This weekend marked the conclusion of the Japanese Super GT championship and the start of the 2024-2025 Asian Le Mans Series. Eight Ferrari cars participated across the two championships: two in Japan and six at Malaysia’s Sepang Circuit. Here, the 296 GT3 achieved its 100th victory in less than two years of competition.
Asian Le Mans Series. The opening double-date of the 2024-2025 Asian Le Mans Series, spanning two calendar years, featured two 4-hour races on the 5.543-kilometre Sepang Circuit.
Saturday’s race saw Ferrari 296 GT3s claim all steps of the podium, a fitting way to mark the model’s 100th victory. The number 57 car, driven by Yudai Uchida, Esteban Masson, and Ferrari official driver Daniel Serra and fielded by Car Guy Racing, crossed the line first. It was followed by the number 51 car from AF Corse, driven by Custodio Toledo, Cédric Sbirrazzuoli, and Riccardo Agostini, while the number 74 Kessel Racing car, with Dustin Blattner, Ben Tuck, and Dennis Marschall at the wheel, completed the podium in third place; but the latter crew was penalised 35 seconds in the post-race, thus finishing sixth.
Fourth place went to another Ferrari, the number 28 AF Corse entry driven by Massimiliano Wiser, Manuel Franco, and Ferrari official driver Davide Rigon. Less fortunate were the other 296 GT3 cars in the field: the number 82 AF Corse car, with Charles-Henri Samani, Conrad Laursen and Nicolas Varrone, finished 20th, while the number 23 of Absolute Racing, driven by Gregory Bennett, Carl Wattana Bennett, and Chris van der Drift, retired after a collision in the early stages of the race.
Sunday’s race, also over 4 hours, was disrupted by rain, forcing the race direction to bring out the red flag and call an early end to the competition. The best-placed Ferrari was the number 28 AF Corse car, with Wiser, Franco, and Rigon, which secured third place. The AF Corse entries numbered 51 and 82 finished ninth and tenth, respectively, while the number 74 of Kessel Racing ended 12th and the number 23 of Absolute Racing finished 22nd. Car Guy Racing’s number 57, winner of Race-1, was forced to retire after contact.
Super GT. The Suzuka Circuit hosted the final round of the Japanese Super GT season: a 300-kilometre race initially scheduled for late August but postponed when Japan was hit by a typhoon. The best-performing of the two Ferrari 296 GT3s was the number 6 car from Uni-Robo Bluegrass, driven by Roberto Merhi Muntan and Yoshiaki Katayama, which finished fifth in the GT300 class. Outside the top 10 was the number 45 car fielded by Ponos Racing, with Kei Cozzolino and Ferrari official driver Lilou Wadoux, which ended the race in 22nd place.