Porsche Carrera Cup Japan 2026 – Round 5 (Fuji) Race Report
The Fuji round was hit by rain for two consecutive days, with wet conditions during Friday’s practice session on July 17 and Saturday’s qualifying session on July 18. By Sunday morning, July 19, the rain had stopped, but parts of the Fuji Speedway circuit remained wet, creating challenging conditions for the drivers. Under these circumstances, the formation lap for Round 5 of the PCCJ Mobil 1 Challenge began at 8:15 a.m. The starting grid for the race was determined by each driver’s second-best qualifying lap from the previous day. As in Round 4, overall pole position went to #60 Reimei Ito. In the Pro-Am class, #16 Hiro started from pole, while #17 IKEDA took class pole position in the Am class.
After checking the track conditions during the formation lap, the cars returned to the grid. The red lights went out and the race got underway. Pole-sitter #60 Ito made a clean start, but #99 Taichi Watarai, starting second and positioning his car on the inside, made an even better getaway. Taking the lead through Turn 1, #99 Watarai held off #60 Ito and #78 Iori Kimura, who were close behind, as he returned to the home straight at the end of the opening lap.
The gap between race leader #99 Watarai and second-placed #60 Ito was just 0.393 seconds, while #78 Kimura was 0.525 seconds behind the leader in third. The three cars continued to run virtually nose-to-tail, although the gap between the leading pair and #78 Kimura gradually began to grow. #60 Ito applied pressure from behind and looked for an opportunity to make a move, setting the fastest lap of the race on Lap 5. However, #99 Watarai maintained a consistent pace and continued to lead.
As the 15-lap race entered its latter stages, the gap between #99 Watarai and #60 Ito had grown to more than one second by Lap 10. The difference continued to increase, reaching 3.056 seconds by Lap 14. Victory appeared to be firmly in Watarai’s hands, but at the final corner of the last lap, the leading #99 Watarai suddenly slowed. This allowed #60 Ito to close rapidly and the two cars charged down the final home straight almost side-by-side. In the end, however, #99 Watarai held on to win by just 0.086 seconds.
With his second consecutive victory at the Fuji round, #99 Watarai said:
“I was able to build the race well from the start, but things got pretty close at the end. Somehow, though, I managed to hold on and make it two wins in a row. I’ll keep working hard with the aim of winning the championship.”
Runner-up #60 Ito was already looking ahead to the next round:
“Today, everything came down to the start. I was just a little short at the end… SUGO is a circuit that suits me, so I’ll make sure to make up for this loss at the next round.”
In the Pro-Am class, pole-sitter #16 Hiro led from the start all the way to the finish to claim his first-ever Pro-Am class victory.
“Finally! I feel like the real start begins from here, so I’ll keep working hard,” Hiro said with a smile.
#88 Tiger Wu finished second, while #77 Dai Hamasaki took third after winning a battle with #84 Masa TAGA.
In the Am class, class pole-sitter #17 IKEDA got off to a slow start but moved into the lead on Lap 2 after overtaking #27 SOUICHIROU MANO. From there, IKEDA drove a controlled race to secure victory.
“I was too fired up and stalled the engine at the start. Fortunately, I was able to restart immediately, and I’m really happy to have won four races in a row,” IKEDA said with a smile.
#27 SOUICHIROU MANO finished second, with #29 Kiyomin taking third.
The next PCCJ double-header, Rounds 6 and 7, is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 8 and Sunday, August 9, at Sportsland SUGO in Miyagi Prefecture. Following Round 5, #99 Watarai leads the overall championship standings with 97 points, while #60 Ito is second with 82 points, a 15-point gap. With the championship battle entering the second half of the season, the upcoming SUGO round will therefore be a crucial race in the fight for the title.
Weather: Cloudy Track Conditions: Dry Air Temperature: 27°C Track Temperature: 32°C (at race start)
