The 2026 GTWC Asia powered by AWS championship picture changed significantly during the fourth event of the season at Okayama International Circuit.
Cheng Congfu and Yu Kuai claimed the opening victory for Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom after Absolute Racing’s wet-tyre gamble backfired in changing conditions. Andrés Pato and Jaxon Evans then completed Audi’s sweep in Race 2, beating Lu Wei and Laurin Heinrich by only 0.089s.
However, Lu emerged as the biggest winner in the overall championship. He arrived at Okayama four points behind Huang Ruohan and Alessandro Ghiretti, moved ahead after finishing fourth in Race 1 and then extended his advantage when the Absolute Racing pair retired on the opening lap of Race 2.
The weekend also reshaped several of the class battles. Brian Lee and Maxime Oosten swept Silver-Am, Cheng and Yu moved ahead in Silver and the China Cup, while Yu also took control of the SRO GT Academy classification.
Lu opens 22-point Drivers’ Championship lead
Lu has transformed his championship position across the two Japanese events.
The Origine Motorsport driver entered Fuji 47 points behind Huang and Ghiretti but reduced that deficit to four after finishing third and first. He maintained that momentum at Okayama, taking fourth in Race 1 alongside Heinrich before finishing only 0.089s away from victory in Race 2. Those results added another 30 points and lifted him from 76 to 106.
Huang and Ghiretti endured their most difficult round of the campaign. They qualified outside the leading positions for both races and finished eighth on Saturday, adding only four points. Their Sunday contest then ended on the opening lap when Ghiretti became caught in the chain reaction involving Atsushi Miyake, Akash Nandy, Neil Verhagen and several other cars. They therefore remain on 84 points.
Anthony Liu also holds 84 after recovering from a puncture and 12th place in Race 1 to finish fourth alongside Okayama substitute Ayhancan Güven on Sunday. Cheng and Yu sit only one point further back after combining victory with eighth place, meaning 23 points cover the leading four championship crews.
Heinrich climbs to fifth on 70 points after another two strong results, while Pato and Evans jump to 66 following their Sunday victory. Liu Kaishun and Ruan Cun Fan share 58, with Takayuki Aoki and Atsushi Miyake following after their Race 1 runner-up finish.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: Drivers’ Championship
- Lu Wei – 106 points
- Huang Ruohan & Alessandro Ghiretti – 84 points
- Anthony Liu Xu – 84 points
- Cheng Congfu & Yu Kuai – 83 points
- Laurin Heinrich – 70 points
- Andrés Pato & Jaxon Evans – 66 points
- Ruan Cun Fan & Liu Kaishun – 58 points
- Takayuki Aoki – 53 points
- Atsushi Miyake – 52 points
- Dorian Boccolacci – 47 points
- Chen Weian – 46 points
- Akash Nandy – 40 points
- Alessio Picariello – 36 points
- Brian Lee & Maxime Oosten – 33 points
- Neil Verhagen – 27 points
- Shigekazu Wakisaka & Ryo Ogawa – 26 points
- Loek Hartog – 25 points
- Max Hesse – 21 points
- Lichao Li & Elias Seppänen – 19 points
- Dean Yu Hao Chen, Jiatong Liang & Adderly Fong – 18 points
- Sean Gelael – 15 points
- Ayhancan Güven & Deng Yi – 12 points
- Jesse Krohn – 10 points
- Andy Tan & Thierry Vermeulen – 8 points
- Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak, Klaus Bachler, Song Jiajun, Brendon Leitch, Seiji Ara & Tomohide Yamaguchi – 6 points
- Hiroaki Nagai, Kazuto Kotaka & Kimiya Sato – 1 point
The current official overall standings place Lu on 106 points, with Huang, Ghiretti and Anthony Liu all 22 points behind and Cheng and Yu one further back.
Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom overturns Absolute advantage
Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom produced a near-perfect Okayama weekend to take over at the top of the Overall Teams’ Championship.
The team arrived 25 points behind Absolute Racing after Fuji but won both races at Okayama. Cheng and Yu delivered maximum points on Saturday before Pato and Evans repeated the result on Sunday. Additional scores from the second Audi across each contest helped Phantom increase its total from 94 to 150 points.
Absolute Racing experienced the opposite trajectory. Huang and Ghiretti scored only four points in Race 1, while Stuvik and Nandy completed the top 10 after their wet-tyre strategy failed to pay off. Both cars then retired on the opening lap of Race 2, limiting Absolute to 124 points and leaving it 26 behind the new leaders.
Origine Motorsport remains third on 108 after Lu and Heinrich scored strongly in both races. Team KRC jumps to fourth on 91 following Ruan and Verhagen’s Race 1 podium and Lee and Oosten’s successful Silver-Am weekend, while Phantom Global Racing sits fifth on 84.
Harmony Racing also made progress to 72 points after Chen and Liu scored in both races, including Silver victory on Sunday.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: Overall Teams’ Championship
- Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom – 150 points
- Absolute Racing – 124 points
- Origine Motorsport – 108 points
- Team KRC – 91 points
- Phantom Global Racing – 84 points
- Harmony Racing – 72 points
- TEAM 5ZIGEN – 54 points
- LM Corsa – 26 points
- Climax Racing – 19 points
- Craft-Bamboo Racing – 18 points
- 33R Harmony Racing – 18 points
- Garage 75 – 15 points
- Porsche Center Okazaki – 15 points
- Absolute Corse – 8 points
- PLUS with BMW M Team Studie – 6 points
Lu strengthens Pro-Am advantage
Lu also leaves Okayama with a substantially stronger position in the Pro-Am standings.
He led Huang and Ghiretti by only three points after Fuji, but second in class during both Okayama races adds another 36 points and moves him to 139. Heinrich also collected those 36 points, lifting him to 79 despite missing the opening two events.
Anthony Liu endured a difficult opening race after an early puncture but recovered alongside Güven to finish third in Pro-Am on Sunday. The 21 points scored across the weekend take Liu to 114 and move him ahead of Huang and Ghiretti, who added only 12 before their Race 2 retirement.
Pato and Evans produced the largest gain. Fifth in class on Saturday and victory on Sunday add 35 points, bringing them level with Ruan on 97. Ruan and Verhagen won Pro-Am in Race 1 before a difficult Sunday left their BMW outside the overall points.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: Pro-Am
- Lu Wei – 139 points
- Anthony Liu Xu – 114 points
- Huang Ruohan & Alessandro Ghiretti – 112 points
- Andrés Pato, Jaxon Evans & Ruan Cun Fan – 97 points
- Laurin Heinrich – 79 points
- Dorian Boccolacci – 64 points
- Song Jiajun & Brendon Leitch – 61 points
- Alessio Picariello – 60 points
- Neil Verhagen – 49 points
- Shigekazu Wakisaka & Ryo Ogawa – 45 points
- Tomohide Yamaguchi & Seiji Ara – 40 points
- Max Hesse & Hiroaki Nagai – 30 points
- Loek Hartog – 29 points
- Andy Tan & Thierry Vermeulen – 28 points
- Vutthikorn Inthraphuvasak – 27 points
- Klaus Bachler & Kazuto Kotaka – 26 points
- Ayhancan Güven – 21 points
- Jesse Krohn – 18 points
- Bastian Buus – 7 points
- Kazuki Ota – 6 points
- Yuichi Nakayama – 4 points
The class totals above combine the standings entering Okayama with the official Race 1 and Race 2 class classifications, as the class-specific standings page has not yet populated Rounds 7 and 8.
Cheng and Yu move into Silver lead
Okayama produced another major change in Silver as Cheng and Yu moved from second to first.
The Audi pairing entered the weekend three points behind Nandy but took maximum class points by winning Race 1 outright. They then added second in Silver during Race 2 despite carrying success time from Saturday, taking their total from 100 to 143.
Liu Kaishun also made significant progress. He and Chen finished third in class on Saturday before winning Silver in Race 2, adding 40 points to Liu’s total and moving him to 130.
Aoki reaches the same 130-point total after second and third in class with Miyake. However, Miyake remains fifth on 103 because he missed the Mandalika event, while Nandy drops from first to fourth on 115 after adding only 12 points from Race 1 and retiring on the opening lap on Sunday.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: Silver
- Cheng Congfu & Yu Kuai – 143 points
- Liu Kaishun – 130 points
- Takayuki Aoki – 130 points
- Akash Nandy – 115 points
- Atsushi Miyake – 103 points
- Chen Weian – 77 points
- Deng Yi – 53 points
- Adderly Fong – 30 points
- Kimiya Sato – 27 points
- Sean Gelael – 18 points
These totals include the Okayama class results, while the live Silver standings page currently remains populated through Fuji.
Lee and Oosten turn seven-point deficit into Silver-Am lead
Silver-Am contained one of the closest title fights entering Okayama, but Lee and Oosten leave Japan with a clear advantage after another perfect weekend.
The GTO with KRC pairing arrived seven points behind leader Liang Jiatong after sweeping both Fuji races. They repeated the achievement at Okayama, winning the class in both contests and adding the maximum 50 points to their total.
Lee and Oosten consequently move from 100 to 150 points and take the championship lead. Liang remains their closest challenger after finishing second and third in class alongside Daisuke Yamawaki, moving to 140.
Kiyoshi Uchiyama and Tsubasa Kondo did not add to their Fuji total and remain on 106. Li Lichao and Elias Seppänen draw level with them after third in Race 1 and second in Race 2, while Yamawaki moves to 63 through his second consecutive event alongside Liang.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: Silver-Am
- Brian Lee & Maxime Oosten – 150 points
- Jiatong Liang – 140 points
- Kiyoshi Uchiyama & Tsubasa Kondo – 106 points
- Lichao Li & Elias Seppänen – 106 points
- Dean Yu Hao Chen – 77 points
- Daisuke Yamawaki – 63 points
- Sun Jingzu & Adderly Fong – 42 points
- Adrian D’Silva & Enzo Trulli – 24 points
The Silver-Am totals similarly incorporate the two official Okayama race classifications because the class standings page has not yet added Rounds 7 and 8.
Liu and Wang increase Am championship advantage
Liu Hangcheng and Wang Zhongwei leave Okayama with a slightly stronger Am championship lead after recovering from third in the opening race to win on Sunday.
The Origine Motorsport pairing entered the weekend 13 points ahead of Zhou Bihuang and Setiawan Santoso. Their third and first-place finishes added 40 points and take them to 166.
Santoso and Zhou won Race 1 before finishing second on Sunday. Their 43-point haul moves them to 156, reducing the gap between the leading crews from 13 to 10 points.
William Ben Porter and Andrew Macpherson remain third after taking fourth in both races, while Cold Max and Yamatatsu enter the leading five through second and third at Okayama.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: Am
- Liu Hangcheng & Wang Zhongwei – 166 points
- Zhou Bihuang & Setiawan Santoso – 156 points
- William Ben Porter & Andrew Macpherson – 111 points
- David Tjiptobiantoro & Christian Colombo – 66 points
- Cold Max & Yamatatsu – 33 points
- Aaron Lim Say Joon & Haziq Zairel Oh – 24 points
Cheng and Yu extend China Cup lead
Cheng and Yu strengthened their position at the top of the China Cup with another productive weekend.
They arrived at Okayama 15 points ahead of Liu Kaishun and added 43 points through victory in Race 1 and eighth overall in Race 2. Their total now stands at 156.
Liu remains their nearest challenger and closes slightly after scoring 18 and 25 points across the two races. He now has 141, maintaining the 15-point gap.
Liu Hangcheng and Wang move into third on 103 after scoring in both races, while Chen Weian rises to fourth with 83. Former leaders Dean Yu Hao Chen and Liang remain tied on 79 after missing the Okayama China Cup points.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: China Cup
- Cheng Congfu & Yu Kuai – 156 points
- Liu Kaishun – 141 points
- Liu Hangcheng & Wang Zhongwei – 103 points
- Chen Weian – 83 points
- Dean Yu Hao Chen & Jiatong Liang – 79 points
- Adderly Fong – 77 points
- Deng Yi – 58 points
- Sun Jingzu – 37 points
Yu takes SRO GT Academy lead
Okayama also produced a major swing in the SRO GT Academy standings.
Miyake entered the weekend at the top, but his Race 2 became compromised when the No. 500 Nissan became caught in the opening-lap Turn 3 incident. Although he and Aoki had finished second overall on Saturday, the difficult Sunday allowed two rivals to move ahead.
Yu collected 36 Academy points from Race 1 and another 18 on Sunday, increasing his total to 152 and taking the lead. Oosten moves into second on 138 after his second consecutive perfect Silver-Am weekend, while Miyake drops to third on 135.
Seppänen sits fourth on 119 after adding points in both races, with Liu Kaishun only six further behind on 113. Nandy remains sixth with 83 after his Sunday retirement, while Deng stays seventh on 60.
2026 GTWC Asia: Standings after Round 4 Okayama: SRO GT Academy Drivers
- Yu Kuai – 152 points
- Maxime Oosten – 138 points
- Atsushi Miyake – 135 points
- Elias Seppänen – 119 points
- Liu Kaishun – 113 points
- Akash Nandy – 83 points
- Deng Yi – 60 points
Okayama transforms GTWC Asia title fights
Okayama produced the most significant championship reshuffle of the season so far.
Lu turned a four-point deficit into a 22-point overall advantage, while Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom overturned a 25-point Teams’ Championship deficit and now leads Absolute Racing by 26. Cheng and Yu also took control of Silver and extended their China Cup advantage after claiming their second overall victory of the year.
Further down the classifications, Lee and Oosten transformed Silver-Am by completing their second consecutive double victory and now lead Liang by 10 points. The Am contest remains considerably closer, with only 10 separating Liu and Wang from Santoso and Zhou.
Meanwhile, the SRO GT Academy has a new leader after Yu moved from second to first. Oosten’s consistency also carried him past Miyake, leaving the leading three separated by only 17 points with four races remaining.
GTWC Asia next heads to the Beijing Street Circuit from 2–4 October for the penultimate event of the 2026 season. Lu will arrive with the strongest overall advantage of the campaign, but Anthony Liu, Huang, Ghiretti, Cheng and Yu all remain within 23 points as the championship enters its final four races.
