The Johor Motorsport Racing team fails to gain ground in Japan

The # 99 Z06 GT3.R JMT Corvettes got stuck in the fourth round of the SRO WC Asia series at the 2.3-mile Okayama circuit in Japan; as did its rival, the # 87 Porsche 911 GT3 of Bob Yuan and Leo Ye of the Origine team.

Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Ben Green in the # 99 car finished 17th on Saturday and fell to 28th on Sunday, 3 laps behind and were not classified.  

Yi Deng and Kailuo Luo in the # 96 Ferrari 296 GT3 of the Winhere Harmony Racing team completed 34 laps to win on Saturday.

Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim, bolstered by factory Driver Alexander Sims in the # 66 car, fared no better on Saturday, finishing 22nd but scored a rousing 2nd place on Sunday.

Wei Lu and Bastian Buus in the # 4 Origine Porsche 911 GT3R won on Sunday, instead of the sister # 87 Porsche contender, which extends the rivalry with the # 99 Corvette approaching races coming up at Suzuka and the streets of Bejing.

Photo credits: Patrick Durand, SRO

Bonus Coverage: Suzuka 1000km Intercontinental GT Challenge

Nicky Catsburg, Alexander Sims and Scott McLaughlin took third overall in Pro-class # 2 Z06.GT3R Johor Motorsports Racing Team Corvette.

 Starting from ninth on the grid, McLaughlin and Sims turned the car (in sixth place) over to Catsburg who furiously overtook several cars in the final 90 minutes to secure the podium result in what he considers one of his best ever drives.

Raffaele Marciello, Kelvin van der Linde, and Charles Weerts qualified the WRT # 32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO on the pole, took charge over the entire distance and won!

Meanwhile, Prince Jefri Ibrahim, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim and Konsta Lappalainen in the Johor # 99 Corvette won third place in the Pro-Am class and finished 20th overall in a field of 34 cars.

Shinji Takei in the venerable # 9 Callaway C7 GT3-R chassis # 005 of his Bingo Racing Team retired early in what could be its final appearance.

Corvette photos courtesy of Patrick Durand, AMP Newsletter.