Toyota star Hirakawa finds himself a distant fifth in the championship with four races to go, trailing leader Ritomo Miyata by 47 points, with a best finish so far of third place in both the opening race at Fuji and the third round at Suzuka.
The Impul driver’s already fading title hopes were dealt a huge blow in last month’s Sugo race in which he failed to score points in 11th, while TOM’S driver Miyata scored a second win of the season.
