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Nojiri and his teammate aboard the #8 ARTA machine, Nirei Fukuzumi, ended up finishing down in 12th overall on less than half the points tally of Honda’s other two Bridgestone-shod GT500 crews, marking the Aguri Suzuki-led team’s worst result since the 2016 season.
The only visit to the podium all year for Nojiri and Fukuzumi came in May’s second round of the season at Fuji, as the pair took a low-key win in a race shortened by Nissan driver Mitsunori Takaboshi’s terrifying crash, and only after two Toyota crews were penalised.
Besides that, only in the fourth round at Fuji did the #8 NSX-GT crack the top five as operational errors cost the team valuable points at Sugo and Autopolis.
The chances of finishing the year with a strong result at Motegi were ruined when Nojiri was spun out by the NDDP Racing Nissan of Katsumasa …