Bastian Buus aiming for Porsche victory in historic Suzuka race

The Danish Porsche factory driver is determined to secure victory in this year’s edition of the legendary Suzuka 1,000-kilometer race, which takes place this coming weekend.

Following a series of strong performances in Asia – most recently two weeks ago with pole position and a double podium at Okayama in Japan – Bastian Buus is now ready for one of the highlights of the season. Together with Origine Motorsport, the Danish works driver will line up for the Suzuka 1,000km, which also serves as the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge – and expectations are high.

“I’m really fired up for a fantastic weekend! With a strong driver lineup, all of whom have achieved impressive results with Origine Motorsport, we have a great foundation to perform well at Suzuka. At the same time, the team has secured the GT World Challenge Asia title for the past two years, so the ambitions are naturally very high,” said Bastian Buus.

The Suzuka event marks the fourth round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, which gathers the world’s best GT3 teams. Buus has already impressed in the championship, finishing on the podium at the Nürburgring 24 Hours earlier this summer with Dinamic GT – and he was only one and a half seconds away from a podium in the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour.

Porsche also has high hopes for a winning weekend. Buus and his teammates, Laurin Heinrich and Alessio Picariello, will compete in a livery inspired by the 1981 winning car. Back then, a Porsche 935 K3 from Kremer Racing not only secured the brand’s first Suzuka victory – it was also the first time a foreign team triumphed in the Japanese classic, which Porsche has since won a total of 11 times.

“I think we have a strong package, and we come straight from Okayama, where we were flying all weekend. Racing in a car with such an iconic livery naturally adds a bit of pressure on our shoulders, but I truly hope and believe that we can give this design its second victory,” the Dane added.

In total, 33 cars will take the start in the Japanese GT3 classic, with Buus, Heinrich and Picariello competing in the 11-car Pro category. While practice sessions kick off on Friday, the green flag for the 2025 edition of the Suzuka 1,000km will wave on Sunday, September 14 at 12:50 local time – 5:50 am CET. The race will be streamed live on YouTube.