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Toyota wins Nurburgring Gran Turismo round after late Mercedes battle

Toyota beat Mercedes in a thrilling final race to triumph in the second round of the FIA-certified Gran Turismo Championships Manufacturer Series at the Nurburgring

A total of 36 drivers were split into three-driver teams representing 12 different manufacturers for the second of five rounds of the Manufacturer Series World Tour on GT Sport, alongside the real-life Nurburgring 24 hours.

The event was contested over four races, with drivers competing in one of the first three races and all three from each manufacturer driving in the double-points finale on the full-length Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit.

That final race became a two-horse race for the lead, with championship protagonists Toyota and Mercedes on different strategies.

All teams were required to use each of the three compounds, with Toyota running the hardest tyre in the final stint, while second-placed Mercedes was on the softest tyre.

Mercedes closed down a 10-second gap on the final lap, running wheel-to-wheel with Toyota after the long Dottinger Hohe straight before been squeezed onto the grass.

The incident was investigated but was deemed to be a racing incident, confirming Toyota and its drivers Simon Bishop, Rick Kevelham and Tomoaki Yamanaka as the champions of the second round by a single point.

Defending series champion Lexus dominated the first two races to create an early points lead, with Kanata Kawakami and Andrew Brooks at the wheel.

However, its charge unravelled when the polesitting car, in the hands of Brazilian Leonardo Bruzzi, collided with front-row starter Mercedes at Turn 1 on the opening lap of the third race at Monza.

Mercedes was handed a five-second penalty for the incident, but Lexus dropped to last and failed to score.

It finished eighth in the finale, dropping to fifth in the final standings.

Race three winner BMW completed the podium in the finale to place third overall ahead of Porsche and Lexus. Jaguar took sixth place with Ford and Chevrolet completing the top eight.

Aston Martin, which won last time out in Paris, could only manage 11th out of the 12 teams.

The second Nations Cup of 2019 starts on Saturday. Paris winner Nicolas Rubilar and Formula Regional European Championship driver Igor Fraga will be among the competitors.

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