Expat Whanganui driver Earl Bamber and his Porsche 919 Hybrid team have left the door slightly ajar for the chasing Toyota pack after a rain-shortened seventh round of the World Endurance Championship in Japan early Monday morning NZ time.
Bamber, Palmerston North mate Brendon Hartley and their teammate Timo Bernhard were left short in fourth place and a lap down at the 6 Hours of Fuji after racing was abandoned due to fog and wet conditions at Fuji International Speedway.
It was Bamber's first opportunity to be the starting driver for the three-man team, who had won the pole earlier.
The New Zealander's Porsche team went to Japan with a healthy points cushion and only needed to finish ahead of the Toyota's to clinch the title, but now their advantage has been cut to 39 points, with 52 points still up for grabs at the final two rounds in Shanghai and Bahrain next month.
Toyota's TS050 Hybrid team of Sebastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima picked up their third win of the season - and Toyota's fifth victory in six events at Fuji - after they were at the front with 113 laps completed in four and a half hours, which was over the 75 per cent threshold for there to be a result if racing is red-flagged.