Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific customer team Absolute Racing delivered a landmark result at the Suzuka 1000km, finishing second overall and claiming Bronze Cup victory in the prestigious Intercontinental GT Challenge round at Suzuka International Circuit.
In what was a dream outcome for the team in Asia’s endurance classic, Laurens Vanthoor, Kévin Estre and Patrick Pilet guided the striking Porsche 911 GT3 R (Type 992) – carrying a special livery celebrating the 40th anniversary of Porsche’s iconic Le Mans triumph – to an impressive second-place overall finish.
The result marks Absolute Racing’s best-ever performance in the Suzuka enduro, improving on its back-to-back third-place finishes in the 2018 and 2019 editions when the race ran as a 10-hour format.
With 15,000 fans packing the grandstands, Absolute Racing added more silverware as the No. 10 Porsche driven by Richard Lietz, Antares Au, and Porsche Motorsport North America Selected Driver Loek Hartog stormed to Bronze Cup glory. Their stellar performance not only secured the class win but also placed them fourth overall.
Team Quotes
Fabien Fior (Team Principal, Absolute Racing)
“It was a great weekend for the team, with flawless work from both our drivers and crew. This is our third consecutive podium in this race, and our first class win. I am very proud to show once again that our team can compete and deliver strong results against the best in the world!”
Kévin Estre (No.7 Driver, Absolute Racing)
“It’s a great result and second was the best we could achieve today. Together with the team we executed the strategy perfectly and there were a lot of hard battles out there throughout the enduro. We can be very proud of this one and we’ll be back next year to try and win this iconic event!”
Laurens Vanthoor (No.7 Driver, Absolute Racing)
“We maximised our performance and secured second overall. It’s always a tough race around this track and especially with the humidity making it very challenging. The car drove well with no issues so we can be happy with our finishing position.”
Patrick Pilet (No.7 Driver, Absolute Racing)
“I’m proud of the team and my teammates today as we gave it everything from lap one, crossing the line in second. It was great to be part of such an amazing show, and we hope to be back to fight for the overall victory.”
Antares Au (No.10 Driver, Absolute Racing)
“The weekend was challenging with the weather, and I haven’t raced at Suzuka since my time in Porsche Carrera Cup Asia six years ago. We did a great job to be in contention for the overall podium at the end, doing excellently to clinch P4 overall and Bronze victory.”
Loek Hartog (No.10 Driver, Absolute Racing)
“We won the Bronze Cup after an intense but very successful 1000 km at Suzuka – my very first time racing here – and immediately achieved a strong result. Finishing fourth overall was far beyond our expectations, but thanks to the strategy and engineering, we found ourselves in a very fortunate position. The car felt absolutely on rails, especially in the final stages of the race, and the whole team did a fantastic job. Personally, it was incredible to fight alongside my heroes for an overall podium – in the final minutes it was almost within reach. In the end, we were competing for the Bronze Cup, so it is partially, but not completely, disappointing to just miss out on the overall podium. Overall, I’m proud and very happy with the performance of my teammates and everyone at Absolute Racing this weekend.”
Richard Lietz (No.10 Driver, Absolute Racing)
“It was amazing – my first time at Suzuka, and I really enjoyed every moment. Absolute Racing did a fantastic job, as did my teammates Antares and Loek. I’m proud of our result and equally proud of the little group we’ve built together in such a short time. Thank you to everyone involved.”
