Max Racing and K-Tunes win in Japan Cup weekend at Okayama

While both winners of the SRO Japan Cup weekend at Okayama had to fight really hard during most of the two races, both the No. 24 Max Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo of Yusaku Shibata and Yuya Motojima and the No. 96 K-Tunes Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Kazunori Suenaga and Nirei Fukuzumi were decisive in the final moments, dispatching the opposition either with pace alone or with strategy included.
 
The No. 24 Max Racing Mercedes held the top position well while the No. 45 PONOS Ferrari was busy in the first corners, but kept the second place overall and the GT3 Am Cup lead. Way behind them, the No.1 Hitotsuyama Ferrari had some unwanted physical interaction and was thrown off track in the first corner, returning a few moments later.
 
The No. 24’s place was safe in the first stint as the No. 45 had more concerning matters regarding the GT3 Am Cup top spot, with the No. 19 Spirit of FFF Lamborghini and Mineki Okura right behind them, though the Lamborghini slowed down some laps later. The No. 24 would secure the lead in the first stint as a full course yellow was brought because the No. 96 K-Times Ferrari and the No. 27 AWD Audi were beached in the gravel.
 
The race resumed with 23 minutes to go after a lenghty Safety Car period, which passed for the whole pit window in which the No. 24 lost the overall lead, but Yuya Motojima had none of it with the green flag waved, dispatching Yusuke Yamasaki in a single corner. Yamasaki’s pace and a damp track meant the No. 45 would fall even more in the order, with the No. 181 Norik Ferrari leading the chase to the No. 24. For the PONOS machine, a rougher defense of position meant that Yamasaki had to hand over the GT3 Am Cup lead to the No. 19 to avoid the risk of a penalty.
 
With ten minutes to go, the No. 88 Miracolo Tokyo McLaren had a go at the No. 181, only for Kenta Yamashita to overshoot it and stay in the gravel. Ukyo Sasahara took the opportunity and passed Taku Bamba to put the No. 9 BINGO LM Corsa Porsche in second, with the No. 1 Hitotsuyama Ferrari following it and taking the third place.
 
The final minutes were calmer as the positions were settled, with the No. 24 Max Racing Mercedes winning overall and in the GT3 Pro-Am Cup as the No. 9 BINGO LM Corsa Porsche had no time to reach it. The No. 19 Spirit of FFF Lamborghini turned the fortunes around and won the GT3 Am Cup, while the No. 82 Zenko Sunrise Porsche was the best GT4.
 
Japan Cup - Okayama Race 1 results
 

The front row for Sunday was totally different with three Ferraris in the first four positions, but Ukyo Sasahara ignored this and put the No. 9 BINGO LM Corsa Porsche in front while Nirei Fukuzumi barely kept the No. 96 K-Tunes Ferrari in second while Naoki Yokomizo had the No. 555 Maezawa Ferrari in third.
 
A brief yellow due to a beach No. 27 AWD Audi held things for a while, and the race resumed, Fukuzumi was all over Sasahara, but things would stay like this for the whole first stint. BINGO LM Corsa lost time in their mandatory stop, with the No. 9 staying behind the No. 555 and Shinji Takei not closing down on Yusaku Maezawa and both being way behind the No. 96.
 
Maezawa had no pace to counter and Takei lost the third position to the No. 88 Miracolo Tokyo McLaren, so Kazunori Suenaga was safe to just bring the No. 96 K-Tunes Ferrari to the win. The No. 45 PONOS Ferrari won the GT3 Am Cup as the No. 19 Spirit of FFF Lamborghini was penalized for contact, and the No. 82 Zenko RS Sunrise Porsche dominated between the GT4s and took the weekend sweep.
 
Japan Cup - Okayama Race 2 results
 
Shibata and Motojima (No. 24) take the lead with 105 points over the 92 of Takei and Sasahara (No.9), while 2025 champions Tsuzuki and Kawabata (No. 1) still chase the double with 85 points. Next stop in the season will be the final one, as Suzuka hosts the last double header of 2026 on 12 and 13 December as a support series to the IGTC Suzuka 1000km.
 
PHOTOS: SRO