FUKUOKA, Japan — The long-anticipated climax of the 2025 Gran Turismo World Series arrived in Fukuoka, Japan, as the World Finals took center stage. Inside a packed International Congress Center Fukuoka, the world’s best Gran Turismo drivers lined up for the ultimate showdown, each aiming to answer the only question that mattered: which was fastest with everything on the line?

Set along the Hakata waterfront, International Congress Center Fukuoka—better known for hosting major concerts, trade shows, and international sporting events—was transformed into a purpose-built Esports arena for the weekend. Kicking off the weekend was the Manufacturers Cup, which brought together the top-ranked marques from the Online Qualifiers, joined by Official Partners Toyota and Mazda, for a 12-team grid. Each manufacturer fielded a three-driver lineup—one from Europe/Middle East/Africa, one from the Americas, and one from Asia-Oceania—selected purely on performance in the global qualifiers. At this stage of the season, there were no weak links.

Unlike the earlier live events, where manufacturers relied on a single driver, the World Finals format consisted of three Sprint Races, with a different driver from each team assigned to each race. Then came the Grand Final, in which all three drivers would rotate through the cockpit. Entering the day, Team Subaru led the standings with 12 points, but the margins were razor-thin. Mazda and BMW sat just two points back on 10, with Porsche only a single point further behind.

The opening race took the field to the Daytona Tri-Oval, marking the first time an oval had appeared in World Series competition. Drafting, timing, and nerve were everything. Mazda’s Samuel Cardinal (PRiMA_Quartz) delivered a near-flawless drive, managing the pack perfectly to break clear of Subaru’s Daniel Solis (PRiMA_Lamb) and Porsche’s Shota Sato (anchovy_sand_) in a race where a single misstep sent cars spinning into the wall.

Race two shifted the challenge entirely. At Autopolis International Racing Course, heavy rain turned the circuit into a test of survival. Grip was unpredictable, visibility was limited, and strategy played a decisive role. Porsche’s Jose Serrano (JoseSerrano_16) thrived on the wet-compound Dunlop race tyres, piecing together a controlled, aggressive run to edge out Mazda’s Pol Urra (PolUrra), with Subaru’s Takuma Miyazono (ZETA_Miyazono) completing the podium after a tense final stint.

Porsche doubled down in the third race at Sardegna - Road Track. On the fast, technical layout, Angel Inostroza (Veloce_Loyrot) delivered under pressure, holding off sustained attacks from Honda’s Valerio Gallo (OP_BRacer) and Subaru’s Kylian Drumont (R8G_Kylian19) to take the win and swing the momentum firmly in Porsche’s favour.

By the time the field reset for the Grand Final, the championship was wide open, but Porsche held the advantage. With 41 points, they led Mazda with 39 and Subaru with 38. The gaps were minimal, the strategies complex, and the pressure absolute. One race remained, and with double points on the line, it was still anyone’s guess who would become the 2025 Manufacturers Cup champion.

Grand Final: Yas Marina Circuit - 20 laps

The Grand Final unfolded under the floodlights of the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, a modern motorsports landmark recently added to Gran Turismo 7. Best known as the longtime host of the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Marina is a circuit defined by contrast—long, flowing straights that reward outright speed, followed by tight, technical sections demanding precision and patience. Under the lights, it provided a demanding and unforgiving stage for a championship decider.

Strategy was at the heart of the 20-lap showdown. Each team was required to complete a minimum of five laps on soft-, medium-, and hard-compound tyres, with all three drivers completing a stint behind the wheel. Starting from pole position was the Porsche 911 RSR, with Angel Inostroza taking the opening stint. Alongside him on the front row sat the Honda NSX Gr.3, driven by Trent Jeffery (SV-RushRacing). Lining up 3rd was the Subaru BRZ GT300 with defending Nations Cup champion Takuma Miyazono at the controls, while Pol Urra started fourth for Mazda in the RX-Vision Concept.

Porsche opted for an aggressive opening strategy, starting on the soft-compound tyres with a clear objective: break away early and build a gap before cycling through the harder compounds. Mazda mirrored that approach, while Subaru chose the medium tyres and Honda went in the opposite direction, starting on hards. The differing tyre strategies immediately set the tone. Through the Turn 5 hairpin on the opening lap, Mazda swept past both Honda and Subaru to move into 2nd place, and by the end of Lap 2, Porsche and Mazda had already opened a four-second advantage over the field.

At the end of Lap 5, the eight cars that started on the hard-compound Dunlops made their first pit stops. Mazda joined them, switching to mediums and handing the RX-Vision over to Ryota Kokubun (Akagi_1942mi). Porsche followed a lap later, Jose Serrano climbing into the 911 RSR for a stint on medium tyres. However, a half-second penalty for exceeding track limits dropped the Porsche back behind the Mazda on pit exit, setting up a tense phase of the race.

On Lap 8, race leader Subaru pitted, with Miyazono handing the driving duties to Kylian Drumont and bolting on soft tyres—a clear signal that Subaru was committing to an aggressive run toward the front. When Lexus pitted the following lap, Mazda inherited the lead, but Kokubun immediately came under intense pressure from Serrano, who appeared glued to the RX-Vision’s rear bumper. After all teams completed their first round of stops, the running order stood as Mazda, Porsche, Subaru, Mercedes-AMG, and BMW.

The turning point came on Lap 10. Serrano launched a bold move on the inside of the tight left-hander at Turn 6, forcing his way past Kokubun to reclaim the overall lead for Porsche. While the two leaders battled, Subaru attempted to close the gap with Drumont on fresher softs, but despite gradually chipping away, he was unable to get within five seconds of the leading pair. Mazda continued to apply pressure throughout the middle stint, and on Lap 14, contact was made through the Turn 9 sweeper—the RX-Vision nudging the Porsche and sending the 911 briefly sideways. Serrano somehow caught the slide, kept the car on track, and retained the lead! Most of the field dove into the pits at the end of the lap for their final stops.

The top three followed one lap later. Shota Sato replaced Serrano for Porsche, Samuel Cardinal took over the Mazda, and Daniel Solis climbed into the Subaru—each now running on the hard-compound Dunlops for the run to the finish.

Behind them, BMW’s Seiya Suzuki (Half-SpiritCRV86) and Mercedes-AMG’s Lucas Bonelli (RVT_BONELLI) lurked, both cars running soft tyres and sitting just over a second behind the Subaru. Midway through Lap 17, they struck, as they passed Subaru in quick succession to move into 3rd and 4th place, ending Subaru’s hopes of claiming the series championship. Bonelli then powered his Mercedes-AMG, which started the race in P7, past Suzuki’s BMW to claim P3 and immediately set his sights on the Mazda ahead, rapidly closing a three-second gap.

Up front, Cardinal was all over Sato, pushing aggressively and leaving nothing on the table in his attempts to force a mistake. As Bonelli caught the leaders, the closing stages turned into a three-car sprint to the finish. On Lap 19, Bonelli muscled past the RX-Vision to take 2nd place and briefly threatened to wrest the championship away from Porsche. But moments later, contact between the Mazda and Mercedes-AMG sent Bonelli off track and out of contention. Cardinal was assessed a two-second penalty, dropping the Mazda to 3rd and ending its run for the title.

Porsche crossed the line to claim the race victory, the Manufacturers Cup title, and a place in series history. BMW finished a remarkable 2nd after starting sixth, with Mazda completing the podium. With 65 points to Mazda’s 55 and Subaru’s 48, Team Porsche became the first non-Japanese manufacturer to win the Manufacturers Cup—a landmark result achieved through bold strategy, composure under pressure, and execution when it mattered most.

“I have no words right now. Thanks to my teammates. We’re world champions now,” said Inostroza after the race. Sato added, “There are a few spots on the track that you needed to defend, and I was confident doing that and it worked out.” Serrano described a pivotal point of the race: “When the Mazda hit me, I thought, ‘We lost the race, we lost the championship,’” he said. “But I was able to gather it up and keep racing. I almost had a heart attack.”