Michelin and Nissan have teamed up to take their second consecutive Super GT GT500 championship in Japan and their fourth title in the past five years.

Ronnie Quintarelli and Tsugio Matsuda combined abroad their Nissan GT-R to overhaul fellow Nissan pilots Hironobu Yasuda and JP de Oliveira by five points to claim the title.

After only qualifying 12th for the final round, Quintarelli and Nissan’s LM P1 racer Matsuda moved through the pack in damp conditions to take second at the checkered flag – two spots ahead of Yasusa and de Oliveira.

“This was the hardest championship to win,” Quintarelli said.

“We had no margin for error. In certain situations, we were even perhaps a little behind, as we saw in qualifying. In the race, however, we succeeded in making the very most of our Michelin tyres. “

“What I like about Michelin is the way it works. It take things one step at a time and doesn’t fire off in all directions. That’s how I like to work and it’s one of the reasons why we work so well together.

“It’s one of the secrets of our success. For Michelin to have won four titles in five years here in Japan, the home of its rivals, is quite simply exceptional and I would like to pay a big tribute to the brand this evening.”

The Super GT Championship is one of the last great “tire wars” in motorsport. Michelin did battle with Bridgestone, Yokohama and Dunlop to take the championship.

Nissan’s memorable season also included a championship victory in the GT300 class for Andre Couto.