The ballast is now halved in the penultimate race and lifted altogether in the final race for teams that participated in every round of the season. Teams missing only one round receive halved-ballast in the final race instead. In 2017, the weight handicap system for GT500 cars was amended to add fuel flow restrictions. Actual weight ballast will be capped at 50 kilograms for reasons of practicality and safety. When a car's assigned ballast exceeds 50 kilograms, it will be assigned a lesser amount of weight ballast, but a fuel flow restriction will be imposed, the severity of which increases according to the size of the assigned weight handicap. While the amount of actual weight ballast carried may vary, the weight handicap stickers on the cars will continue to display the assigned weight handicap. The drivers Like the series, Super GT drivers are very popular in Japan with a growing international fanbase. One driver who gained international appeal is Keiichi Tsuchiya, who raced for the Taisan and ARTA teams before moving to a managerial role upon his retirement in 2004. Other drivers who were famously associated with the series and still are actively involved in Super GT through team ownership are Masahiro Hasemi, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Aguri Suzuki, and Kunimitsu Takahashi, with the latter being a former President of the GT Association, which runs the series. The series also attracts drivers who see the series as a stepping-stone to Formula One such as Ralf Schumacher and Pedro de la Rosa, as well as former F1 drivers, most famously Érik Comas, who was the series' most successful driver until he stepped down from his position as a number one driver, and 2016 champion Heikki Kovalainen. After a one-off appearance in 2017, 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button drove for Team Kunimitsu in 2018 and 2019, winning the 2018 title. In the GT300 class, notable drivers include Nobuteru Taniguchi of Goodsmile Racing, who is also well known as a D1GP competitor, and Manabu Orido, a former D1GP judge currently driving for JLOC. Other well-known drivers in the category were the TV presenter and singer Hiromi Kozono and Masahiko Kondo, who was also a pop star, actor, and racer-turned-GT500 team owner. Another popular GT300 driver was Tetsuya Yamano, who runs his own driving school and took the GT300 class victory at Sepang for three consecutive years. Champions Overall, across all classes, 36 different drivers