Mercedes-AMG brings three GT3 cars to Suzuka 1000km

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport heads to Japan for the 50th running of the Suzuka 1000km on 11–13 September, the fourth of five rounds in this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge. Three Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars will be run by Craft-Bamboo Racing and 75 Express across the Pro and Pro-Am classes. With championship leader Maro Engel unable to contest the remaining rounds because of DTM date clashes, Luca Stolz and Maxime Martin arrive in Suzuka as the brand’s title hopes.

The Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) reaches Japan next month for the 50th edition of the Suzuka 1000km, held from 11 to 13 September. After Bathurst, the Nürburgring and Spa, the race at the Suzuka Circuit is the penultimate round of the season, with the finale to follow in Indianapolis. Mercedes-AMG Motorsport will field three Mercedes-AMG GT3 cars run by two established customer teams, and says its aim is to add points in a championship it currently leads on the driver side.

Three GT3s, two teams, two classes

The #77 Mercedes-AMG GT3 is a factory-supported entry racing as Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, with Maxime Martin (BEL), Kakunoshin Ohta (JPN) and Luca Stolz (GER) sharing the car in the Pro class. Stolz travels to Japan second in the drivers’ standings on 51 points after winning the ADAC RAVENOL 24h Nürburgring in May and finishing second at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in late June. Martin, winner of this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour and a co-winner with Stolz at the Nürburgring, sits third, just one point behind his team-mate.

A second Pro-class car comes from 75 Express, where team owner Kenny Habul (AUS) is joined in the #75 entry by Mercedes-AMG Performance drivers Philip Ellis (SUI) and Mikaël Grenier (CAN). Craft-Bamboo Racing also enters a Pro-Am car for João Paulo de Oliveira (BRA), Kevin Tse and Daisuke Yamawaki (JPN); the team took a Pro-Am class win at the event in 2025 with Tse among its drivers. The manufacturer notes the line-ups are subject to late changes.

Why the standings look promising but complicated

Maro Engel tops the drivers’ table on 68 points after victories at Bathurst and the Nürburgring and second place at Spa. Because the two remaining IGTC rounds — Suzuka and the Indianapolis 8 Hour in October — clash with his DTM commitments, he will not be able to add to that tally. That leaves Stolz and Martin as the realistic title contenders. In the manufacturers’ standings, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport lies second on 84 points, eight behind the leader.

“Despite the clash with the DTM and the Nürburgring Endurance Series, we were able to put together an experienced line-up for the Suzuka 1000km with Craft-Bamboo Racing and 75 Express. We are in a promising position in both the drivers’ and the manufacturers’ standings and want to get the maximum out of the weekend, to give Luca and Maxime the best possible position for the season finale. The Suzuka Circuit suits the Mercedes-AMG GT3. Above all in the first two sectors, with their many medium-speed corners, the car can play to its strengths.” — Stefan Wendl, Head of Customer Racing, Mercedes-AMG Motorsport

Experience at a track the brand knows well

Suzuka has been on the IGTC calendar since 2018 (2018, 2019, 2025 and 2026), and Mercedes-AMG counts one outright win there in that period, two podiums and six class podiums. Across the whole history of the race, which began in 1966 and has run under several names — including Suzuka 10 Hours in 2018 and 2019 — AMG-Mercedes and Mercedes-AMG list three victories: 1997 with Alessandro Nannini, Bernd Schneider and Marcel Tiemann in the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, 1998 with Schneider and Mark Webber in the CLK LM, and 2018 with Maro Engel, Raffaele Marciello and Tristan Vautier in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.

Grenier, Habul and Stolz have started every IGTC race at Suzuka for the brand. “The Suzuka Circuit is a very beautiful, fast and demanding track that is incredibly good fun,” Stolz said, adding that high temperatures and humidity push drivers and teams to the limit. He has started the race three times and has one podium to show for it, in the Pro-Am class in 2018.

Taxi liveries and a Japan Cup finale

Craft-Bamboo Racing will run its two cars in taxi-inspired liveries — a nod to older Japanese and current Hong Kong taxis — with the #77 in bright green and the #28 in red. Both designs are being produced as model cars by Tarmac Works for the occasion.

The Japan Cup finale runs as part of the Suzuka support programme. The SRO-organised series is open to GT3 and GT4 cars, and Mercedes-AMG is currently represented by two GT3s — FIVESTAR with TEAM DreamDrive (Takashi Sano, Takuya Shirasaka) and Max Racing (Yuya Motojima, Yusaku Shibata) — plus a Mercedes-AMG GT4 from POP RACE with Kelvin Ho (HKG) and Maaya Orido (JPN). Four races count towards the title; after Sportsland Sugo and Fuji International Speedway, round three takes place at the Okayama International Circuit on 30 August.

Facts: Mercedes-AMG at the Suzuka 1000km

Event: 50th Suzuka 1000km, Suzuka Circuit, Japan, 11–13 September 2026
Championship: Round four of five in the Intercontinental GT Challenge
Entries: Three Mercedes-AMG GT3 — #77 and #28 (Craft-Bamboo Racing), #75 (75 Express)
Classes: #77 and #75 in Pro, #28 in Pro-Am
Drivers’ standings: Engel 68 points (1st), Stolz 51 (2nd), Martin (3rd, one point behind Stolz)
Manufacturers’ standings: Mercedes-AMG second on 84 points, eight off the lead
Pre-qualifying: Saturday 12 September, 03:40–05:10 CEST (10:40–12:10 local)
Qualifying: Saturday 12 September, 10:35–11:35 CEST (17:35–18:35 local)
Race start: Sunday 13 September, 05:50 CEST (12:50 local)