From September 11 to 13, Round 4 of the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC), the Suzuka 1000km Endurance Race, took place at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan.Team KRC fielded two BMW M4 GT3 Evo race cars. The No. 89 car was driven by Cunfan Ruan, Maxime Oosten, and Max Hesse in the Bronze class, while the No. 10 car was driven by Brian Lee alongside Brazilian drivers Augusto Farfus and Marcelo Tomasoni in the Pro-Am class.Ultimately, Car 10 crew secured 3rd place in the Pro-Am class.。
The Suzuka 1000km is a world-class event sanctioned by SRO (the governing body for global GT3 series) and held at the Suzuka Circuit, which also hosts the F1 Japanese Grand Prix.Marking the 50th anniversary of the Suzuka 1000km, this edition drew an impressive grid of 30 entries from Europe, Asia, Oceania, and beyond, including numerous factory-backed teams.According to regulations, the three drivers must take turns driving to cover 1,000 kilometers within a 6-hour-and-30-minute time limit.Based on Suzuka's lap length of approximately 5.8 km, drivers needed to complete around 180 laps, making it a grueling test of endurance.。
Looking back at Team KRC's IGTC campaign this season, the No. 89 car finished 5th overall and 2nd in the Bronze class at the Bathurst 12 Hour.Even after suffering front suspension damage from an mid-race collision, the team completed repairs quickly to finish the race—an impressive debut at Mount Panorama Circuit.。作為車隊在巴瑟斯特全景山賽道的首秀，成績令人印象深刻。
On Friday evening, September 11, night practice kicked off the race weekend.It also marked the first dry test session of the event, as the two prior paid practice sessions were held in heavy rain.The Car 89 finished the session in 4th place.。
On Saturday afternoon, September 12, qualifying split into three 15-minute sessions.IGTC utilizes a unique qualifying system where grid positions are determined by the average lap time of all three drivers.Car 89 claimed top honors as the fastest entry in the Bronze class, earning a 4th-place overall starting position for Sunday's main race.Car 10 qualified in 26th position.。
On Sunday at 12:50 PM local time, the 1000km race officially got underway.In the opening hour, Cunfan Ruan took the first stint in the No. 89 car, chasing competitors on dry tires over a slightly damp track surface.Capitalizing on their 4th-place start, they maintained a position within the top 5 of the Bronze class.However, with 5 hours and 6 minutes remaining, the Car 89 was hit on the rear-right wheel by a Porsche trailing behind between Turns 2 and 3, pushing it into the runoff grass area.Ruan immediately attempted to drive out, but extremely low traction on the wet grass made recovery impossible.About 3 minutes later, race control deployed yellow flags to assist and rescue the car.By then, car 89 had dropped to the back of the overall field.Ruan handed the car over to teammate Maxime Oosten, but on lap 77, a differential failure forced an early retirement.。
此時10號賽車仍馳騁在賽道上，全隊繼續集中注意力關注車組狀態。來自寶馬廠隊的鉑金級別車手Augusto Farfus不負眾望，持續將圈速保持在2分01秒區間，以高強度節奏將10號賽車提升了7個名次。最終在日本時間約19點27分，安全完好衝過終點線，與隊友一同拿下Pro-Am組別季軍。
This Suzuka journey proved highly rewarding for Team KRC.Despite the heartbreak of a DNF, the team celebrated a podium highlight—a true reflection of endurance racing's unpredictable charm.Over the past three days, Team KRC witnessed and embraced the intensity of world-class GT racing intertwined with Suzuka's rich history.Next up, the team turns its focus to the Shanghai 8 Hours from September 25 to 27, and the GT World Challenge Beijing Yizhuang round from October 2 to 4. Stay tuned!！
