Suzuka 1000km (1966–1973, 1980–2017)
The Suzuka 1000km was first held as a standalone event on 26 June 1966. It was one of three long-distance endurance races held at Suzuka Circuit during the 1960s, alongside the Suzuka 500km and Suzuka 12 Hours. [3] These three races would form the short-lived Suzuka Circuit Endurance Series which was run from 1967 to 1970. [4]
The race went on hiatus from 1974 until 1979 as a consequence of the 1970s energy crisis, but returned in 1980 as a non-championship endurance race, and was held in the fourth weekend of August for the first time. With the exception of the 1989 race that was delayed to December due to inclement weather, the Suzuka 1000km would continue to take place in the third or fourth weekend of August every year through 2019. [4] Foreign teams entered the race for the first time in 1981. [4]
From 1983 to 1991, the Suzuka 1000km was part of the All Japan Endurance Championship (renamed to the All Japan Sports Prototype Championship in 1987). [3] In 1992, the race was added to the FIA World Sportscar Championship calendar, but the series folded after the 1992 season, which meant that the 1993 race would be run as a non-championship round. [3] [4]
In 1994, the Suzuka 1000km became part of the inaugural BPR Global GT Series calendar. Pokka became the new title sponsor of the race, and the Pokka 1000km continued as a championship round of the BPR Global GT Series and its successor, the FIA GT Championship, through 1998. [3]
When the race was dropped from the FIA GT calendar in 1999, the Pokka 1000km reverted to a non-championship endurance race. Through 2005, the race was open to GT500 and GT300 cars from the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), as well as cars from the Super Taikyu Series and the Suzuka Circuit Clubman races. [3] [5]
On 12 August 2005, it was announced that the race would become part of the newly-renamed Autobacs Super GT Series championship, beginning in 2006. [6] [7] Upon its inclusion, the Suzuka 1000km became the longest and most prestigious event on the Super GT calendar during this time period, and also paid the most championship points of any round on the calendar. [3] [5]
Due to the effects of the Great Recession in Japan, the race was shortened to 700 kilometres from 2009 to 2010, and the race was renamed to the Pokka GT Summer Special. A second national crisis, the Great Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, led to the event being shortened further to 500 kilometres in 2011. The original 1000 kilometre distance was restored from 2012. [3]
Suzuka 10 Hours (2018–2019)
On 4 March 2017, it was announced that the GT Association (GTA) and Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO) would join forces to promote a new ten-hour endurance race for FIA-GT3 and JAF-GT300 (now GTA-GT300) sports cars, known as the Suzuka 10 Hours. The 46th annual Suzuka 1000km, held that year as part of the Super GT Series, would be the last edition of the race run in its original format. [8] [9]
The Suzuka 10 Hours became part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge championship in 2018, replacing the Sepang 12 Hours as the series' Asian round. [10] The reformatted event attracted top teams and drivers from international GT3 racing, as well as teams from Super GT and Super Taikyu, by offering a ¥ 100,000,000 prize purse with the overall winner receiving ¥ 30,000,000. [11]
Hiatus and return
The 2020 Suzuka 10 Hours, which had originally been scheduled for 23 August, was one of numerous motorsports events that were cancelled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the travel restrictions enacted in Japan during this time. [12] The race was set to return on 22 August 2021, but with strict travel restrictions still in place during the pandemic, the 2021 race was also cancelled. [13]
In 2022 and 2023, Suzuka's place as the Asian round on the Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar was taken by the Gulf 12 Hours at Yas Marina Circuit.
During the 2024 SRO press conference at Spa-Francorchamps, Stephane Ratel announced that the Suzuka 1000km would return to the Intercontinental GT Challenge in 2025. [14] The date was officially confirmed by Japan Automobile Federation (JAF), with the event taking place on 14 September. [15] The event would allow entries from GT300 teams to use GTA-GT300 spec cars, after an agreement between SRO and the GT Association (GTA) was reached in late 2024. [16]
Despite the title, the revived Suzuka 1000km would be a timed event with a six-hour, 30-minute duration, in order to allow the field of GT3 cars to reach 1000 kilometres. [17]
Kunimitsu Takahashi (4)
Porsche (11)
