Suzuka 1000km Race Review
The 50th running of the Suzuka 1000km had all the ingredients of a classic endurance race. A damp opening, multiple full course yellows, lead changes driven by strategy and outright pace, and a Porsche that simply would not be denied. When Laurin Heinrich took the checkered flag on Sunday evening, it ended a 32-year winless stretch for Porsche at one of motorsport's most demanding circuits, their 12th overall victory there and first since 1994.
The #8 AO by Absolute Porsche of Heinrich, Alessio Picariello, and Julien Andlauer completed 184 laps and crossed the line 51.416 seconds clear of the field.
Opening Hour: Ford Took Control
The 30-car field rolled to the green flag at 12:50 PM local time on a damp but drying Suzuka Circuit. Dennis Olsen in the #64 Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC Ford Mustang GT3 Evo led from the start, with the #7 Absolute Porsche of Ayhancan Güven sweeping past the #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari for second early on. Olsen and Güven spent much of the opening hour trading blows at the front while the rest of the field fell away behind them. After one hour, the #64 Ford held the lead and Olsen was left in the car for a double stint, while Absolute Racing sent rookie Alessandro Ghiretti out in the #7 Porsche.
Early problems began to stack up for several of the field's sentimental favorites. The #500 Team 5Zigen Nissan GT-R, driven by the factory Nissan trio of Katsumasa Chiyo, Kazuki Hiramine, and Atsushi Miyake, was caught up in contact with the #75 Mercedes-AMG of Mikaël Grenier and fell four laps down. They would never recover, eventually finishing 19th. The #75 Mercedes itself was not long for the race either. Owner-driver Kenny Habul lost control at the notorious 130R corner during his opening stint and collected the tyre barrier. The two-time Suzuka class winners managed to drive back to the garage but ultimately retired, the first car out.
A collision between the #91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche and the #89 Team KRC BMW brought out a brief full course yellow before the 90-minute mark. The BMW was left stranded on the wet grass at Turn 2 and retired after 85 laps with damage.
The Race Turns on a Restart
With Olsen and then Christopher Mies in the #64 Ford building a clear lead over the Absolute Racing entries, it appeared the Mustang was in control. Then a spin from the #18 Porsche Center Okazaki machine at Turn 2 collected the #555 Maezawa Racing Ferrari and brought out the Safety Car, erasing the Ford's advantage over the #7 Porsche of Dorian Boccolacci with a little under three and a half hours remaining.
The restart changed everything. Heinrich, now in the #8 Porsche, began his charge from fifth. He dispatched the #45 PONOS Ferrari and then ran side-by-side with Nicky Catsburg in the #2 JMR Corvette down the West Straightaway into 130R. With a forceful move up the inside, Heinrich grabbed second. He then set his sights on Mies and the leading Ford. The gap was ten seconds. Heinrich began cutting it lap by lap. As the race passed halfway, Mies left a gap between Gyaku Bank Corner and NIPPO Corner and Heinrich drove the #8 Porsche through the inside to take the lead. A fast pit stop from the Absolute Racing crew kept Picariello out front and extended the advantage. When Heinrich returned to the car with two hours left, the race was effectively over. He drove away from the Ford and the entire field as the sun set over Suzuka, and the #8 Porsche completed 1,000 kilometers with 20 minutes still on the race clock, leading by more than 47 seconds at that point.
The Rest of the Field
The #64 Miedecke/MPC Ford of Olsen, Mies, and Frédéric Vervisch finished second despite being unable to hold the lead in the second half. It was Ford's best-ever result at the Suzuka 1000km and the best in the Intercontinental GT Challenge for the manufacturer, a strong debut outing for Miedecke Motorsport and Melbourne Performance Centre with the Mustang GT3 Evo. The #7 Absolute Porsche of Güven, Ghiretti, and Boccolacci completed a Porsche 1-3 after recovering from a late fuel rig issue. Güven closed the race in strong form and set a new GT3 race lap record at Suzuka in SRO competition, a 1:59.966. The #2 JMR Corvette of Catsburg, Scott McLaughlin, and Alexander Sims worked its way from tenth on the grid to fourth at the flag. The #77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG of Maxime Martin, Kakunoshin Ohta, and Luca Stolz made up 23 positions from 28th after a qualifying disqualification to finish fifth, though their pace faded late and they dropped off the lead lap. The #45 PONOS Ferrari finished sixth after a shutdown cost the team the lead lap mid-race.
The #69 Team WRT BMW of Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson, and Dan Harper won the Bronze class in seventh overall, WRT's third consecutive class win at Suzuka. A late drive-through penalty for contact could not shake their position. The #86 High Class Racing Porsche finished eighth and second in Bronze, with the #96 K-tunes Lexus ninth after climbing from 20th on the grid. Kerong in the #86 Porsche clinched the IGTC Independent Cup championship a round early by finishing first among the independent entries.
In Pro-Am, the #60 LM Corsa Ferrari of Kei Nakanishi, Shigekazu Wakisaka, and former Formula 1 race winner Giancarlo Fisichella delivered one of the day's more impressive results, finishing tenth overall and taking the class win.
Championship Picture
Porsche's 1-3 finish at Suzuka extends the manufacturer's lead in the IGTC Manufacturers' Championship. The season closes out with the Indianapolis 8 Hour, where Porsche will look to wrap up the title. AO by Absolute Porsche, and the legend of Bushi Rex, leave Suzuka with the biggest win of their program. Porsche's 32-year wait at one of the world's great circuits is over.
Top 10 Results:
Pos No. Team
1 #8 AO by Absolute Porsche
2 #64 Miedecke Motorsport by MPC
3 #7 Absolute Porsche
4 #2 JMR Corvette
5 #77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG
6 #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari
7 #69 Team WRT BMW
8 #86 High Class Racing Porsche
9 #96 K-tunes Racing Lexus
10 #60 LM Corsa Ferrari (Pro-Am)
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