After a three-year absence, Porsche is returning to the Autobacs SUPER GT Series in 2025 – as Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific (PMAP) customer team seven x seven Racing expands into SUPER GT’s competitive GT300 class.
It marks the German brand’s first foray into SUPER GT since 2021, and the first with the latest generation of 911 GT3 R (992). From 1994 to 2021, Porsche became the most successful foreign manufacturer in series history: In GT300, Porsche customers won 30 races, four Drivers’ Championships and seven Teams’ Championships. Porsche also amassed five wins and the 1995 Teams’ Championship in the early years of what is now known as the GT500 class.
But it has been over 12 years since the last SUPER GT win or championship for Porsche, which came back in 2012 – a drought that Porsche hopes will end this year.
seven x seven Racing team’s first SUPER GT foray will be led by the driving combination of two-time GT300 Champion Kiyoto Fujinami, and two-time GT300 race winner Tsubasa Kondo.
Fujinami, 29, spent over a decade as a Nissan factory driver, winning GT300 titles in 2020 and 2022, as well as two Super Taikyu Series ST-X (GT3) championships. He established KF Motorsport, which will run the new team under the seven x seven Racing label, as a privateer racing team in 2022. Fujinami will serve as the driver and Team Manager for the new squad.
Kondo, 35, spent last season racing for Porsche Center Okazaki in GT World Challenge Asia. He is a four-time Porsche Carrera Cup Japan champion and the 2021 Super Taikyu ST-X Champion. In just 18 SUPER GT starts from 2016 to 2022, he has already taken victories with rival German manufacturers BMW and Audi.
“We’re delighted to be working with seven x seven and returning to SUPER GT for the first time since 2021,” said Alexandre Gibot, Managing Director of PMAP. “It’s a special moment to be competing again in such a high-level championship. This is the next step in the partnership with seven x seven Racing, after their entries in [SRO] Japan Cup, the Dubai 24 Hour as well as Porsche Carrera Cup Japan and Middle East. They’ve named an experienced driver line-up who we’re excited to see race in such a strategic and competitive series.”
The team has also issued its own press release confirming that Hitoshi Iyoki, a multiple championship-winning engineer for Team Kunimitsu and JLOC, has joined seven x seven Racing as its Chief Engineer. The #666 Porsche 911 GT3 R will also use Yokohama tyres, the choice for most GT300 teams on the grid.
Kasumigaseki Capital Chairman Hiroyuki Ogawa, whose company owns the luxury hotel group FAV Hotel and its new ‘seven x seven’ brand, will serve as the General Manager of seven x seven racing. Ogawa, who also races competitively under the pseudonym ‘Bankcy’, will also drive for the team in four different championships outside of SUPER GT.
seven x seven Racing will continue to compete in this year’s Middle East and Japanese Porsche Carrera Cup Series, and will expand to the Super Taikyu Series this year while also returning to SRO Japan Cup.
Fujinami and ‘Bankcy’ won in the team’s GT3 racing debut at the 2024 Japan Cup finale in Okayama in August. Three weeks ago, they made their first start in the Dubai 24 Hour race and finished seventh in the 992 class as Fujinami, Kondo, and ‘Bankcy’ were joined by young talent Taichi Watarai.
Images © SRO Motorsports Group
