Reigning ENEOS Super Taikyu Series ST-X (GT3) and Porsche Carrera Cup Middle East champion Taichi Watarai will make his Autobacs SUPER GT Series debut this weekend at Suzuka Circuit, driving for seven x seven Racing.
The 22-year-old newcomer Watarai will join Porsche contracted driver Sven Müller in the #666 Porsche 911 GT3 R, which is coming off of finishes of fourth and sixth place in the last two rounds, both held at Fuji Speedway.
Watarai is a protegé of two-time GT300 Champion Kiyoto Fujinami, who will stand down from driving duties this weekend to accommodate the change – just as he did last year to make way for rising star Harry King. Having jumped from Super FJ and FCR-Vita racing to GT3 and Porsche one-make competition only two years ago, Watarai has quickly found success in and beyond Japan.
With seven x seven Racing, Watarai took four wins in five races last year in Super Taikyu, winning last year’s GT3 class title alongside Fujinami and top amateur driver Hiroyuki “Bankcy” Ogawa. He was also crowned PCCME champion in a season cut short due to the outbreak of the Iran War, with three wins and five pole positions in eight races.
This year, Watarai currently leads the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan championship standings with two wins and podium finishes in all seven races so far this season; he’s also made a one-off Porsche Supercup start in Monaco.
He successfully passed his SUPER GT Rookie Test in March at Fuji Speedway, and also participated in the recent 2027 tyre test at Fuji (though seven x seven Racing ran with its current 2026-spec Yokohama tyres, with Dunlop engineers monitoring and gathering data.)
It’s believed that Watarai will also finish out the season for seven x seven Racing in GT300. Currently, the team sits eighth in the GT300 Drivers’ and Teams’ championships going into Sunday’s 300 kilometre race at Suzuka.
Images © Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific
