In the first Suzuka 1000km for six years, Porsche’s entries put in a strong showing, earning an overall second-place finish along with Bronze victory at the famous Japanese circuit. Meanwhile, the marque clinched wins in both the GTC and GT4 classes in the Japan Cup season finale.

11 Porsche cars took on the event, which marked the fourth stop on the 2025 Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar, including four in the Pro class. Saturday evening’s qualifying saw three 15-minute sessions as the sun went down, with all drivers taking part. Origine Motorsport’s #6 car was the quickest Porsche, clinching fourth in the hands of Bastian Buus, Laurin Heinrich and Alessio Picariello. Just one place behind them on the grid was Absolute Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R, with Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Patrick Pilet at the wheel. As the race got underway on Sunday afternoon, Vanthoor and Picariello went side-by-side in the opening corners, with the Absolute Racing man moving into third.

Having started in 11th, Klaus Bachler was making progress in the #23 Phantom Global Racing machine, progressing up to seventh after a series of superb overtakes. With just over two hours gone, Origine Motorsport and Absolute Racing resumed their battle, this time with Heinrich and Pilet in the action, with the German making a fantastic move for second through the Esses. Meanwhile, the battle for the Bronze lead heated up, with Absolute Racing’s #10 of Antares Au, Richard Lietz and Loek Hartog showing strong pace as Herberth Motorsport’s #911 car led the way, although Lietz would hit the front after a mid-race Safety Car bunched the pack up. With 90 minutes left on the clock, Estre moved past Buus into second, allowing the Frenchman to fully focus on challenging for overall victory, as Buus superbly fought for position behind the #7 Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Although the Dane was unable to hang on to third, Hartog took over the fight in the Bronze #10 car, putting in a terrific final stint. However, neither Estre or Hartog were able to make their respective moves, with Absolute Racing clinching second and fourth, including a dominant Bronze class victory with the #10. Heinrich brought the Origine Motorsport car home in fifth, after a post-race penalty applied to another competitor promoted them up a place, while solid stints from Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Selected Driver Dorian Boccolacci, Patric Niederhauser and Bachler earned Phantom Global Racing eighth, despite early pit stop issues costing them time. Herberth Motorsport’s Ralf Bohn, Alfred Renauer and Robert Renauer joined Absolute Racing on the Bronze podium in third and 11th overall, one place ahead of Adrian D’Silva, Sven Müller and Harry King in the #61 EBM car.

Hiroaki Nagai, Kazuto Kotaka and Takura Shinohara claimed fifth in the Bronze class for Porsche Center Okazaki, while Origine Motorsport’s Kerong Li, Anders Fjordbach and Leo Ye were sixth in the same category. Adderly Fong, JZ and Nico Menzel battled hard throughout for Phantom Global Racing, ultimately securing ninth in class. In the Silver category, Vollgas Motorsports clinched second in the hands of Phil Kim, Alex Jiatong Liang and Daan Arrow, while issues prevented Andrew Macpherson, Ben Porter and Grant Denyer from battling for the Am win, eventually classified second, having started on class pole.

The Intercontinental GT Challenge campaign comes to an end on 16-18 October at the Indianapolis 8 Hour, with Porsche currently second in the GT3 Manufacturers’ Standings.

Kévin Estre, Absolute Racing: “It’s a great result and second was the best we could achieve today. Together with the team we executed the strategy perfectly and there were a lot of hard battles out there throughout the enduro. We can be very proud of this one and we’ll be back next year to try and win this iconic event!”

Laurens Vanthoor, Absolute Racing: “We maximised our performance and secured second overall. It’s always a tough race around this track and especially with the humidity making it very challenging. The car drove well with no issues so we can be happy with our finishing position.”

Patrick Pilet, Absolute Racing: “I’m proud of the team and my teammates today as we gave it everything from lap one, crossing the line in second. It was great to be part of such an amazing show, and we hope to be back to fight for the overall victory.”

Antares Au, Absolute Racing: “The weekend was challenging with the weather, and I haven’t raced at Suzuka since my time in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia six years ago. We did a great job to be in contention for the overall podium at the end, doing excellently to clinch P4 overall and Bronze victory.”

Bastian Buus, Origine Motorsport: “It was an unfortunate weekend as we had a great car, but we suffered some body work and floor damage which got worse as the race progressed, meaning we lacked pace at the end. We need to come back next year for revenge!”

Laurin Heinrich, Origine Motorsport: “It’s always a pleasure to drive the Porsche 911 GT3 R around this amazing circuit. We struggled with damage and dropped positions in the final hour due to this. Then it was about nursing the car home and getting those crucial points in the championship for Porsche.”

Alessio Picariello, Origine Motorsport: “It was unfortunately not the result we hoped for as we definitely had potential for the podium, but we had some issues that got worse throughout the event. Suzuka is one of the best tracks in the world to drive and it was a pleasure to share the car with Laurin and Bastian.”

Dorian Boccolacci, Phantom Global Racing: “It was my first weekend here in Suzuka and it was difficult initially with a lot of wet running. There were some complications in Qualifying due to the Red Flags, but Klaus had a great start getting us up to P7. Unfortunately, we had some problems with refuelling which affected our progress and meant we couldn’t achieve our full potential. P8 is still a good result, and we will now prepare ourselves for next time.”

Klaus Bachler, Phantom Global Racing: “It’s not the result we were hoping for and the issues in the pit stop put us back into traffic which made the race very difficult. It wasn’t the event we wanted but we learnt a lot from the enduro.”

Patric Niederhauser, Phantom Global Racing: “It was a very intense race and we had a good car, but we were unlucky. On top of that, having Safety Cars and Full Course Yellows deployed at the wrong time affected us further. Overall, P8 is a not what we came for but it’s still a solid result.”

Adderly Fong, Phantom Global Racing: “We had a bit of contact in the final 15 minutes which meant we couldn’t finish the event. As teammates we worked excellently with each other, but unfortunately the luck that we needed wasn’t on our side. It was a pleasure to work with the crew and my fellow drivers at such a brilliant event like Suzuka 1000km.”

Nico Menzel, Phantom Global Racing: “We improved throughout the weekend even though there was limited dry running for me to learn the track on the practice days. We got unlucky with the timings of Safety Cars and without this we could’ve fought for the top five in our category. It was a great week to be a part of which I enjoyed, and I hope I get the chance to do it again.”

Leo Ye, Origine Motorsport: “I’m very proud of the team who gave us a great race car, but unfortunately some incidents on track meant we couldn’t maximise our potential. However, it was still fun to be part of such an iconic event like the Suzuka 1000km.”

Anders Fjordbach, Origine Motorsport: “The race didn’t go as we hoped but we fought hard throughout and crossed the line sixth in the Bronze class. We can be proud of the determination showed all weekend long!”

Kerong Li, Origine Motorsport: “The team provided us with an excellent car, and the event was a fiercely competitive enduro. I would like to thank the crew for all their dedication, and I look forward to returning next year.”

Phil Kim, Vollgas Motorsports: “It was my first time driving the Porsche 911 GT3 R and also my debut in a GT3 event. Thanks to Porsche and the team for their hard work throughout as we finished second in class.”

Alex Jiatong Liang, Vollgas Motorsports: “It was a pleasure to drive for Vollgas Motorsports in such an iconic enduro. The crew did a fantastic job throughout the weekend to ensure we secured a podium in the Silver category.”

Daan Arrow, Vollgas Motorsports: “I’m proud to have been on this journey with Vollgas Motorsports in its endurance race debut. We’re delighted to finish on the Silver podium and to reward the team after rebuilding the car from the GT World Challenge Asia round at Okayama. We’ve learnt a lot from this experience, and we’ll use that to further improve!”

Hiroaki Nagai, Porsche Center Okazaki: “Thanks to the hard work of the mechanics we were able to bounce back from a disappointing Qualifying and take on the race in perfect condition. There were many difficult situations in the event, but as a team we worked together and achieved a positive result.”

Kazuto Kotaka, Porsche Center Okazaki: “I’m delighted that we were able to finish the race and get onto the GTWCA category podium. It was a lot of fun and I’m very grateful to my team and the Porsche staff for making this possible.”

Takuro Shinohara, Porsche Center Okazaki: “I’m happy that we achieved second place on the GTWCA podium! This was my first time driving the Porsche 911 GT3 R and I immediately knew that it would be a fast car. We couldn’t quite take top spot but we’re definitely improving.”

SRO Japan Cup The SRO Japan Cup campaign finale was run in support of the Suzuka 1000km, with Porsche entries clinching victories in both the GTC and GT4 categories.

seven x seven Racing took fourth in the first race of the weekend in the #666 Porsche 911 GT3 R on Saturday, before a more difficult Sunday saw Bankcy and Taichi Watarai take eighth overall and sixth in class. The results mean Bankcy finishes overall third in the 2025 championship after a consistent season, which included a solitary victory at Fuji Speedway. Bingo Racing’s #888 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, which clinched the title at the previous event at Okayama, again secured two victories in the GTC category.

In the GT4 class, Yoshitomo Makino’s hard work throughout the season saw him take a first win for Zenko RS Garage with Sunrise BLVD, as Takeshi Suehiro joined him as teammate. The duo would finish second on Sunday, finishing the season strongly as Makino earned second in the standings.

Bankcy, seven x seven Racing: “After taking fourth on Saturday, Watarai got us off to a great start and was able to get ahead, but unfortunately, we had some mechanical issues. This meant I had to settle for P3 in the Drivers’ Championship, but we will continue to gain more valuable experience over the winter.”

Taichi Watarai, seven x seven Racing: “It was great for me to be able to keep good pace throughout the weekend, even with the problems we had. We’ll work hard to challenge for the title again in 2026.”

Takeshi Suehiro, SUNRISE BLVD: “In Race 1, the weather suited our car, using slicks in wet conditions, we were able to achieve our first victory of the season. In the second race, we struggled and fell behind our rivals, but we will look to overcome these weaknesses for next year.”

Yoshitomo Makino, SUNRISE BLVD: “We had good teamwork on Saturday to take our first win of 2025, but in Race 2 we didn’t manage to achieve the result we wanted. We’ll learn from this mistake in the future.”

Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific Ltd.: “It’s great to see Absolute Racing secure second overall as well as fourth and the Bronze Cup victory. Additionally, we’re very happy for our Japan Cup customers, where we had success across all categories of the championship. It was a positive weekend for our customers, and it’s been amazing to have such a prestigious event like the Suzuka 1000km back on the calendar. We’re already looking forward to the 2026 edition as we will come back aiming for the overall win! I would like to say a huge thank you to all the representatives and crew of our customer teams for going the extra mile throughout this event to help deliver this positive performance.”