A record combined number of entries will gather for the SRO GT PowerTour event at Fuji Speedway where SRO Japan Cup and GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS stage their second and fourth events of the season, respectively, this weekend on 11-13 July.
31 entries are on the provisional GT World Challenge Asia entry list, while 25 cars make up the largest-ever Japan Cup grid in the series’ young history. The provisional total of 56 cars surpasses SRO Asia’s previous best of 49 entries for a PowerTour event, which were split across the two championships at the same venue last year.
It’s the third consecutive year where the most cars for a GT3 race in Asia will gather at Fuji, with 46 in total including three-fifths of the Japan Cup grid.
In GT World Asia, there are two returning entries: The #18 Porsche Center Okazaki 911 GT3 R of Hiroaki Nagai and Kazuto Kotaka, and the #98 Absolute Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 of reigning European Le Mans Series LMGT3 Champion Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Theirry Vermeulen – the latter, coming off a Gold Cup class win at the Spa 24 Hours.
They’ll offset the #30 Elegant Racing Team Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Alex Liu and Reinhold Renger, which dropped off the most recent entry list.
The latest driver change is in the #8 EBM Mercedes-AMG – Martin Berry will prioritise his new commitments in the FIA World Endurance Championship instead, and Andrew Bentley will replace him at Fuji.
Alessio Picariello will jump back into the #4 Origine Motorsport Porsche alongside Lu Wei, and young Malaysian driver Nazim Azman will make his GT3 racing debut in the #321 Absolute Racing Porsche.
The series will also welcome Craft-Bamboo Racing Team Principal Darryl O’Young back in a driving role, for the first time since 2019. O’Young, a five-time winner on the streets of Macau and a two-time Bathurst 12 Hour overall winner, will share the #77 Mercedes-AMG with Liang Jiatong.
Sun Jingzu will make his first start in the #13 Phantom Global Racing Porsche, and Absolute Corse has introduced yet another brand new Southeast Asian Bronze driver to make his series debut in the #19 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2: Vincenzo Ricci from the Philippines.
Plenty of brand-new entries are turning up for the second Japan Cup round of the season, including three additional Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3s!
Team Daishin with GTNET’s familiar orange #81 Nissan returns, to be driven by second-generation clubman racer Ryuichiro Oyagi and a teammate to be named later. A second GTNET-prepared Nissan arrives in the form of Galah Racing, with the #935 Nissan driven by Japanese Bronze driver ‘Galah’ and veteran GT300 driver Natsu Sakaguchi.
The third Nissan is the #84 Art Taste by JMS Racing GT-R; Yasuhiro Shimizu, a former GT300 and Super Taikyu driver, will drive alongside amateur single-seater standout Nobuhiro Imada.
Of the entries returning from the first round at Sportsland Sugo, only seven x seven Racing has changed drivers: Kiyoto Fujinami will stand aside, in favour of young Taichi Watarai in the #666 Porsche.
The Japan Cup entry list also features six Porsche GT3 Cup cars in the GTC class, and four GT4 cars.
The influx of GTC entries features one intriguing new team: AWD Racing, a new team founded by Super Taikyu and GT300 veteran Jake Parsons. Parsons will drive the #27 992 GT3 Cup car alongside Canadian rookie Jesse Anthony Swinimer.
GTC entries appearing for the first time for the first time in 2025 are the #16 NGR (Hiro Ichinokura), #83 Gama83 Racing (Makoto Haga/Mineki Okura), and #94 Caratt Racing (Takashi Sano/Takuya Shirasaka) 991 GT3 Cup cars.
Finally, Sunrise BLVD will enter a second Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport, the #15 of Kohei Azuma and Hiroaki Nagasawa.
Qualifying and all four 60-minute races will be streamed live with Japanese and English commentary on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel. Meanwhile, fans who attended the recent SUPER GT event and Super Taikyu Fuji 24 Hours can access SRO GT PowerTour’s grid walks free of charge (subject to proof of a valid ticket).
Images © SRO Motorsports Group
