Ford Mustang to start on pole for Suzuka 1000km

The qualifying session for the Suzuka 1000km, the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, resulted in a reshuffled starting grid. Although the No. 77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, driven by Luca Stolz, Maxime Martin, and Kaku Ohta, recorded the fastest average time, the car faced significant setbacks.

Kaku Ohta set the fastest individual lap time of 1:58.455. However, the team faced a three-place grid penalty for speeding during a red flag in practice. Furthermore, post-qualifying technical inspections revealed the car was 2.5kg underweight, leading to the deletion of all its qualifying lap times.

As a result, the Miedecke Motorsport/Team MPC Ford Mustang GT3 EVO, featuring drivers Christopher Mies, Frederic Vervisch, and Dennis Olsen, will start Sunday’s race from pole position. The No. 45 PONOS Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo is also set to join the Mustang on the front row.