-MES title. His hunt for 4th title started with shocking result in Nurburgring where he had won past 3 seasons, as he made mistake closing laps and fell to 4th place. Next weekend with no success ballast, unsurprisingly he took pole position and lead most of the race, but as race moved on, his margin got shorter. Nail to coffin was mistake with fuel in last pitstop, and he lost the lead, and then ran out of fuel, dropping down to 4th place again in final lap. After being podiumless from first 2 races, pressures were huge going to Mount Panorama night race. And with no ballast, it was easy work for him, winning his first race of the season. It was looking good in Interlagos, as he was fighting for lead early laps, but with tire wear kicking in, he fell down to 4th place. Unexpected pitstop and penalty for guys ahead moved him to 2nd place, points that prove to be critical for his title hopes this season. In Blue Moon Bay Mercedes and TSR_JoeToGuy looked strong again in qualifying, but ballast and tire wear left him 7th place, his first result in GT-MES so far. He struggled in Spa, not getting best of the car in wet-conditions, but managed to secure 4th place. Going to Sardegna, pressure was again high. He needed big result for championship and he had less ballast than some rivals. He left with important 2nd place from Sardegna, even though he suggest win was there if for better strategy. But more importantly, he is in good position in championship, despite difficult season: ''It's been a tougher season than previous. We've been worse on tyres than everyone else which has made it hard to keep positions late in the races, and the Subaru's gain a couple of seconds per race from being better on fuel than the others''.
TSR_JoeToGuy might have 3-titles, but he has never won in Le Mans. He is actually only multiple GT-MES champion without Le Mans-win in his name. Unlike previous 3 seasons, his ballast should not hold him back, so look to him fight for the win this weekend. Most importantly he needs to beat his title rival in Subaru: ''I have to hope that the Subaru's pace is poor from its straight line speed''.
TSR_JoeToGuy also has all keys to title, he just needs to finish ahead of his main rival Freddude, and manage his gap to others behind him in championship.

First of our outside bets for title is de-luck4, last seasons champion from Gr3, when it was still Lower Class. Change of car to Subaru and harder competions have been challenging, but he has often been very close to top guys. After challenging Round 1, where he finished 8th place, he secured 3rd place in Kyota after late drama. Clean race in Mount Panorama got him 4th place, despite him being worried weeks before. In Interlagos he got another 4th place, and in Blue Moon Bay he secured his first pole position of the season. He was running away with it in early laps, but mistake and crash left him only 8th place. Fight for podium in Spa ended him being only 5th place, but in Sardegna he pulled out epic race. Fighting for lead first half of the race, he was taken out, dropping him 12 seconds behind the leader. He then started pulling out consistant laps in clean air and great strategy, in the end winning the race by 3 and half seconds. This surge of performance is coming bit too late in the season: ''Season ends on positive mood. Took long time to learn WRX and to stop fight it, but most important i did it. Got really good experience and lessions that will be applied in future''.
That win means de-luck4 has mathematical chance of still winning the title, but it is difficult ask. Subaru has not been strong in Le Mans, and neither has de-luck4, so needed win looks unlikely: ''I was happy, then Kyoto was posponed, but now i see that it worked out against me. This week i was busy as hell and did only few laps of practice, that at Le Mans is nothing, so hard to expect mega result from it''.
de-luck4 would need to win the race, and contenders above him to struggle.

Final outside-contender for title is Wesley_VR_99. Season 12 champion had difficult last season, and moved to Nissan, very different to other cars he had driven. Season started well in Nurburgring with 5th place, not far off the leaders pace. But in Kyoto he really struggled, in Mount Panorama pace was not bad, but he had several accidents and then he missed race in Interlagos. But when he returned, it started to workout. In Blue Moon Bay he made his way from back of the grid to finish 3rd place. Going to Spa's wet-race, Dutch-driver was the favorite, and he took the pole and the win after close race. This all was followed by success ballast, and in Sardegna where he needed big result again, he struggled: ''The season has not been going the way I would like to go, having only one win and a P3''.
He has still small mathematical chance of winning the title, but with all ballast he has, big race will be difficult: ''Looking forward to Le Mans where the Nissan will be better, ballast might be a struggle though. But hope the finish the season on a high''.
Wesley_VR_99 needs to win the race, potentially take fastest lap and hope his rivals struggle.

y_bearr_ is not in title fight after only doing part-time season, but he has title hopes of Ford in his shoulders this weekend. Indonesian has been very fast in Mustang, pole and fastest lap from Interlagos and from Sardegna, but has only one podium from 3 races, as he moved to 3rd place in Sardgena due others being penalized. He has been struggling with fuel, something he needs to fix, while continuing to be fast: ''I did not expect to be that fast driving Mustang. I mean I haven't drive FR cars in years. I can match my last season PD with Mustang easily''. Fuel issue will be highlighted in Le Mans, as fuel is always tight there. Extra pitstop could send you from battle for lead, to outside top 5. y_bearr_ also is starting from last place after penalty, so extra challenges for him: ''The car is faster than my Porsche. But i will be starting from the back of the field so I probably will struggle at the opening lap. But let see.... maybe I can have a tow from the car at the front and save fuel''.

RA-A_MrT17 is another driver that has only done half of the season. He has had up and down season, season started poorly in Nurbugring with 7th place, but then he won in Blue Moon Bay. Last weekend in Sardegna he got in to couple accidents, and then was disqualified for technical reasons: ''Didn’t manage to find the right setup from the beginning which was disappointing, from the little time I spent on track this season I was happy with the pace, some unfortunate situations happened last race, looking forward to a nice result at Le Mans''. Le Mans could be race where he does well, Nissan should be strong.

Making his GT-MES debut this weekend in Ford is UchihaBruma, set to be first Swiss-driver in GT-MES. As he is making his season debut in Le Mans Finale, he wont be scoring Manufacturers-points, so he is looking to going out just for personal glory, without impacting title-fights: ''Feeling confident, altought being a couple of months away from the game. But still looking forward to racing with the drivers''.

Gr4

thunderpigeon
is first of our Gr4-title contenders. He was not one of the favorites for title as season began, looking to just get his first victory in long while. Honda-driver came close in Round 1 after finishing 2nd in epic race. In Kyoto he has leading for bit, but crashed out, finishing 5th. Another podium was missed out in Mount Panorama as he slipped down to 4th in final lap, but in Interlagos he pulled out great comeback drive in second half of the race to finish 3rd place. And with 2nd place from Blue Moon Bay, he was sitting nicely in championship-lead. After 4th place in Spa, he was still missing his first win since Season 6, until in Sardegna last weekend it all went perfect. Pole position allowed him to drive clean perfect race: ''I'm so happy to finally get that win I've been chasing for the last 3 seasons. All the work was done in qualifying as I wouldn't have been able to win from behind''.
He is championship leader, but as it seems unlikely he will race in Le Mans Finale, so he would need miracle to still win the title.

That means pre-season favorite Nils in Toyota is favorite to win the title heading in to Le Mans. His season started with 3rd place in Nurburgring, and then win in Kyoto. But 5th place from Mount Panorama, 7th place from Interlagos and 4th place from Blue Moon Bay left him behind in points. That also meant lack of ballast, and in Spa he was finally able to take wet-race win after being close in past, his 2nd win of the season. He was only 5th in Sardegna after accident, but took huge point for fastest lap: ''My season has been a very good one so far, much better than I expected! Having won 2 races this season is awesome and no matter how the season ends, I'll be happy with the result''.
Nils is 4-time winner in Le Mans, Toyota has won last 2 seasons in here, but not in Gr4-car before, so it will be interesting to see how it goes around this time. Nils has some ballast, even with his rivals, but he has struggled to adjust with heavier car. He needs good race if he wants to win record-equaling 5th title: ''I don't think I'll have a realistic chance to get a good result this weekend because of the weight of my car, but I'll try my best!''
He can potentially win title with 3rd place and fastest lap, but that requires sota59 does not win the race.

sota59 is looking to win his 6th title, first since Season 5. He was expected to do well in move down to Lower Class, and has also met his personal expectations in Porsche. In Nurburgring he took epic victory after close battle with 4 other drivers, and clean race in Kyoto got him another podium. But in Mount Panorama he was lacking pace, finishing only 7th, and in Interlagos he was 6th after getting penalty. 3rd place in Blue Moon Bay got his season back on track, and 2nd place in Spa secured his place in title fight. In Sardegna he was going for 4th place and fastest lap, but just missed out on extra point: ''This has been good season overall, pace has never really been bad, i got win and several podiums, so no matter how race this weekend goes, i am happy''.
sota59 has won in Le Mans 6-times before, most recently last season in Gr2. Ballast is equal with others aswell, but change of car performance compered to last season is challenging: ''I can really feel lack of corner performance around this weekend. Focus is just to get consistant laps, no mistakes and keep car on track. If that lands Porsche Manufacturers-title, perfect. Drivers title would be nice also''.
sota59 needs to atleast beat Nils on track to win the title.

His teammate GTO250GTO is also still in title-fight, even though with slighty smaller odds. In pre-season he was expected to fight for race wins, and still being in title-fight is surprise. Season started with 6th place in his home-race, but 2nd place in Kyoto got him back going. Missing race due ban hurt him little, he returned strong with 4th place, but 5th place in Blue Moon Bay looked like end of his title-chances. But 3rd place in Spa and then 2nd place in Sardegna got him big points: ''Overall the season was fun and the results were not too bad, but I'm a little disappointed that my first non-LeMans win eluded me. I will try to make up for that with another podium at the final race''.
Winner past 2 seasons in Le Mans, even if in dominant car, he knows his way around the circuit. If he can keep that consistancy going, he could be looking for another podium, and maybe challenge for win.
GTO250GTO can win title with podium, but even win might not be enough for him to win the title.

amuda54 is mathematicly still in title-fight, but realisticly he is facing impossible fight. That is not disapoitment though for him, as he has enjoyed his best season yet in GT-MES. In Round 1 he was fighting for win for long while, just missed out and finished 4th. After Kyoto where he finished 6th after accident, amuda54 took his first podium of the season in Mount Panorama night race. He followed up that with 2nd place in Interlagos, archiving 2-podiums first time ever during GT-MES season, just before season hit half way point. He struggled with ballast in Blue Moon Bay, finishing 5th. Despite missing last 2 races, he can be happy with the season sofar.
Le Mans is amuda54's favorite circuit, having 2 of his 4 podiums from there. Could he get another podium, or even challenge for his first win? ''I really like Le Mans, I usually get my best results here. Hopefully I can find the same pace I have in the past and help Toyota win the manufacturers title''.

BenMK is our first driver out of title fight, well he can still win it, if his rivals retire, so realisticly, his fight is over. He has done only half of the races, but has been very impressive. In Mount Panorama he dominated from pole to win, winning by huge margin. He then followed that up with another win in Interlagos. With 2 fastest laps also, he looked like title-favorite, but has since only raced in Spa, where he retired: ''I think it’s been a good return for myself after being away for so long''.
He has most ballast in Gr4-class, but car could suit the circuit, so he could limit the damage, and fight for podium: ''I still need to figure out strategy and a tune but hopefully I’ll be able to have a strong performance, I feel P2 is the max I can extract from the race''.

doc-shipman has enjoyed season of progress. After being without a podium last season, not much was expected of him this season. Season started badly in Nurburgring as he finished only 7th. He then missed next 2 races, and returned in Interlagos, where he was only 8th, despite strong pace. Blue Moon Bay was now or never for him to perform well, and he took most of his ballast advantage, winning first time in years. After missing Spa-race, he took another podium from Sardgena, despite mistake early in the race: ''I've had an enjoyable season, surprising myself with a win. Just a little disappointed I haven't been able to make more races this season, but with a 2 year old it's hard! Hoping for a solid result at Le Mans to round out the season and put in a respectable number in prep for next season''.
Le Mans will be challenge for doc-shipman, as he has now bit of ballast. But he is still positive ahead of the race: ''Looking forward to it. A win followed by a podium are two great results, so hoping I can keep that momentum and get a strong finish over the hour race. Sardegna was a challenge for me, having made an early mistake the pressure was on to keep clean and consistent and I worked my way up the field well, hoping for another clean and consistent performance at Le Mans to round out the season!''.

Emilius73 signed up for full season, but has only raced in 2 of the 7 races this season. In Mount Panorama he seemed to have podium-pace, but mistake left him 6th place. Interlagos he was even leading after the start, but struggled on tire-wear and finished 5th place: ''This season was a letdown on my side. I was not able to race the amount of races I wanted to, however Le Mans is the perfect track for this car due to the long straights''.
If Emilius73 can get maximum out of the car, have clean race and use ballast advantage well, he could challenge for podium or even win.

Manufacturers

Porsche
is leading the championship, and could secure the title with class-win or even podium.
Toyota could steal the title away from them if they can beat them on circuit and win the race.
But that could open door for Subaru to win the title if they can win Gr3-class this weekend.
Honda, Mercedes and Ford are outsiders, and not only need to win the race in their class, but also need some luck.
 
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Your Gr3-champion for Season 15 is....

FREDDUDE!!!

Despite having very up and down season, he still took 3 victories, including one in Le Mans Finale!
 
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And Gr4-champion is.....

NILS!!!!

He wins record equaling 5th GT-MES title after season that included 3 victories in very tight championship.
 
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And Manufacturers-champion is.....

SUBARU!!!


After coming close so many times, they finally did it, with 2 brilliant drivers.
 
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