Porsche Carrera Cup Japan 2026 – Round 10 (Fuji)

The grid for Round 10 of PCCJ was determined by the drivers’ best qualifying times recorded on Friday, September 25. In the overall classification, #60 Reimei Itoh secured pole position for the third time this season. In the Pro-Am class, #16 Hiro, who is engaged in a closely contested title battle with #88 Tiger Wu, trailing by just 1.5 points, took pole position. In the Am class, #17 IKEDA, who had already secured the class championship at the previous round, also claimed pole.

Rain continued to fall throughout the morning on Saturday, September 26, with low temperatures making for chilly conditions. The formation lap for the Round 10 final began at 10:57 a.m. The 14 cars left the grid behind the Safety Car and completed two laps of the circuit. The race resumed on Lap 3 when the Safety Car’s lights were extinguished. Pole-sitter #60 Reimei Itoh made an excellent restart and immediately built a gap over second-placed #78 Iori Kimura. At the end of Lap 3, as the two cars returned to the home straight, the gap between #60 Itoh and #78 Kimura stood at 1.401 seconds.

As the rain gradually intensified and drivers struggled to increase their pace, the gap between the two remained around 1.5 seconds lap after lap. In the end, #60 Itoh held onto the lead all the way to the final lap to claim his first victory of the season.

“It’s my first win since Round 8 of PCCJ at SUGO last year, so I feel like I’ve kept everyone waiting,” Itoh said with a smile. “The team went back and reviewed the setup after the previous round at Suzuka, and that led to today’s victory. I’ll start the final round from fourth on the grid this afternoon, and I’ll do my best to make it back-to-back wins.”

Runner-up #78 Iori Kimura said, “I was running at almost the same pace as Itoh, so it was difficult to close the gap. The tension continued right to the end, knowing that the battle would be over if either of us made a mistake. I finished second this time, but I’ll be starting the final round from pole position, so I’m going for the win.”

#99 Taichi Watarai finished third, moving to the top of the championship standings with 175 points, overtaking Roberto de Haan, who did not compete this weekend and remains on 162.5 points. Meanwhile, #60 Itoh, who won the race, sits third in the standings with 145 points, while #78 Kimura is fourth with 142 points.

As the gap between #99 Watarai and both #60 Itoh and #78 Kimura grew to more than 25 points, Watarai could no longer be overtaken in the final round. As a result, #99 Watarai secured the series championship before the final round had even taken place.

“I’m disappointed that I couldn’t find the pace today and wasn’t able to stay with the top two cars,” Watarai said. “The championship is decided now, but I want to win the final round and finish the season on a high.”

In the Pro-Am class, #16 Hiro scored his fourth victory of the season with a lights-to-flag win. #88 Tiger Wu finished second after winning his battle with #95 Brett Boulton.

As a result, the championship battle tightened further, with #16 Hiro moving into the lead with 190 points, ahead of #88 Tiger Wu on 186.5 points. Hiro therefore took the championship lead by 3.5 points.

“The weather made it difficult because the tire pressures wouldn’t come up, but I’m glad we were able to win,” Hiro said. “For the final round, I want to approach the race without thinking about the title battle.”

Now second in the standings, #88 Tiger Wu said, “I’m relieved to be free of the pressure of leading the championship, so I’ll approach the final round as the challenger.”

In the Am class, #17 IKEDA engaged in a close battle with Pro-Am driver #77 Dai Hamazaki and secured his ninth victory of the season.

“I really enjoyed the battle with Hamazaki. I’d like to finish the season with 10 consecutive wins,” IKEDA said, targeting a new winning streak record.

#27 SOUICHIROU MANO finished second, while #83 Makoto Haga took third.

Weather: Rain Track Conditions: Wet Air Temperature: 19°C Track Temperature: 20°C (at the start of the session)