Prince Jefri Ibrahim Secures Third Win at Fuji
Fuji, Japan — Prince Jefri Ibrahim, alongside co-driver Ben Green, clinched his third victory of the season in a dramatic second race at Fuji in the GT World Challenge Asia. The team’s #99 Corvette Z06 GT3.R endured an eventful race, initially maintaining control from pole position until a late Safety Car neutralized their significant 19-second lead.
Ibrahim executed a flawless restart, overcoming a late-race challenge initiated by contact between competitors that impacted the podium finishers. The collision occurred when Ibrahim’s brother, Abu Bakar, collided with Ruan Cunfan’s Team KRC BMW, just before the finish line, leading to chaos among the top contenders.
Inheriting second place was the Origine Porsche shared by championship leaders Bob Yuan and Leo Ye, while the Craft-Bamboo duo of Cao Qi and Jayden Ojeda rounded out the podium despite being involved in the late-race incident.
Key Race Insights:
- The race was also marked by an earlier penalty for 5Zigen’s Nissan, allowing Origine’s Li Kerong and Anders Fjordbach to secure their maiden Silver-Am victory and finish fifth overall.
- Silver class honors went to Harmony’s Ferrari, driven by Andy Deng and Luo Kailuo, while Garage 75’s David Tjiptobiantoro and Christian Colombo took the Am category win.
The repercussions of yesterday’s result saw Yuan and Ye capitalize on their victory to ascend to the top of the drivers’ standings, prompting a significant response from Ibrahim. After building a substantial lead, disaster struck with the involvement of Wang Zhongwei’s Absolute Porsche and Uno’s Audi, resulting in a prolonged Full Course Yellow and subsequent Safety Car deployment.
Racing resumed with just one lap remaining. During the frantic final moments, Ibrahim maintained control, while Zhou and Lu Wei collided at Advan Corner, elevating Yuan to second place and demonstrating the unpredictable nature of the sport.
Final Results Summary:
- 1st: #99 JMR Corvette Z06 GT3.R (Ibrahim/Green)
- 2nd: Origine Porsche (#4) (Yuan/Ye)
- 3rd: Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG (Cao/Ojeda)
The race concluded with GTO’s Brian Lee and Nico Menzel finishing seventh overall, and Absolute Corse’s Ferrari, Harmony’s winning 296, and Craft-Bamboo’s second Mercedes-AMG completing the overall top 10.
Next, the series heads to Okayama for the second SRO GT PowerTour event, scheduled for August 29-31.
RACE 2 RESULTS:
- JMR Corvette Z06 GT3.R
- Origine Porsche
- Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG
Images © SRO Motorsports Group
