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Pit Debrief

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2026 Suzuka 1000km | Qualifying | Craft-Bamboo fastest as penalty puts Ford in line for pole

Karishma Persad09 mins
Craft-Bamboo tops Suzuka 1000km qualifying, but a grid penalty leaves Miedecke Motorsport's Ford on provisional pole for race day.
Photo Credit: SRO | Gruppe C Photography
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Craft-Bamboo Racing topped Qualifying for the 2026 Suzuka 1000km with the #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, but a pre-existing grid penalty leaves the #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford Mustang GT3 EVO in line to start Sunday’s race from pole.

Maxime Martin, Kakunoshin Ohta and Luca Stolz combined for an average time of 1:58.696 across Saturday evening’s three Qualifying sessions. Ohta and Stolz topped Q2 and Q3 respectively, while Martin finished second in Q1, leaving the taxi-liveried Mercedes-AMG 0.581 seconds clear of its nearest challenger on the provisional combined timesheets.

However, a three-place grid penalty for the #77 means the Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford of Christopher Mies, Dennis Olsen and Frédéric Vervisch is set to inherit the leading starting position. The Ford ended Qualifying second on average times with a 1:59.277, narrowly ahead of the #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

Nonaka leads Suzuka 1000km Qualifying 1

PONOS Racing began Qualifying strongest as Seita Nonaka produced a 1:58.523 aboard the #45 Ferrari. Martin came closest for Craft-Bamboo with a 1:58.713, while Mies completed the top three in the debuting Ford with a 1:59.003.

Friday Night Practice leader Mikaël Grenier placed the #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG fourth. Ayhancan Güven followed in fifth aboard the #7 Absolute Racing Porsche after setting the benchmark in both rain-hit Paid Test sessions.

Alessio Picariello put the #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche sixth, while Katsumasa Chiyo followed in seventh for Team 5ZIGEN. Seiji Ara’s #5 PLUS with BMW M Team Studie entry led the Bronze runners in eighth.

The opening 15-minute session established an early advantage for Craft-Bamboo, PONOS and Miedecke Motorsport, but the three-driver average format meant the order remained highly vulnerable across Q2 and Q3.

Ohta produces fastest lap of Suzuka Qualifying

Ohta then delivered the standout individual performance of the evening in Qualifying 2. The Honda factory driver took the #77 Mercedes-AMG around Suzuka in 1:58.455, the quickest lap across the three sessions.

Laurin Heinrich came closest in the AO by Absolute Racing Porsche, but his 1:59.054 remained almost six tenths away from Ohta. Parker Thompson placed Team WRT’s #69 Bronze-class BMW third in Q2, while Olsen took fourth for Miedecke Motorsport.

Maxime Oosten put Team KRC fifth, ahead of Alessandro Ghiretti’s #7 Absolute Racing Porsche. The #80 LM Corsa Ferrari followed in seventh, while EBM Giga Racing, Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing and PONOS Racing completed the top 10.

The session was interrupted when Hibiki Taira stopped the #18 Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing Porsche at Degner Curve. Flames were visible around the rear of the car, although they were quickly brought under control.

Stolz completes Craft-Bamboo qualifying charge

Stolz ensured Craft-Bamboo remained at the top of the provisional combined classification in Q3. His 1:58.920 narrowly beat Alessio Rovera’s #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari by 0.030 seconds.

Max Hesse followed another 0.060 seconds behind Rovera in the #89 Team KRC BMW, while Dan Harper put Team WRT fourth. Brendon Leitch’s #72 Harmony Racing Ferrari completed the opening five ahead of Philip Ellis’ 75 Express Mercedes-AMG.

The margins remained particularly tight through the middle of the order. Only 0.692 seconds separated Stolz from Vervisch in 13th, with Atsushi Miyake, Tadasuke Makino, Mathieu Jaminet, Dorian Boccolacci and João Paulo de Oliveira all featuring within that group.

Rovera’s Q3 effort also helped the Maezawa Racing Ferrari recover from slower opening sessions, although the Bronze-class entry’s average left it outside the leading 10 overall.

Ford set to inherit Suzuka 1000km pole

Craft-Bamboo’s three drivers produced a provisional average of 1:58.696, giving the #77 a substantial 0.581-second advantage over the #64 Ford. However, the Mercedes-AMG carries a three-place grid penalty for speeding during a red-flag period, leaving Miedecke Motorsport in line to start from pole.

The Ford trio produced a 1:59.277 average, with Mies third in Q1, Olsen fourth in Q2 and Vervisch 13th in Q3. Their consistency was enough to beat PONOS Racing by just 0.036 seconds.

Nonaka, Takuro Shinohara and Makino therefore sit third on the provisional averages and are poised to move onto the front row, while Güven, Ghiretti and Boccolacci’s #7 Absolute Racing Porsche is set to move up from fourth.

The sister #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche was fifth on average times but also carries a grid drop for failing to display the car during the pit walk. Team KRC’s #89 BMW led the Bronze entries in sixth on the provisional combined classification, with Team WRT’s #69 BMW seventh before its own grid penalty.

Team 5ZIGEN’s Nissan ended ninth on averages and is positioned to benefit from the penalties ahead, while the #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette completed the provisional top 10. The #60 LM Corsa Ferrari of Kei Nakanishi, Shigekazu Wakisaka and Giancarlo Fisichella led Pro-Am in 14th overall.

2026 Suzuka 1000km provisional Qualifying 1 results

  1. #45 Seita Nonaka — PONOS Racing, Pro — 1:58.523
  2. #77 Maxime Martin — Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, Pro — 1:58.713
  3. #64 Christopher Mies — Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC, Pro — 1:59.003
  4. #75 Mikaël Grenier — 75 Express, Pro — 1:59.149
  5. #7 Ayhancan Güven — Absolute Racing, Pro — 1:59.390
  6. #8 Alessio Picariello — AO by Absolute Racing, Pro — 1:59.532
  7. #500 Katsumasa Chiyo — Team 5ZIGEN, Pro — 1:59.788
  8. #5 Seiji Ara — PLUS with BMW M Team Studie, Bronze — 2:00.145
  9. #2 Alexander Sims — Johor Motorsports Racing, Pro — 2:00.462
  10. #89 Cun Fan Ruan — Team KRC, Bronze — 2:00.899
  11. #96 Sena Sakaguchi — K-tunes Racing, Pro — 2:01.020
  12. #69 Anthony McIntosh — Team WRT, Bronze — 2:01.137
  13. #80 Naoki Hattori — LM Corsa, Bronze — 2:01.326
  14. #93 Jonathan Hui — Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing, Bronze — 2:01.466
  15. #86 Li Kerong — High Class Racing, Bronze — 2:01.741
  16. #60 Kei Nakanishi — LM Corsa, Pro-Am — 2:02.005
  17. #91 Ralf Bohn — Herberth Motorsport, Bronze — 2:02.103
  18. #555 Yusaku Maezawa — Maezawa Racing, Bronze — 2:02.254
  19. #28 Kevin Tse — Craft-Bamboo Racing, Pro-Am — 2:02.283
  20. #10 Brian Lee — Team KRC, Pro-Am — 2:02.357
  21. #81 Ryuichiro Ohyagi — Team Daishin, Bronze — 2:02.626
  22. #99 Prince Jefri Ibrahim — Johor Motorsports Racing, Pro-Am — 2:02.628
  23. #25 Kiyoshi Uchiyama — Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing, Bronze — 2:02.705
  24. #18 Hiroaki Nagai — Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing, Bronze — 2:03.155
  25. #72 Song Jiajun — Harmony Racing, Bronze — 2:03.543
  26. #79 Johannes Zelger — Tsunami RT, Pro-Am — 2:03.673
  27. #181 NORIK — Norik Racing, Pro-Am — 2:05.634
  28. #9 Shinji Takei — Bingo Racing with LM Corsa, Bronze — 2:05.728
  29. #61 Adrian D’Silva — EBM Giga Racing, Bronze — 2:06.235

The #360 Runup Sports Nissan did not participate after Atsushi Tanaka’s heavy 130R accident in Pre-Qualifying. The remainder of the Q1 times are reflected in the official session classification, with the #77’s provisional lap restored to its position from immediately after Qualifying.

2026 Suzuka 1000km provisional Qualifying 2 results

  1. #77 Kakunoshin Ohta — Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, Pro — 1:58.455
  2. #8 Laurin Heinrich — AO by Absolute Racing, Pro — 1:59.054
  3. #69 Parker Thompson — Team WRT, Bronze — 1:59.125
  4. #64 Dennis Olsen — Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC, Pro — 1:59.218
  5. #89 Maxime Oosten — Team KRC, Bronze — 1:59.316
  6. #7 Alessandro Ghiretti — Absolute Racing, Pro — 1:59.373
  7. #80 Ryo Ogawa — LM Corsa, Bronze — 1:59.618
  8. #61 Leo Ye Hongli — EBM Giga Racing, Bronze — 1:59.790
  9. #25 Tsubasa Kondo — Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing, Bronze — 1:59.834
  10. #45 Takuro Shinohara — PONOS Racing, Pro — 2:00.074
  11. #2 Scott McLaughlin — Johor Motorsports Racing, Pro — 2:00.075
  12. #91 Alfred Renauer — Herberth Motorsport, Bronze — 2:00.112
  13. #60 Shigekazu Wakisaka — LM Corsa, Pro-Am — 2:00.182
  14. #9 Reimei Itou — Bingo Racing with LM Corsa, Bronze — 2:00.213
  15. #86 Anders Fjordbach — High Class Racing, Bronze — 2:00.278
  16. #500 Kazuki Hiramine — Team 5ZIGEN, Pro — 2:00.355
  17. #81 Kiyoto Fujinami — Team Daishin, Bronze — 2:00.377
  18. #555 Naoki Yokomizo — Maezawa Racing, Bronze — 2:00.508
  19. #72 Liu Kaishun — Harmony Racing, Bronze — 2:00.572
  20. #93 Chris Froggatt — Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing, Bronze — 2:00.587
  21. #75 Kenny Habul — 75 Express, Pro — 2:01.204
  22. #18 Hibiki Taira — Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing, Bronze — 2:01.209
  23. #96 Hideki Yamauchi — K-tunes Racing, Pro — 2:01.710
  24. #5 Tomohide Yamaguchi — PLUS with BMW M Team Studie, Bronze — 2:01.720
  25. #181 David Tan — Norik Racing, Pro-Am — 2:02.311
  26. #99 Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim — Johor Motorsports Racing, Pro-Am — 2:02.664
  27. #79 Daniel Gaunt — Tsunami RT, Pro-Am — 2:02.698
  28. #28 Daisuke Yamawaki — Craft-Bamboo Racing, Pro-Am — 2:03.005
  29. #10 Marcelo Tomasoni — Team KRC, Pro-Am — 2:03.429

Ohta’s 1:58.455 was the quickest individual lap across all three sessions and gave Craft-Bamboo a substantial advantage before the final segment.

2026 Suzuka 1000km provisional Qualifying 3 results

  1. #77 Luca Stolz — Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, Pro — 1:58.920
  2. #555 Alessio Rovera — Maezawa Racing, Bronze — 1:58.950
  3. #89 Max Hesse — Team KRC, Bronze — 1:59.010
  4. #69 Dan Harper — Team WRT, Bronze — 1:59.061
  5. #72 Brendon Leitch — Harmony Racing, Bronze — 1:59.091
  6. #75 Philip Ellis — 75 Express, Pro — 1:59.108
  7. #500 Atsushi Miyake — Team 5ZIGEN, Pro — 1:59.341
  8. #45 Tadasuke Makino — PONOS Racing, Pro — 1:59.342
  9. #61 Mathieu Jaminet — EBM Giga Racing, Bronze — 1:59.398
  10. #7 Dorian Boccolacci — Absolute Racing, Pro — 1:59.505
  11. #28 João Paulo de Oliveira — Craft-Bamboo Racing, Pro-Am — 1:59.521
  12. #86 Joel Sturm — High Class Racing, Bronze — 1:59.571
  13. #64 Frédéric Vervisch — Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC, Pro — 1:59.612
  14. #60 Giancarlo Fisichella — LM Corsa, Pro-Am — 1:59.803
  15. #9 Ukyo Sasahara — Bingo Racing with LM Corsa, Bronze — 1:59.824
  16. #91 Robert Renauer — Herberth Motorsport, Bronze — 1:59.879
  17. #8 Julien Andlauer — AO by Absolute Racing, Pro — 1:59.963
  18. #93 Edward Cheever — Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing, Bronze — 2:00.134
  19. #2 Nicky Catsburg — Johor Motorsports Racing, Pro — 2:00.358
  20. #99 Ben Green — Johor Motorsports Racing, Pro-Am — 2:00.413
  21. #81 Tsugio Matsuda — Team Daishin, Bronze — 2:00.554
  22. #80 Hiroki Yoshimoto — LM Corsa, Bronze — 2:00.596
  23. #10 Augusto Farfus — Team KRC, Pro-Am — 2:00.611
  24. #25 Yuta Kamimura — Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing, Bronze — 2:00.737
  25. #181 Taku Bamba — Norik Racing, Pro-Am — 2:00.835
  26. #96 Takamitsu Matsui — K-tunes Racing, Pro — 2:01.217
  27. #5 Kizuku Hirota — PLUS with BMW M Team Studie, Bronze — 2:01.360
  28. #79 Fabio Babini — Tsunami RT, Pro-Am — 2:01.732
  29. #18 Kazuto Kotaka — Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing, Bronze — No time

Stolz’s provisional benchmark completed a highly consistent qualifying performance for Craft-Bamboo, while only 0.090 seconds separated the opening three.

2026 Suzuka 1000km provisional combined Qualifying results

  1. #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing — Pro — 1:58.696 average
  2. #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford — Pro — 1:59.277
  3. #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari — Pro — 1:59.313
  4. #7 Absolute Racing Porsche — Pro — 1:59.422
  5. #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche — Pro — 1:59.516
  6. #89 Team KRC BMW — Bronze — 1:59.741
  7. #69 Team WRT BMW — Bronze — 1:59.774
  8. #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG — Pro — 1:59.820
  9. #500 Team 5ZIGEN Nissan — Pro — 1:59.828
  10. #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette — Pro — 2:00.298
  11. #80 LM Corsa Ferrari — Bronze — 2:00.513
  12. #86 High Class Racing Porsche — Bronze — 2:00.530
  13. #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari — Bronze — 2:00.570
  14. #60 LM Corsa Ferrari — Pro-Am — 2:00.663
  15. #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche — Bronze — 2:00.698
  16. #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche — Bronze — 2:00.729
  17. #72 Harmony Racing Ferrari — Bronze — 2:01.068
  18. #5 PLUS with BMW M Team Studie BMW — Bronze — 2:01.075
  19. #25 Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing Porsche — Bronze — 2:01.092
  20. #81 Team Daishin Nissan — Bronze — 2:01.185
  21. #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus — Pro — 2:01.315
  22. #28 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — 2:01.603
  23. #61 EBM Giga Racing Porsche — Bronze — 2:01.807
  24. #99 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette — Pro-Am — 2:01.901
  25. #9 Bingo Racing with LM Corsa Porsche — Bronze — 2:01.921
  26. #10 Team KRC BMW — Pro-Am — 2:02.132
  27. #79 Tsunami RT Porsche — Pro-Am — 2:02.701
  28. #181 Norik Racing Ferrari — Pro-Am — 2:02.926
  29. #18 Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing Porsche — Bronze — incomplete three-session average

Craft-Bamboo’s 1:58.696 provisional average placed the #77 comfortably at the top on outright pace, with Miedecke Motorsport, PONOS Racing and Absolute Racing forming the next group. Maezawa Racing led Bronze, while the #60 LM Corsa Ferrari headed Pro-Am.

2026 Suzuka 1000km set for Sunday start

The Qualifying penalties mean the starting order will not exactly mirror the provisional combined classification. Miedecke Motorsport’s Ford is set to lead the field away, with PONOS Racing and Absolute Racing also benefiting from the #77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG’s three-place drop.

That gives the Mustang a major opportunity in its first Suzuka 1000km appearance, although Craft-Bamboo’s pace across all three sessions showed the #77 should remain a major threat over the six-and-a-half-hour race.

The 50th Suzuka 1000km begins at 12:50 local time on Sunday. The event forms the fourth and penultimate round of the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge, with the championship context and full weekend programme available in the 2026 Suzuka 1000km preview.

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