K-tunes Corvette Returns for Suzuka Japan Cup Finale

K-tunes Racing’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R is finally set to return to action for this weekend’s SRO Japan Cup finale at Suzuka after a long absence.

The No. 96 Corvette, which withdrew from the Sportsland Sugo opener in May and hasn’t raced since, is part of a 16-car field due to participate in a pair of one-hour races on the support bill of the Suzuka 1000km to close out the 2026 campaign.

Sena Sakaguchi and Kazunori Suenaga will share driving duties behind the wheel of the yellow-and-black machine, which participated in paid testing for the Sugo round only to suffer an engine failure, forcing it to withdraw from the remainder of the meeting.

K-tunes switched its No. 96 entry to a Lexus RC F GT3 for the following round at Fuji and then to a Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo for its home round at Okayama, where Suenaga took victory in the second race alongside Toyota SUPER GT star Nirei Fukuzumi.

But now the team has finally been able to prepare its Corvette for a return to action in time for the final round of the season this weekend.

“After overcoming numerous challenges, we are finally back on track with the tremendous support of Pratt Miller and GM,” read a short social media statement.

“We would like to express our sincere appreciation to everyone who helped make this comeback possible.”

K-tunes is down to a single car entry for the Suzuka round as its No. 97 Ferrari, normally shared by Shinichi Takagi and Betty Chen, has withdrawn.

It follows the horror crash in last weekend’s Shanghai China GT round involving Chen’s co-driver Ollie Milroy, with the Taiwanese driver opting to stay with Milroy while he recovers from the extensive injuries he sustained in the accident.

“Betty’s teammate was seriously injured in an accident during a recent China GT race following contact with another car,” read a K-tunes statement. “Betty is currently staying by her teammate’s side and supporting him while he receives medical treatment.

“In light of these circumstances, the team fully respects Betty’s decision and has decided to withdraw the No. 97 car from the Suzuka round. Everyone at K-tunes Racing sincerely wishes the injured driver [Millroy] a full and speedy recovery.”

The K-tunes Corvette will be one of 12 GT3 cars in action for the Japan Cup finale, boosted by the return of CarGuy Racing (Ferrari 296 GT3) and Team DreamDrive (Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo) after both teams skipped the preceding round at Okayama.

Tomei Sports meanwhile is electing to focus solely on the Suzuka 1000km, having attempted double duty with the same Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 last year.

Boosted by victory in the first race at Okayama, Max Racing Mercedes-AMG pair Yuya Motojima and Yusaku Shibata head into the Suzuka finale 13 points clear of the Bingo Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo drivers Ukyo Sasahara and Shinji Takei.

Defending champions Akihiro Tsuzuki and Shintaro Kawabata (Hitotsuyama Ferrari) as well as Tadao Uematsu and Kenta Yamashita (Team Uematsu McLaren 720S GT3) also remain in title contention with 50 points left on offer across the two races.

The field is completed by four GT4 cars, but Takeshi Suehiro and Yoshitomo Makino have already wrapped up the title heading to Suzuka aboard their Zenko RS Racing with Sunrise Blvd-entered Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport.