Pit Debrief

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Pit Debrief

Motorsport news

2026 Suzuka 1000km | Pre-Qualifying | Chiyo puts Team 5ZIGEN Nissan on top in first dry daytime running

Karishma Persad08 mins
Chiyo tops Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying for Team 5ZIGEN as Nissan leads Maezawa Racing and PONOS Ferrari entries in first dry run.
Photo Credit: SRO | Gruppe C Photography
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Katsumasa Chiyo put Team 5ZIGEN at the top of Pre-Qualifying for the 2026 Suzuka 1000km, producing the only sub-two-minute lap during Saturday morning’s first dry daytime running of the weekend.

The Nissan factory driver recorded a 1:59.908 aboard the #500 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 to finish 0.202 seconds clear of Alessio Rovera in the #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. PONOS Racing’s Seita Nonaka followed only 0.002 seconds behind Rovera in third, while Absolute Racing and Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC completed the top five.

After rain affected both Paid Test sessions on Friday, Night Practice provided the first dry running. However, Pre-Qualifying finally gave teams representative daytime conditions as they prepared for Saturday evening’s Qualifying sessions and Sunday’s 50th Suzuka 1000km.

Chiyo breaks two-minute barrier in 2026 Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying

Chiyo delivered the quickest lap aboard the #500 Nissan shared with Kazuki Hiramine and Atsushi Miyake. His 1:59.908 came on the eighth lap of the car’s 21-lap programme and made him the only driver to break the two-minute barrier during the 90-minute session.

The result continued a competitive weekend for the locally based Nissan contingent. Team 5ZIGEN had already shown flashes of speed in Friday’s changing conditions, but Saturday morning provided a clearer indication of its outright potential ahead of Qualifying.

Chiyo’s advantage remained relatively narrow despite his position at the top. Only 0.554 seconds covered the first five cars, while Nissan, Ferrari, Porsche and Ford all featured within that group.

The performance also strengthened Team 5ZIGEN’s status as one of the leading home contenders for outright victory. Chiyo, Hiramine and Miyake form an all-Japanese Pro line-up in one of three Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s entered for the weekend.

Rovera and Nonaka put Ferrari second and third at Suzuka

Maezawa Racing came closest to denying Chiyo top spot as Rovera produced a late improvement aboard the #555 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

The Ferrari factory driver recorded a 2:00.110, leaving the Bronze-class entry only 0.202 seconds from the overall benchmark. Rovera’s lap also comfortably secured the fastest Bronze time as the Italian continued adapting to Suzuka after joining Yusaku Maezawa and Naoki Yokomizo at short notice.

PONOS Racing’s Nonaka followed with a 2:00.112 in the #45 Ferrari. Only 0.002 seconds separated the two Ferraris, giving the manufacturer second and third overall during the first dry daytime session.

Nonaka shares the Pro entry with Takuro Shinohara and Tadasuke Makino, with PONOS continuing to feature near the front after placing inside the top 10 during Friday’s Night Practice.

Absolute Racing and Ford complete Suzuka top five

Alessandro Ghiretti put the #7 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo fourth with a 2:00.308. The result continued the car’s consistent presence near the front after Ayhancan Güven topped both wet Paid Test sessions and Dorian Boccolacci finished third in Night Practice.

Ghiretti ended 0.400 seconds behind Chiyo, while Dennis Olsen made a late improvement to put the #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford Mustang GT3 Evo fifth. Olsen’s 2:00.462 left the debuting Ford 0.554 seconds from first place.

The Mustang has remained competitive throughout its first Suzuka weekend. After featuring near the front in the wet tests, the Pro entry continued that form in both dry sessions ahead of Qualifying.

Bingo Racing leads chasing Bronze entries

Reimei Itou took sixth overall aboard the #9 Bingo Racing with LM Corsa Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo. His 2:00.613 placed the car second in Bronze behind Maezawa Racing and 0.705 seconds away from Chiyo.

LM Corsa followed in seventh with its #80 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. Ryo Ogawa helped the Bronze entry to a 2:00.634, just 0.021 seconds behind the Bingo Racing Porsche.

Team Daishin then made it two Nissan GT-Rs inside the top eight. Tsugio Matsuda recorded a 2:00.646 in the #81 Bronze entry, finishing only 0.012 seconds behind Ogawa and 0.738 seconds from the outright pace.

The strong Team 5ZIGEN and Daishin performances placed two examples of Nissan’s ageing GT-R NISMO GT3 inside the top eight against significantly newer machinery.

Mercedes-AMG completes 2026 Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying top 10

Luca Stolz led the Mercedes-AMG runners in ninth for the #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing entry. His 2:00.700 left the Pro car 0.792 seconds behind Chiyo.

Friday Night Practice leader 75 Express completed the top 10. Philip Ellis produced a 2:00.854 aboard the #75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, putting the team 0.946 seconds from the overall benchmark.

The result followed Mikaël Grenier’s 2:00.395 in Night Practice, when the #75 had led the first dry session of the weekend. Saturday’s warmer daytime conditions reshuffled the order, with Nissan and Ferrari moving ahead.

The #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche narrowly missed the top 10 in 11th. Alessio Picariello’s 2:00.899 left the ‘Bushi Rex’ Porsche only 0.045 seconds behind Ellis.

Tanaka crash triggers Suzuka Pre-Qualifying red flag

The session featured an early red flag after Atsushi Tanaka crashed the #360 Runup Sports Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 at 130R.

Tanaka escaped the heavy accident without injury, although the Am-class Nissan completed only eight laps during the session. Its 2:03.986 ultimately left it 30th overall and 4.078 seconds behind Chiyo.

Johor Motorsports Racing’s Nicky Catsburg also endured a dramatic moment when he took the #2 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R through the gravel. However, he avoided contact and returned without significant damage.

Track limits also played a role in the final amended classification. Several cars lost laps, including the #500 Team 5ZIGEN Nissan and #555 Maezawa Ferrari, which each had two times deleted. The #64 Ford, #86 High Class Racing Porsche, #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche and #99 JMR Corvette each lost three laps.

2026 Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying full results

The official amended classification contained all 30 entries, with Chiyo’s 1:59.908 remaining the benchmark after the track-limit deletions.

  1. #500 Team 5ZIGEN Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 — Pro — 1:59.908
  2. #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Bronze — 2:00.110, +0.202s
  3. #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Pro — 2:00.112, +0.204s
  4. #7 Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro — 2:00.308, +0.400s
  5. #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford Mustang GT3 Evo — Pro — 2:00.462, +0.554s
  6. #9 Bingo Racing with LM Corsa Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Bronze — 2:00.613, +0.705s
  7. #80 LM Corsa Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Bronze — 2:00.634, +0.726s
  8. #81 Team Daishin Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 — Bronze — 2:00.646, +0.738s
  9. #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing — Pro — 2:00.700, +0.792s
  10. #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro — 2:00.854, +0.946s
  11. #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro — 2:00.899, +0.991s
  12. #86 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Bronze — 2:00.976, +1.068s
  13. #18 Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Bronze — 2:00.979, +1.071s
  14. #28 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 2:01.025, +1.117s
  15. #60 LM Corsa Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 2:01.078, +1.170s
  16. #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus RC F GT3 — Pro — 2:01.083, +1.175s
  17. #99 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R — Pro-Am — 2:01.120, +1.212s
  18. #61 EBM Giga Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Bronze — 2:01.170, +1.262s
  19. #10 Team KRC BMW M4 GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 2:01.184, +1.276s
  20. #5 PLUS with BMW M Team Studie BMW M4 GT3 Evo — Bronze — 2:01.221, +1.313s
  21. #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Bronze — 2:01.421, +1.513s
  22. #89 Team KRC BMW M4 GT3 Evo — Bronze — 2:01.424, +1.516s
  23. #69 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo — Bronze — 2:01.452, +1.544s
  24. #25 Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Bronze — 2:01.485, +1.577s
  25. #72 Harmony Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Bronze — 2:01.571, +1.663s
  26. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Bronze — 2:01.640, +1.732s
  27. #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R — Pro — 2:02.255, +2.347s
  28. #181 Norik Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo — Pro-Am — 2:02.522, +2.614s
  29. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo — Pro-Am — 2:03.052, +3.144s
  30. #360 Runup Sports Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 — Am — 2:03.986, +4.078s

2026 Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying Pro results

Nine Pro entries featured in the session, with Team 5ZIGEN leading PONOS Racing and Absolute Racing.

  1. #500 Team 5ZIGEN Nissan — 1:59.908
  2. #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari — 2:00.112
  3. #7 Absolute Racing Porsche — 2:00.308
  4. #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford — 2:00.462
  5. #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing — 2:00.700
  6. #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG — 2:00.854
  7. #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche — 2:00.899
  8. #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus — 2:01.083
  9. #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette — 2:02.255

2026 Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying Bronze results

Maezawa Racing led the largest category and finished second overall, with Bingo Racing and LM Corsa completing the top three in Bronze.

  1. #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari — 2:00.110
  2. #9 Bingo Racing with LM Corsa Porsche — 2:00.613
  3. #80 LM Corsa Ferrari — 2:00.634
  4. #81 Team Daishin Nissan — 2:00.646
  5. #86 High Class Racing Porsche — 2:00.976
  6. #18 Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing Porsche — 2:00.979
  7. #61 EBM Giga Racing Porsche — 2:01.170
  8. #5 PLUS with BMW M Team Studie BMW — 2:01.221
  9. #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche — 2:01.421
  10. #89 Team KRC BMW — 2:01.424
  11. #69 Team WRT BMW — 2:01.452
  12. #25 Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing Porsche — 2:01.485
  13. #72 Harmony Racing Ferrari — 2:01.571
  14. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche — 2:01.640

2026 Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying Pro-Am results

Craft-Bamboo Racing led the six-car Pro-Am field, only 0.053 seconds ahead of LM Corsa.

  1. #28 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG — 2:01.025
  2. #60 LM Corsa Ferrari — 2:01.078
  3. #99 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette — 2:01.120
  4. #10 Team KRC BMW — 2:01.184
  5. #181 Norik Racing Ferrari — 2:02.522
  6. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche — 2:03.052

2026 Suzuka 1000km Pre-Qualifying Am result

Runup Sports remained the sole Am-class entrant. The #360 Nissan’s session ended early after Tanaka’s accident at 130R.

  1. #360 Runup Sports Nissan — 2:03.986

Qualifying next for the 2026 Suzuka 1000km

The first dry daytime session produced a significantly different order from Friday’s rain-affected running, with Nissan moving to the head of the field and Ferrari occupying the next two positions.

The field returns for Qualifying at 17:40 local time on Saturday, when the three-driver format will determine which entries progress to the decisive Pole Shootout and establish the starting order for Sunday’s race. The broader field, class structure and championship picture are covered in the 2026 Suzuka 1000km preview.

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