AO by Absolute Racing claimed a dominant victory in the 2026 Suzuka 1000km as Julien Andlauer, Alessio Picariello and Laurin Heinrich delivered Porsche its first win at the Japanese endurance classic since 1994.
The #8 ‘Bushi Rex’-themed Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo took control shortly after halfway following a remarkable charge from Heinrich. A Safety Car brought the car back into contention after the pole-sitting #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford Mustang GT3 EVO had controlled the opening stages, before Heinrich rapidly climbed from fifth and eventually passed Christopher Mies for the lead.
With no further neutralisations, the #8 crew steadily pulled clear and completed 184 laps in 6:31:18.239, finishing 51.416 seconds ahead of Mies, Dennis Olsen and Frédéric Vervisch. Absolute Racing’s sister #7 Porsche completed the podium after Ayhancan Güven passed the #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette late on. The official final classification confirmed 184 laps and 1,068.48 kilometres completed, taking the race 11 laps beyond its nominal 1000km distance.
Ford controls opening stages of the 2026 Suzuka 1000km
The #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford led the 30-car field away from pole after Saturday’s penalties reshuffled the starting order. Olsen handled the opening two stints and gradually established the Mustang at the front, building an advantage of approximately 10 seconds.
Absolute Racing’s #7 Porsche remained among its closest challengers, while the #8 AO by Absolute Racing entry began sixth. The #2 JMR Corvette and #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari also featured prominently as the opening phase developed without major interruption.
Team 5ZIGEN’s promising home challenge suffered an early setback. Katsumasa Chiyo had started the #500 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 from fifth but soon lost ground before a suspension issue forced the Nissan into the pits for lengthy repairs. The problem cost the team four laps during the opening half-hour and effectively removed it from outright contention.
The #89 Team KRC BMW also lost its chance of a leading result after initially fighting at the head of the Bronze field. The car ran onto the still-damp grass and later encountered further trouble, eventually retiring with differential problems after completing 85 laps.
Safety Car transforms the fight for the 2026 Suzuka 1000km lead
The complexion of the race changed dramatically early in the third hour. An incident exiting Turn 2 involving Hiroaki Nagai’s #18 Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing Porsche and Yusaku Maezawa’s #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari triggered a Full Course Yellow that developed into a Safety Car period.
Heinrich had only recently taken over the #8 Porsche from Andlauer and sat fifth, behind the Ford, Absolute Racing’s #7 Porsche, the JMR Corvette and PONOS Racing’s Ferrari. The neutralisation removed the sizeable gap Miedecke Motorsport had established and placed the leading group back together.
Mies took over the Ford from Olsen and maintained first place at the restart. Behind him, however, the order rapidly changed. Nicky Catsburg moved the #2 Corvette past Dorian Boccolacci for second, while Heinrich began an aggressive charge towards the front.
The Porsche driver first dispatched Takuro Shinohara’s PONOS Ferrari and then passed Boccolacci. He followed those moves with one of the race’s most striking overtakes, sweeping past Catsburg at 130R for second. Boccolacci immediately capitalised by passing the Corvette at the chicane to take third.
Heinrich erases Mies’ advantage in stunning Suzuka charge
Mies initially rebuilt a cushion at the front, but Heinrich’s pace quickly changed the dynamic. The German set a new fastest lap during his pursuit and erased an approximately 10-second deficit within eight laps.
The pair then ran nose-to-tail as Heinrich searched for an opportunity. His pressure finally paid off on Lap 90, shortly after the three-hour and 15-minute mark.
Heinrich committed to the inside of Mies at the long uphill Turn 7 left-hander and completed the move to take the lead. He ended the lap approximately three tenths ahead and began building the advantage that would ultimately decide the race.
Behind them, Boccolacci remained third for the sister Absolute Porsche, while Catsburg stayed close in fourth. PONOS Racing dropped away from that fight when Shinohara temporarily stopped on the back straight approaching 130R, costing the Ferrari valuable time.
Bushi Rex Porsche takes control after halfway at the 2026 Suzuka 1000km
Once Heinrich reached the front, the #8 Porsche never relinquished control. With no further Safety Car periods to reset the field, AO by Absolute Racing converted its pace into an increasingly comfortable advantage as Picariello and Andlauer completed the remaining work.
The trio eventually crossed the line 51.416 seconds clear of the Ford, delivering Porsche its first Suzuka 1000km victory in 32 years and its 12th triumph at the event overall. It also marked Porsche’s ninth Intercontinental GT Challenge victory and its second consecutive IGTC win following the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Andlauer, Picariello and Heinrich each became first-time outright IGTC race winners, while the result represented a landmark success for AO by Absolute Racing.
The final winning margin underlined how decisively the #8 crew took control after the Safety Car. What had begun as a recovery from sixth on the grid ultimately developed into a dominant victory once Heinrich overturned the Ford’s early advantage.
Miedecke Motorsport delivers Ford’s best IGTC result at 2026 Suzuka 1000km
Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC could not respond once the Porsche moved ahead, but second place still completed an impressive debut 2026 Suzuka 1000km for the Ford Mustang GT3 EVO.
Mies, Olsen and Vervisch had controlled much of the opening half before settling into second as the #8 Porsche pulled away. The Mustang completed all 184 laps and finished 51.416 seconds behind the winner.
The result gave Ford its best-ever finish in an Intercontinental GT Challenge race after the Mustang had also earned the manufacturer’s first IGTC pole following the post-Qualifying penalties.
Despite losing the lead, the #64 crew still finished more than eight seconds clear of the sister Absolute Racing Porsche in third and demonstrated front-running pace throughout the six-and-a-half-hour contest.
Güven recovers third for Absolute Racing
Absolute Racing appeared capable of completing a Porsche one-two during parts of the race, particularly as Güven produced some of the strongest individual pace in the field aboard the #7 car.
However, a slow penultimate pit stop dropped the Bosch-liveried Porsche behind the #2 JMR Corvette in the fight for the final podium position. Güven responded by chasing Catsburg during the closing stages and eventually reclaimed third with approximately 40 minutes remaining.
He crossed the line 59.979 seconds behind the winning #8 and only 8.563 seconds behind the Ford. Güven also recorded the outright fastest lap of the race with a 1:59.966 on Lap 128.
Catsburg, Scott McLaughlin and Alexander Sims followed in fourth for JMR, only 7.524 seconds behind Güven. The Corvette therefore narrowly missed a second consecutive podium but completed a strong race after starting 10th.
Craft-Bamboo charges from P28 to fifth
The #77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo produced one of the most significant recovery drives of the race after starting 28th.
The car had originally dominated Qualifying before losing all of its times for being underweight. Martin immediately began undoing that damage and climbed from the rear of the field to 11th before handing over to Ohta.
Before the Safety Car, Ohta sat more than a minute behind the leaders. The neutralisation brought the car back into contention and helped Craft-Bamboo progress to fifth as the race moved beyond halfway.
However, Martin, Ohta and Stolz could not match the leading quartet during the second half. They eventually finished fifth, one lap behind the winner, but gained 23 positions from their starting spot — the largest improvement among the leading runners.
PONOS Racing finished sixth as the best Japanese team. Nonaka, Shinohara and Makino completed 182 laps after their earlier participation in the leading battle, finishing two laps behind the winner.
Team WRT survives late penalty to win Bronze
Team WRT secured the Bronze-class victory with Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson and Dan Harper in the #69 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
The BMW reached seventh overall despite receiving a drive-through penalty following contact during the final 10 minutes. WRT had accumulated enough of an advantage to serve the sanction and still retain the class lead.
High Class Racing finished eighth overall and second in Bronze with Li Kerong, Anders Fjordbach and Joel Sturm. Their result carried additional significance as Li secured the 2026 IGTC Independent Cup with one round remaining.
The #86 Porsche finished one lap behind WRT and three laps behind the outright winner. However, its consistency across the opening four IGTC rounds proved enough to settle the Independent Cup before the finale.
Herberth Motorsport completed the Bronze podium in 11th overall despite an eventful race for the #91 Porsche, which received penalties for contact and speeding under yellow flags.
K-tunes and LM Corsa complete Suzuka top 10
K-tunes Racing secured ninth overall with the #96 Lexus RC F GT3 of Sena Sakaguchi, Hideki Yamauchi and Takamitsu Matsui.
The Japanese Pro entry climbed 11 positions from 20th on the starting grid and completed 181 laps, finishing three laps behind the overall winner.
LM Corsa completed the final overall top 10 and secured Pro-Am victory with Kei Nakanishi, Shigekazu Wakisaka and Giancarlo Fisichella. The #60 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo finished 39.394 seconds behind K-tunes and three laps behind the winner in the final classification.
The #99 JMR Corvette took second in Pro-Am and 12th overall. Ben Green and Princes Jefri and Abu Bakar Ibrahim finished one lap behind LM Corsa, although the on-track margin between the leading Pro-Am contenders remained relatively small before the lap difference developed around the pit-cycle sequence.
Craft-Bamboo Racing’s #28 Mercedes-AMG lost significant ground with a suspected gearbox problem and eventually finished sixth in Pro-Am and 25th overall.
Early problems eliminate several Suzuka contenders
The #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG became the first major retirement when Kenny Habul crashed heavily at 130R during the second hour. The car completed only 36 laps and was officially listed as not classified.
Team KRC’s #89 BMW also failed to reach the finish after its earlier problems developed into differential trouble. It stopped after 85 laps and joined 75 Express among the two officially non-classified entries.
The #61 EBM Giga Racing Porsche also stopped running before the chequered flag after suffering a puncture and spending time in the garage, although its 135 completed laps were enough for 27th in the final classification.
The overnight work on the #360 Nissan paid off with an Am-class finish. The Runup Sports entry of Masaaki Nishikawa, Atsushi Tanaka and Tetsuya Tanaka completed 134 laps and took 28th overall, 50 laps behind the winner.
Porsche returns to the top at the Suzuka 1000km
The 50th running ultimately belonged to AO by Absolute Racing and its distinctive Bushi Rex Porsche.
Miedecke Motorsport appeared in control throughout the opening two hours, but the Safety Car created an opportunity that Heinrich exploited decisively. His sequence of overtakes on Shinohara, Boccolacci, Catsburg and finally Mies transformed a fifth-place position into the race lead within a short stretch of the third and fourth hours.
From there, AO by Absolute Racing required no further intervention. Picariello, Heinrich and Andlauer steadily increased their advantage and delivered Porsche its first Suzuka 1000km victory since 1994.
The sister Absolute Racing car’s third place also gave Porsche two cars on the overall podium and maximum Manufacturers’ Championship points, completing a highly successful weekend for the marque.
2026 Suzuka 1000km final results
The final classification confirmed 28 classified finishers and two non-classified entries. AO by Absolute Racing completed 184 laps and 1,068.48 kilometres, while the #7 Absolute Racing Porsche recorded the race’s fastest lap.
- #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche — Pro — 184 laps — 6:31:18.239
- #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford — Pro — 184 laps — +51.416s
- #7 Absolute Racing Porsche — Pro — 184 laps — +59.979s
- #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette — Pro — 184 laps — +1:07.503
- #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing — Pro — 183 laps — +1 lap
- #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari — Pro — 182 laps — +2 laps
- #69 Team WRT BMW — Bronze — 182 laps — +2 laps
- #86 High Class Racing Porsche — Bronze — 181 laps — +3 laps
- #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus — Pro — 181 laps — +3 laps
- #60 LM Corsa Ferrari — Pro-Am — 181 laps — +3 laps
- #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche — Bronze — 181 laps — +3 laps
- #99 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette — Pro-Am — 180 laps — +4 laps
- #80 LM Corsa Ferrari — Bronze — 180 laps — +4 laps
- #5 PLUS with BMW M Team Studie BMW — Bronze — 180 laps — +4 laps
- #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari — Bronze — 180 laps — +4 laps
- #81 Team Daishin Nissan — Bronze — 180 laps — +4 laps
- #72 Harmony Racing Ferrari — Bronze — 180 laps — +4 laps
- #93 Ziggo Sport Tempesta Racing Porsche — Bronze — 180 laps — +4 laps
- #500 TEAM 5ZIGEN Nissan — Pro — 179 laps — +5 laps
- #10 Team KRC BMW — Pro-Am — 179 laps — +5 laps
- #9 Bingo Racing with LM Corsa Porsche — Bronze — 178 laps — +6 laps
- #181 Norik Racing Ferrari — Pro-Am — 178 laps — +6 laps
- #25 Porsche Center Okazaki NK Racing Porsche — Bronze — 178 laps — +6 laps
- #79 Tsunami RT Porsche — Pro-Am — 177 laps — +7 laps
- #28 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG — Pro-Am — 175 laps — +9 laps
- #18 Porsche Center Okazaki Nine Racing Porsche — Bronze — 142 laps — +42 laps
- #61 EBM Giga Racing Porsche — Bronze — 135 laps — +49 laps
- #360 Runup Sports Nissan — Am — 134 laps — +50 laps
NC. #89 Team KRC BMW — Bronze — 85 laps
NC. #75 75 Express Mercedes-AMG — Pro — 36 laps
