Bingo Racing Switches to Porsche for Japan Cup

Bingo Racing will switch from Ferrari to Porsche machinery for the upcoming SRO Japan Cup season as it looks to avenge last year’s title defeat.

Toyota SUPER GT driver Ukyo Sasahara and gentleman racer Shinji Takei return for a second full season together, and will share an example of the all-new Porsche 911 GT3 Evo in the four-round series that begins in May at Sportsland Sugo.

It marks the second time in as many years that the LM Corsa-supported Bingo team has changed brands, having started off with the Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R in 2024 before obtaining a Ferrari 296 GT3 for the 2025 campaign.

Sasahara and Takei came close to the title last year, only losing out in the final round of the season at Suzuka when Takei was rear-ended by the Seven x Seven Racing Porsche of ‘Bankcy’ at the hairpin, dropping to the back of the field as a result.

It dropped the duo to fourth in the final standings, with wins at Sugo and Okayama.

Bingo also campaigned its Callaway Corvette in last year’s Suzuka 1000km, as well as in the final round of the Super Taikyu season at Fuji as an invitational entry.

Late last year, Norik Racing became the first team to officially declare its plans to participate in the Japan Cup in 2026.

The Team LeMans-supported outfit, which joined the field last year for the final two rounds at Okayama and Suzuka, will once again run a Ferrari 296 GT3 with an unchanged driver lineup of sometime SUPER GT racer Taku Bamba and Norikazu Shibata.

Japan Cup will kick off its 2026 season with a standalone event at Sugo on May 15-17, which follows a pre-season test at Fuji Speedway on March 18.