The official results for the third round of the 2023 season were released on Monday, more than a week on from the 450km event, with no changes from the revised provisional results that were published late on the evening of the race.
It means the #19 Toyota GR Supra shared by Yuji Kunimoto and Sena Sakaguchi keeps the win that they were promoted to following a 60-second time penalty for the Nissan shared by Katsumasa Chiyo and Mitsunori Takaboshi.
The #3 NDDP Nissan of Chiyo and Takaboshi was leading when the race was red-flagged after a huge crash involving the sister NISMO car of Tsugio Matsuda at 130R, but only by virtue of not having made both mandatory refuelling stops.
Initially the NDDP duo were named as the winners, but following a protest filed by almost every other team in the GT500 class, they were handed a 60-second penalty to compensate for the second stop they had yet to make, dropping them to fourth.
Nissan unsuccessfully protested the penalty, and then confirmed its intention to lodge an official appeal, leading to a week-long delay before the results of the Suzuka race could finally be confirmed.
Bandoh therefore takes its first SUPER GT win since 2016, along with tyre supplier Yokohama and veteran driver Kunimoto. Sakaguchi meanwhile secures his first victory in the GT500 class.
After the team's win was confirmed, Sakaguchi wrote on his social media: "I really wanted to win with this team and these team members, and finally it has come true! Of course it's my first win in GT500 and a first for the team in seven years.
"Thank you to 'Masa-san' [Masataka Bandoh, team director], Kunimoto-san, Yokohama and everyone in the team. Even though there have been a lot of tough, frustrating times, this is what makes all the effort worthwhile."
The results of the Suzuka race being officialised also confirmed TOM'S Toyota drivers Sho Tsuboi and Ritomo Miyata, who keep their second place, as the leaders of the championship.
Tsuboi and Miyata lead on 36 points, followed by Chiyo and Takaboshi on 29 points. The NISMO car of Matsuda and Ronnie Quintarelli sits third on 25 points.
The next round of the SUPER GT season takes place at Fuji Speedway on August 6.
