Porsche has taken a significant step towards the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) Manufacturers’ Championship after maximising its points haul at the Suzuka 1000km, while Maro Engel retains the Drivers’ Championship lead despite missing the penultimate round.
The German manufacturer arrived in Japan only eight points ahead of Mercedes-AMG following the standings after the CrowdStrike 24H of Spa. However, AO by Absolute Racing’s Laurin Heinrich, Alessio Picariello and Julien Andlauer won the Suzuka 1000km, while Absolute Racing’s Ayhancan Güven, Alessandro Ghiretti and Dorian Boccolacci completed the podium in third. That one-three result delivered Porsche the maximum 40 Manufacturers’ Championship points available from the round.
Mercedes-AMG added only 10 points after Luca Stolz, Maxime Martin and Kakunoshin Ohta recovered the #77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG from 28th on the grid to fifth. Consequently, Porsche’s advantage has increased from eight to 38 points with only the Indianapolis 8 Hour remaining. Meanwhile, High Class Racing’s Kerong Li secured the Independent Cup with one round to spare after taking his third victory in four rounds.
Engel retains 2026 IGTC Drivers’ Championship lead
Engel entered Suzuka with 68 points and a 17-point advantage over Stolz, but did not contest the Japanese round because of his DTM commitments. His absence gave the chasing group an opportunity to substantially reduce his championship advantage, with Stolz and Martin particularly well placed through the #77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG.
Their weekend became significantly more difficult when post-Qualifying scrutineering dropped the #77 to the back of the starting order, but the trio recovered from 28th to fifth. Stolz and Martin therefore collected 10 points each, moving to 61 and 60 respectively.
Engel remains first on 68 but now leads Stolz by only seven points and Martin by eight. The Mercedes-AMG trio consequently occupies the top three positions heading into the season finale.
The championship remains firmly open. With 25 points available for victory at Indianapolis, six drivers sit within mathematical range of Engel.
Heinrich surges into title contention with Suzuka victory
Heinrich made the biggest gain among the leading championship contenders after his spectacular middle-race charge helped the #8 AO by Absolute Racing Porsche take victory.
The German entered Suzuka on 21 points, having scored six at Bathurst and 15 at the Nürburgring. His 25-point victory increases his total to 46 and moves him into a tie with Ricardo Feller for fifth, only one point behind Bastian Buus in fourth.
The result completed a remarkable first IGTC event for the AO by Absolute Racing ‘Bushi Rex’ programme. Picariello also collected the full 25 points and rises from 16 to 41, while Andlauer enters the standings on 25 after making his first IGTC appearance of 2026.
However, Picariello sits 27 points behind Engel and can no longer win the Drivers’ Championship. That leaves Engel, Stolz, Martin, Buus, Feller and Heinrich as the six remaining title contenders.
Absolute Racing strengthens Porsche presence near the front
The sister #7 Absolute Racing Porsche also delivered an important points haul after Güven reclaimed third from Nicky Catsburg during the closing stages.
Boccolacci collected another 15 points and increases his championship total from 24 to 39, moving ahead of BMW’s Max Hesse. Güven reaches 27 points after combining his Suzuka podium with the 12 points he earned at Spa, while Ghiretti enters the standings on 15.
The podium completed an excellent weekend for the two factory-supported Absolute entries. The #7 had shown front-running speed throughout the event in its special Bosch-inspired Porsche livery, while Güven ultimately recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 1:59.966.
Hesse remains on 38 after failing to score at Suzuka, meaning Boccolacci now sits one point ahead of the BMW driver.
Ford trio climbs after second-place Suzuka finish
Christopher Mies, Dennis Olsen and Frédéric Vervisch also made major progress after taking second for Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC.
The trio entered the weekend with 10 points apiece from the Nürburgring. Their 18 points from Suzuka take each driver to 28, placing all three together in 10th in the official standings.
The result was Ford’s strongest IGTC finish of the season and followed a weekend in which the Mustang started from pole. Although the #64 controlled the opening portion of the race, Heinrich’s charge after the Safety Car intervention ultimately left the Ford second, 51.416 seconds behind the winning Porsche.
Chevrolet also added three new names to the standings through the #2 Johor Motorsports Racing Corvette. Alexander Sims, Scott McLaughlin and Catsburg collected 12 points for fourth and now share 19th position on 12.
2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge standings after Suzuka: Drivers
The official 2026 IGTC Drivers’ standings leave Engel seven points ahead of Stolz and eight ahead of Martin. Buus, Feller and Heinrich remain mathematically capable of overturning the deficit at Indianapolis.
- Maro Engel – Mercedes-AMG – 68 points
- Luca Stolz – Mercedes-AMG – 61
- Maxime Martin – Mercedes-AMG – 60
- Bastian Buus – Porsche – 47
- Ricardo Feller / Laurin Heinrich – Porsche – 46
- Alessio Picariello – Porsche – 41
- Dorian Boccolacci – Porsche – 39
- Max Hesse – BMW – 38
- Dan Harper – BMW – 32
- Christopher Mies / Dennis Olsen / Frédéric Vervisch – Ford – 28
- Ayhancan Güven – Porsche – 27
- Fabien Schiller / Mikaël Grenier – Mercedes-AMG – 25; Thomas Preining / Julien Andlauer – Porsche – 25
- Valentino Rossi – BMW – 23
- Matt Campbell / Anders Fjordbach / Kerong Li – Porsche – 22
- Augusto Farfus / Raffaele Marciello – BMW – 19
- Dries Vanthoor / Sheldon van der Linde – BMW – 18; Lucas Auer – Mercedes-AMG – 18
- Joel Sturm – Porsche – 16
- Alessio Rovera / Nicklas Nielsen / Tommaso Mosca – Ferrari – 15; Laurens Vanthoor / Alessandro Ghiretti – Porsche – 15
- Cunfan Ruan / Maxime Oosten – BMW – 12; Frédéric Makowiecki / Michael Christensen – Porsche – 12; Alexander Sims / Scott McLaughlin / Nicky Catsburg – Chevrolet – 12
- Arthur Leclerc / Lilou Wadoux / Sean Gelael – Ferrari – 10; Frank Stippler – Ford – 10; Kakunoshin Ohta – Mercedes-AMG – 10
- Charles Weerts / Marco Wittmann / Philipp Eng / Robin Frijns – BMW – 8; Jules Gounon / Kenny Habul – Mercedes-AMG – 8; Takuro Shinohara / Seita Nonaka / Tadasuke Makino – Ferrari – 8
- Daan Arrow / Dylan Pereira / Klaus Bachler / Morris Schuring / Patrick Assenheimer / Tobias Müller – Porsche – 6; Anthony McIntosh / Parker Thompson – BMW – 6
- Daniel Serra / Davide Rigon / Jaxon Evans – Ferrari – 4; Jake Dennis – BMW – 4; Jake Hill / Kyle Tilley / Max Hofer / Patrick Kolb – Porsche – 4
- Alex Brundle / Ben Bünnagel / Martin Rump / Alfred Renauer / Ralf Bohn / Robert Renauer – Porsche – 2; Ben Tuck / Chris Froggatt / Dennis Marschall / Dustin Blattner / Jonathan Hui / Lorenzo Patrese / Mathys Jaubert / Ryan Wood / Kei Nakanishi / Shigekazu Wakisaka / Giancarlo Fisichella – Ferrari – 2
- Jens Klingmann / Tim Tramnitz / Ugo de Wilde – BMW – 1; Jongjyum Kim / Marco Seefried / Roelof Bruins / Steven Cho – Porsche – 1
The title battle therefore reaches Indianapolis with Engel still in control but under substantially greater pressure than before Suzuka. Stolz and Martin require only relatively small swings, while Buus, Feller and Heinrich need major scores combined with a difficult finale for the championship leader.
Porsche turns eight-point lead into 38-point advantage
The largest championship change occurred in the Manufacturers’ standings.
Porsche arrived at Suzuka on 92 points after Lionspeed GP’s victory at the 2026 CrowdStrike 24H of Spa had moved it eight points ahead of Mercedes-AMG. The marque then enjoyed the ideal Suzuka result through AO by Absolute Racing’s victory and the sister Absolute Porsche’s third place.
Those results contributed 25 and 15 points respectively, giving Porsche the maximum 40-point score and increasing its championship total to 132.
Mercedes-AMG endured a contrasting event. Craft-Bamboo recovered to fifth and earned 10 points, but 75 Express failed to score after Kenny Habul crashed at 130R during the second hour. Mercedes-AMG consequently moves from 84 to 94 and now trails Porsche by 38 points.
BMW added seven points and rises to 74. However, the manufacturer can no longer catch Porsche even with the maximum possible Indianapolis score, meaning only Mercedes-AMG remains mathematically capable of denying Porsche the title.
Ferrari, Ford and Chevrolet make Suzuka gains
Ferrari retains fourth after adding 12 points at Suzuka. PONOS Racing finished sixth overall as the leading Japanese team, helping increase Ferrari’s total from 35 to 47.
Ford enjoyed a much larger relative gain. Miedecke Motorsport’s second-place finish added 18 points and more than doubled the manufacturer’s total from 14 to 32.
Chevrolet recorded its strongest round of the year through JMR. The #2 Corvette finished fourth, while its other eligible entry also contributed to a 14-point Manufacturers’ Championship haul. Chevrolet therefore rises from four to 18 points.
Neither Ferrari, Ford nor Chevrolet can challenge for the title, but all three remain involved in battles for the final Manufacturers’ positions at Indianapolis.
2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge standings after Suzuka: Manufacturers
The official 2026 IGTC Manufacturers’ standings show Porsche with a 38-point advantage entering the final round.
- Porsche – 132 points
- Mercedes-AMG – 94
- BMW – 74
- Ferrari – 47
- Ford – 32
- Chevrolet – 18
Porsche needs only a small score at Indianapolis to secure the championship regardless of Mercedes-AMG’s result. With a maximum of 43 points available to a manufacturer through its two highest-scoring eligible cars, Mercedes-AMG must gain at least 39 points on Porsche to move ahead outright.
BMW is mathematically eliminated from championship contention. Even a maximum 43-point finale would take the marque to 117, still 15 short of Porsche’s existing total.
Kerong Li secures the 2026 IGTC Independent Cup
The Independent Cup became the first 2026 IGTC championship to be settled at Suzuka.
Li arrived in Japan with 68 points after winning at Bathurst and the Nürburgring before finishing second at Spa. Prince Jefri Ibrahim sat 33 points behind after taking victory in Belgium, while Johannes Zelger followed on 23. The Suzuka 1000km preview therefore left Li with an opportunity to finish the championship before Indianapolis.
The High Class Racing driver did exactly that. Li, Anders Fjordbach and Joel Sturm finished eighth overall and second in the Bronze class, while Li was the highest-placed Independent Cup entrant. It marked his third Independent Cup victory from four rounds and secured the title with one event remaining.
Ralf Bohn was the next Independent Cup contender home, finishing 11th overall with Herberth Motorsport, while Ibrahim followed in 12th for JMR. Jonathan Hui took 18th, Zelger finished 24th and Adrian D’Silva reached 27th. Habul did not finish after his early accident.
2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge standings after Suzuka: Independent Cup
- Kerong Li – Porsche – 93 points
- Prince Jefri Ibrahim – Chevrolet – 50
- Johannes Zelger – Porsche – 33
- Ralf Bohn – Porsche – 30
- Jonathan Hui – Ferrari – 27
- Kenny Habul – Mercedes-AMG – 18
- Adrian D’Silva – Porsche – 8
Li’s 43-point advantage over Ibrahim puts the championship beyond reach with only Indianapolis remaining. However, the positions behind him remain open, with only six points covering Zelger, Bohn and Hui in the battle for third.
Suzuka narrows the 2026 IGTC championship picture
The Suzuka 1000km has left two championships to be decided at Indianapolis while confirming the first title of the season.
Engel remains the Drivers’ Championship leader despite missing Japan, but the margin that stood at 17 points after Spa has fallen to seven over Stolz and eight over Martin. Buus sits 21 points behind, while Feller and Suzuka winner Heinrich are 22 adrift, leaving six drivers mathematically capable of becoming champion.
Porsche strengthened its position even more decisively. The manufacturer entered Suzuka eight points clear of Mercedes-AMG and leaves 38 ahead after its two Absolute Racing Porsche entries delivered first and third. Mercedes-AMG is now the only manufacturer capable of stopping Porsche from taking the crown.
Li, meanwhile, no longer needs to wait for Indianapolis. His third Independent Cup victory in four rounds makes him the 2026 champion with one race remaining, completing a remarkably consistent campaign across the opening four events.
The 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge now heads to the Indianapolis 8 Hour for the fifth and final round, where the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships will be decided.
