Ex-F1 driver Button wins 2018 Super GT title
Ex-Formula 1 driver Jenson Button has won the 2018 Super GT title alongside Honda teammate Naoki Yamamoto after a tense showdown in the Motegi finale.
The Kunimitsu Racing duo had been narrowly beaten to pole position and started Sunday's race from second on the grid, a position they retained until Button took over from Super Formula champion Yamamoto during the pitstops.
Ex-Formula 1 driver Jenson Button has won the 2018 Super GT title alongside Honda teammate Naoki Yamamoto after a tense showdown in the Motegi finale.
The Kunimitsu Racing duo had been narrowly beaten to pole position and started Sunday's race from second on the grid, a position they retained until Button took over from Super Formula champion Yamamoto during the pitstops.
Button returned to the track in fourth and soon moved up to third, though his progress was haltered behind the #64 Nakajima Honda of Kosuke Matsuura.
That enabled the Lexus pairing of Ryo Hirakawa and Nick Cassidy - who Button and Yamamoto had to finish ahead of to seal the crown - to close in with just five laps remaining.
But Button held firm to secure a third-place finish that ensured he and Yamamoto pipped Hirakawa and Cassidy to the title by just three points.
It marked Button's first title since winning the 2009 F1 world championship with Brawn, while the Briton also becomes the first rookie to be crowned Super GT champion since 2005.
