In the end, it was Sekiguchi that prevailed after putting up a stern defence on old tyres against Hirakawa, who was able to close in rapidly in the final few laps with his fresh Yokohama rubber.
Hirakawa came close to pulling off a move on the last lap at the downhill Turn 11 right-hander, the most obvious passing opportunity at a circuit where overtakes are notoriously few and far between, but Sekiguchi kept just close enough to the inside to force Hirakawa to go the long way round and hang on to the lead.
