Team WRT #32 BMW triumph at the Suzuka 1000KM

SRO

Sep 15

With Kelvin van der Linde, Raffaele Marciello, and Charles Weerts win at the Suzuka classic, BMW clinch its third IGTC win of the season, extends its lead in the manufacturers’ standings and BMW M works drivers also lead the drivers’ championship.

📷© BMW Group. #32 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

From pole to third win in four races for BMW M4 GT3 EVO

On Saturday, Kelvin van der Linde (RSA), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), and Charles Weerts (BEL) secured pole position. In Sunday’s six-and-a-half-hour race, they won with a clear margin. In the fourth round of the 2025 IGTC season, it was their third win after victories with Team WRT at Bathurst (AUS) and ROWE Racing at the Nürburgring 24 Hours (GER).

13 seconds margin despite yellow flags

In the opening stage, van der Linde, Weerts, and Marciello confidently defended first place and even managed to build a lead. However, several yellow flag and safety car periods brought the field back together, and the fact that the frontrunners were on different strategies made for an exciting race. In the final stages, the #32 car was able to pull clear once again and secured victory after 170 laps with a margin of more than 13 seconds.

BMW and BMW drivers lead in IGT challenges

The result further strengthens BMW’s lead in the Intercontinental GT Challenge manufacturers’ standings and puts three BMW drivers, Kelvin van der Linde, Raffaele Marciello, and Augusto Farfus, in contention for the drivers’ title heading into the season finale.

Kelvin van der Linde (Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 1st place overall & PRO class): “It’s great to be back here with Team WRT. The team has been amazing all week. The car was flawless and we made no mistakes so we managed to bring the win home! I’m super proud of everyone!”

Raffaele Marciello (Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 1st place overall & PRO class): “I’m super happy. It’s a very nice race to win! I won it in 2018, then I was on the podium with Kelvin in 2019 and now we are back together on the top spot. It was an amazing race, the car was amazing and my teammates did an amazing job! It was a nice reward for our work. Thanks to Team WRT and to BMW M Motorsport!”

Charles Weerts (Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 1st place overall & PRO class): “I’m extremely happy! It was my first time and first race in Japan! To be able to score the pole position and the win is a perfect race. It’s a dream! Huge thanks to my teammates for the great job, to WRT and to BMW M Motorsport for giving us such a competitive car! On to many more!” Source: BMW Group

Absolute Racing’s #7 NewMan Porsche second

At the wheel of the Absolute Racing’s #7 NewMan Porsche in “New Man” livery, Estre/Vanthoor/Pilet delivered a perfect performance, finishing just 13.647 seconds behind the winning BMW in second place overall.

Kévin Estre (Porsche 911 GT3 R #7): “We delivered a strong race, but ultimately the performance wasn’t quite enough to take the win. The BMW was simply too strong today. We fought hard and left absolutely everything on track. In the end, we missed out by just over 13 seconds after six and a half hours – that’s almost nothing. We can be proud of our performance. Overall, Japan was a fantastic event.” Source: Porsche

First podium in IGTC for Corvette Racing

Corvette Z06 GT3.R customer team Johor Motorsports Racing recorded a third-place overall finish for the #2 Corvette of Scott McLoughlin, Alexander Sims and Nicky Catsburg.

It’s the first podium in Intercontinental GT Challenge competition for the Corvette Racing program. The Pro-class entry raced its way from ninth on the grid with impressive stints for both McLaughlin and Sims before second-half heroics by Catsburg secured the podium result for the Corvette and JMR.

Catsburg drove the final three hours, 10 minutes and went from sixth when he got in the #2 Corvette to third with a little more than hour to go. He fought with numerous cars inside the final 90 minutes and withstood a five-lap battle at the end to secure third place overall.

📷© SRO. #2 Corvette of Scott McLoughlin, Alexander Sims and Nicky Catsburg

NICKY CATSBURG, NO. 2 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "I'm completely destroyed! I don't think I've ever had to fight that hard for P3. We had some really good battles. Everyone was pretty fair so it was an awesome race. It's my first race with these guys and my teammates did an amazing job... no mistakes all day. We brought a podium home so not so bad!"

"To be honest, I was in the car so long that I don't really remember everything that happened, but a lot happened. Many, many great battles with a couple of Porsches and a couple of BMWs. Unfortunately the Porsche at the end had major pace over me, so the final five or six laps were really about surviving. But we had great fun. The Corvette did well and the team did great... no mistakes. So I'm happy to bring them a podium. I really hope I can do some more racing with these guys."

ALEXANDER SIMS, NO. 2 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Driving our Corvette around here at Suzuka has been a wonderful experience. I think Nicky was doing himself down a little bit. He got us that result. He's been hands down the quickest guy this weekend for us. It was a mega, mega race... great battles and great fun to watch. I'm really proud of everyone at JMR.

"It was a fantastic job by the whole JMR team to get our Corvette toward the front from a less than ideal starting position. Nicky and Scott did a fantastic job. For Nicky to do three hours in a row, he was our quickest guy and our best chance of holding on to that podium position. He really earned it for us. From a physical point of view, Nicky was absolutely empty but kept digging deep. That's a huge moment for us. We had thought about changing drivers for the final stint but either Scott or I would not have been able to do the job that Nicky did. He was just in the groove and on fire this weekend. Great job by him and the whole team effort for us this week."

SCOTT McLAUGHLIN, NO. 2 CORVETTE Z06 GT3.R: "Ultimately, working with Nicky and Alex all weekend has been fantastic. The team at JMR was great on our pit stops. We're really proud of this, and I'm really thankful that Nicky held on there for third. It was just an amazing drive. It's great to be a part of this and of Corvette." Source: Corvette Racing