GT World Challenge Asia Powered by AWS – Rounds 9 and 10, Okayama International Circuit, Japan

A runner-up result at Sunday’s 10th round of the GT World Challenge Asia was the shining moment for the Johor Motorsports Racing Team, as His Highness Tunku Abu Bakar Al-Haj Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Putera of Johor (HH Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim) captured his best result of 2025 alongside British pro driver Alexander Sims.

After qualifying fourth-fastest in the JMR Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Sims narrowly avoided being caught in a couple of racing incidents off the start of the race and hounded the driver in P2 for the duration of his stint.

Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim made good progress early once he entered the fray, quickly diving the 66 car into P2 then driving consistent laps to finish a well-deserved runner-up performance.

Having stood on the podium at the previous round at Fuji, Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim is enjoying some late-season form as the championship heads to the final rounds at a new Beijing street circuit next month.

Sunday proved a disappointing day for the car 99 pairing of His Highness Tunku Abdul Rahman Al-Haj Ibni Sultan Ibrahim, Tunku Panglima of Johor (HH Prince Jefri Ibrahim) and English pro driver Ben Green.

Green had put JMR Corvette onto the front row of the grid after qualifying second-fastest for the race, but an incident on the opening lap saw the car retire with suspension damage.

Saturday’s racing was equally frustrating for the team, with both the 99 and 66 cars held up in a first turn tangle, which saw them ultimately finish in P9 and P11 respectively.

HH Prince Jefri Ibrahim is now third in the Pro-Am championship fight, just 15 points off the lead with two rounds remaining. Rounds 11 and 12 will be held at a new Beijing street circuit on 17-19 October.

HH Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim: “We finished the race second, which is a great result. I tried hard to keep up with first place, but we lacked a little bit of pace. I did make a good overtake on the car ahead of me early in my stint, and I felt we made some really good progress today compared to yesterday’s race.”

Alexander Sims: “The race was relatively smooth after the first lap. The opening straight and the first couple of corners were eventful with the cars around us racing particularly hard, but thankfully we came through fairly unscathed. From that point on it was a smooth race; the Corvette performed well and was in a good place, and Abu put in a good stint to help us finish P2. The team did a great job today. It was a shame about our 99 sister car – to go out on the first lap wasn’t nice to see, but from our point of view it was a solid race.”

Results – 2025 GT World Challenge Asia, Okayama International Circuit

Qualifying:
Ben Green – P2
Alex Sims – P4
HH Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim – P9
HH Prince Jefri Ibrahim – P10

Race 1:
HH Prince Jefri Ibrahim/Ben Green – P9
HH Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim /Alex Sims – P11

Race 2:
Alex Sims/HH Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim – P2
Ben Green/HH Prince Jefri Ibrahim – DNF