Honda enjoyed a dream result in the Opening Race at FIA WTCC JVCKENWOOD Race of Japan, with Norbert Michelisz leading a 1-2-3 finish for the home marque.
Michelisz led from pole position to chequered flag for his first win of 2016 and his first win as a factory Honda driver.
At the start, Tom Chilton challenged Thed Björk for third position into the first corner, but the Briton was quickly shuffled back to eighth place.
Having held on to third, Björk went on the attack in his Volvo, looking for a way past Rob Huff ahead of him, but Tiago Monteiro was instead able to overtake the Swede and set up the all-Honda podium.
José María López worked his way through to fourth from 10th on the grid. He capitalised on Citroën team-mate Yvan Muller getting sideways whilst attacking Nicky Catsburg to pass both before going on to overtake Björk, who slipped back to sixth behind Muller.
After making contact with López, Catsburg finished up seventh for LADA in front of the WTCC Trophy winner Chilton. Néstor Girolami finished his first race back in the WTCC with Polestar Cyan Racing in ninth, while Gabriele Tarquini took 10th.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norbert Michelisz | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | 13 laps |
| 2 | Rob Huff | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | +1.358 |
| 3 | Tiago Monteiro | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | +2.173 |
| 4 | Jose Maria Lopez | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | +3.609 |
| 5 | Yvan Muller | Citroen Total WTCC | Citroen | +4.805 |
| 6 | Thed Bjork | Polestar Cyan | Volvo | +8.049 |
| 7 | Nicky Catsburg | LADA Sport | Lada | +8.738 |
| 8 | Tom Chilton | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | +9.385 |
| 9 | Nestor Girolami | Polestar Cyan | Volvo | +10.135 |
| 10 | Gabriele Tarquini | LADA Sport | Lada | +10.456 |
| 11 | Ryo Michigami | Honda Racing Team JAS | Honda | +18.300 |
| 12 | Tom Coronel | ROAL Motorsport | Chevrolet | +18.691 |
| 13 | James Thompson | Munnich Motorsport | Chevrolet | +21.696 |
| 14 | John Filippi | Campos Racing | Chevrolet | +26.419 |
| 15 | Daniel Nagy | Zengo | Honda | +26.935 |
| 16 | Mehdi Bennani | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | +28.127 |
| 17 | Grégoire Demoustier | Sebastien Loeb Racing | Citroen | +34.475 |
| 18 | Ferenc Ficza | Zengo | Honda | DNF |
| 19 | Hugo Valente | LADA Sport | Lada | DNF |