After four straight runner-up finishes in as many races, Max Racing has taken a win in Race 1 at Okayama International Circuit to bolster its lead in the SRO Japan Cup GT3 standings.
The #24 Max Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Yusaku Shibata and Yuya Motojima took the win from pole position; it’s the first for the team since it won on its Japan Cup debut at Sportsland Sugo in the 2025 season opener.
In the first stint, polesitter Shibata was able to hold off the #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo of Yorikatsu Tsujiko and the #19 Spirit of FFF Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO2 of Mineki Okura at bay. Okura went off course and dropped out of the lead battle, leaving Shibata and Tsujiko out in front.
Then in the 22nd minute, the #96 K-tunes Racing Ferrari of Kazunori Suenaga and #27 AWD Racing Audi of Jesse Swinimer collided at Revolver Corner, triggering a Full Course Yellow. This FCY period would extend through the entire compulsory pit window. The #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari came out with the lead after the pit stops were completed, but with Bronze driver Yusuke Yamasaki at the wheel, it was a matter of when the field of Pro drivers would pass him.
Yamasaki’s overall lead lasted just one corner before Motojima in the #24 Max Racing AMG overtook him in the first corner. And with a lapped GT3 Am car in the queue, Motojima was able to streak away to a big lead, which he did not concede for the final 20 minutes of the race – despite on-and-off rain showers making conditions tricky for drivers of all skill levels.
This included Kenta Yamashita, who was battling for second in the #88 Miracolo Tokyo McLaren 720S GT3 when he slid off course at the Hairpin Corner, ending his and Tadao Uematsu’s podium chances.
Ukyo Sasahara charged through from sixth to second in the #9 Bingo Racing with LM Corsa Porsche 911 GT3 R, putting Sasahara and Shinji Takei on the podium. The #9 team would receive a reprimand and penalty point for speeding under FCY, but keeps its runner-up finish.
Finishing third was the #1 Hitotsuyama with Cornes Racing Ferrari of Akihiro Tsuzuki and Shintaro Kawabata. Two more Ferraris rounded out the top five: The #555 Maezawa Racing 296 (Yusaku Maezawa/Naoki Yokomizo) and the #181 Norik Racing (Norikazu “Norik” Shibata/Taku Bamba), with the #181 taking a five-second time penalty for a safety car restart infringement.
Sixth place overall and the win in GT3 Am went to the #19 Spirit of FFF Lamborghini of Okura and Hiroshi Hamaguchi. Hamaguchi took a hit from Yamasaki at Hairpin Corner, but drove through to the lead as Yamasaki and the #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari took a five-second time penalty for the incident.
The #97 K-tunes Ferrari (Shinichi Takagi/Betty Chen Yinyu) and #45 PONOS Racing Ferrari rounded out the overall top eight.
GT4 victory went to the #82 Zenko RS Garage with Sunrise Blvd Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport of Yoshitomo Makino and Takeshi Suehiro, winning by 26.6 seconds over the #71 Akiland Racing Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2 (Masayoshi Oyama/Yuji Kunimoto).
The Okayama GT PowerTour weekend concludes tomorrow with Japan Cup Race 2 at 1:20 PM JST (local time).
Images © SRO Motorsports Group
