+ Eight manufacturers split across 28 entries
+ Nissan and Lexus battling IGTC regulars for anniversary Summer Endurance Race honours
+ D’Silva completes record IGTC Independent Cup gathering
+ Provisional entry list: Suzuka 1000km
An eclectic mix of teams and manufacturers will battle for Summer Endurance Race glory when the penultimate round of Intercontinental GT Challenge 2026 goes green one month today at the 50th anniversary Suzuka 1000km (September 11-13).
The 28-car provisional entry list includes eight manufacturers, seven of which – Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Lexus, Mercedes-AMG, Nissan and Porsche – are represented in the Pro class.
Last year’s winner, BMW, is also on the list but does not have an obvious overall victory contender amongst its quartet of M4 GT3 Evos despite most featuring factory talent behind the wheel.
As in 2025, and per IGTC’s ethos, more than two-thirds of cars are entered by regional Asian teams. Of those, 12 are Japanese.
Home fans and neutrals will also be delighted to see Nissan and Lexus on the list. And, what’s more, both should be fighting at the sharp end thanks to Team 5ZIGEN and K-tunes’ Japanese Pro driver line-ups. Super GT star Katsumasa Chiyo jumping back aboard a GT-R NISMO – the car in which he made his name – will be amongst the event’s highlights.
Neither of the Japanese marques are eligible to score IGTC drivers’ or manufacturers’ points, which are reserved for the globe-trotting GT3 series’ six registered brands. All are represented at Suzuka.
There is also a record number of IGTC Independent Cup entrants. Kenny Habul, Jefri Ibrahim, Ralf Bohn, Johannes Zelger, Jonathan Hui and championship leader Li Kerong all last appeared together at Bathurst and now return along with a seventh registered Am driver: Adrian D’Silva.
A DTM clash for overall championship leader Maro Engel offers Mercedes-AMG stablemates Luca Stolz and Maxime Martin an opportunity to reduce their respective 17 and 18-point arrears. This year’s ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring winners share one of two Craft-Bamboo entries with Japanese star and Super Formula leader Kakunoshin Ohta.
Absolute’s Porsches finished second and fourth in 2025 and can be expected to challenge once again courtesy of two particularly potent Pro crews. Its partnership with AO Racing, which sees Rexy’s long-lost ancestor ‘Bushi Rex’ adorn the #8 911 GT3 R, will also undoubtedly be amongst this year’s most popular entries.
Porsche dwarfs Mercedes-AMG in terms of total cars, but both have two obvious outright contenders. And that could be crucial in the race for this year’s IGTC manufacturers’ title where Stuttgart leads Affalterbach by eight points.
There’s an unchanged line up at JMR where Nicky Catsburg, Alexander Sims and IndyCar ace Scott McLaughlin join forces for the first time since Suzuka almost 12 months ago when the Corvette completed the podium. It remains Chevrolet’s best IGTC result to date.
Ferrari also has a Pro entry up its sleeve thanks to Japanese squad PONOS RACING, which has paired former Super GT500 champion Tadasuke Makino with current GT300 points' leader Seita Nonaka.
Ford, meanwhile, sends a Mustang to Suzuka for the first time via its Australian partners, Miedecke Motorsport by Team MPC. Factory drivers Christopher Mies, Dennis Olsen and Frederic Vervisch know the car inside out, while the latter was a Summer Endurance Race winner with Audi back in 2019 – the same year as Olsen completed the podium.
Max Hesse is best placed of BMW’s drivers in sixth overall but has 30 points to make up on Engel over the final two races if he’s to have any hope of following in Kelvin van der Linde’s footsteps from last year. The KRC-run M4 he shares with Ruan Cun Fan and Maxime Oosten will be amongst the favourites for Bronze class honours.
The Suzuka 1000km begins with testing and Night Practice on Friday 11 September. Saturday consists of Pre-Qualifying and Qualifying before teams race into the darkness on Sunday.
