> Harmony’s boss beats established Silvers in Q1
> Three hundredths separate Race 2’s leading contenders
> Qualifying results
David Chen Weian and Max Hesse will start Fuji’s GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS races from pole position after topping their respective qualifying sessions this morning.
Harmony Racing’s Ferrari received a Sakura livery makeover ahead of the championship’s first Japanese event of 2026, while Chen last raced the 296 at Mandalika last season. His Race 1 pole position, achieved against the full-time Silver drivers, was therefore a highly impressive achievement.
Cheng Congfu and FAW Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom’s R8 starts alongside after lapping half a tenth slower, while two solo drivers – Adderly Fong (33R Harmony Racing) and Akash Nandy (Absolute Racing) complete row two.
Phantom’s Anthony Liu took Am bragging rights in fifth, just ahead of championship rival and points’ leader Huang Ruohan (Absolute Racing) who headed the timesheets before the Silvers made their customary moves.
Silver-Am top spot went to Climax Racing’s Li LiChao who qualified seventh fastest of all, and Ben Porter gave AMAC Am class pole in 12th overall.
Just 0.03s separated Q2’s top three after KRC’s BMW beat Absolute’s guest Porsche and Origine’s 911 to top spot in a keenly contested session.
Jaxon Evans, Elias Seppanen, Branden Leitch and Laurin Heinrich all spent time at the top before Hesse settled the matter late on with his 1m37.850s lap. There was still time for impressive debutant Tom Sargent to pip factory ace Heinrich – whose first effort was scrubbed for a track limits infringement – to second overall, while Evans completed the top four in Phantom’s Audi.
The battle for fourth was almost as close as the one that decided pole; little more than a tenth covered Evans down to KRC’s other BMW in eighth.
Climax Racing’s Mercedes-AMG driven by Seppanen was best placed of the full-season Silver-Am entries in fifth, while Leitch and Adderly Fong – who claimed Silver class pole – continued Harmony’s encouraging morning by qualifying right behind. Max Oosten completed the top eight.
Climax Racing’s Zhou BiHuang bagged Am class pole.
Saturday’s GT World Challenge Asia race begins at 12:35. Watch it live on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel and app.
