SINGAPORE (October 3, 2026)—The Gran Turismo World Series made its Southeast Asia debut in Singapore, bringing Round 3 of the 2026 championship to the Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands. After stops in Milan and Tokyo, the Series arrived in one of Asia’s most vibrant cities with the title fight tightening and the World Finals drawing ever closer. This time, a capacity crowd was on hand to witness the action.

First on the program was the Manufacturers Cup, where 12 automakers continued their battle for the 2026 championship. Singapore placed the spotlight on drivers from the Americas Region, although Lexus and BMW fielded substitutes for their regular representatives. Porsche entered the weekend atop the standings after victories in each of the opening two rounds, with Ferrari close behind and several other manufacturers still very much in contention. With only one round remaining before the World Finals, every championship point had taken on added importance.

For the Grand Final, the competitors faced 20 laps around the reverse layout of Autodrome Lago Maggiore’s Full Course. All three Dunlop racing compounds—hard, medium and soft—were mandatory, guaranteeing at least two pitstops and making tire strategy every bit as important as outright pace.

With the cars’ BoP adjusted to ensure a level playing field, Daniel Solis (AMS_Lamb) put the Subaru BRZ GT300 on pole, with Chile’s Nicolás Arriagada (NicArrS) alongside in the Ferrari 296. Antonio Santos (Vitality_ASK78) qualified the Lexus RC F in 3rd, followed by Arthur Mosso’s (VQS_ART55MN) Nissan GT-R Nismo, Adriano Carrazza (Didico__15) in the Toyota GR Supra and Lucas Bonelli (RVT_BONELLI) aboard the Mercedes-AMG GT3. Mazda, Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, Lamborghini and BMW completed the 12-car grid.

Grand Final: Autodrome Lago Maggiore - Full Course Reverse - 20 laps

The race began under clear skies with Solis, Arriagada and Bonelli starting on the medium-compound Dunlops, while the remainder of the field opted for hards. The rolling start was remarkably orderly, the entire field settling into single file without the aggressive opening-lap lunges often seen when so much is at stake.

Bonelli was the first to make his intentions known. Taking advantage of his faster medium tires, the Brazilian swept past fellow countryman Carrazza before setting his sights on Mosso. Then, Santos who was in front of him soon received a penalty for exceeding track limits, allowing Bonelli to continue his charge toward the front.

Behind them, Samuel Moreno (S--Moreno) was making progress from the back of the grid in the BMW M6 GT3. After gaining three positions in the opening laps, he became the first driver to make a scheduled stop, coming in on lap 3 to switch to the medium compound.

At the front, however, Solis and Arriagada were already separating themselves from the pack. The Subaru and Ferrari quickly opened a four-second advantage, with Arriagada remaining glued to the rear of Solis’ BRZ and applying pressure through virtually every corner. The Chilean clearly possessed the speed to challenge for the lead, but finding a way past was another matter.

The first major wave of pitstops arrived on lap 5, when Porsche’s Angel Inostroza (A2P_root), Mazda’s Samuel Cardinal (SFE_Quartz) and Audi’s Simon Rosenberger (VSR_Symin) all switched to medium tires. João Pessoa (N2_JoaoSof) and Carrazza followed two laps later, leaving the front runners to stretch their opening stints.

The complexion of the race changed on lap 10 when Solis, Arriagada and Bonelli finally came in. This was where the strategic battle truly began.

Solis and Bonelli fitted soft-compound Dunlops, planning to exploit their extra grip before finishing the race on hards. Arriagada chose the opposite approach. Ferrari bolted on the hard tires first, getting the slowest compound out of the way and leaving Arriagada free to attack the closing laps on softs.

When the pit cycle settled, Solis retained the lead ahead of Arriagada, Cardinal, Bonelli and Rosenberger. But Bonelli was now on the fastest tire, and the Mercedes-AMG driver wasted little time putting it to work. On lap 11, he attacked Cardinal through the tight right-hander at Turn 7 and moved into 3rd.

One lap later, Bonelli caught Arriagada and swept past the Ferrari to claim 2nd. Solis, meanwhile, was taking full advantage of the clean track and his soft Dunlops, stretching Subaru’s advantage to approximately eight seconds.

Then came the race’s biggest incident. Robert Heck (Q3_RobbyHeck) lost control of his Lamborghini Huracán through Turn 13 and spun directly into the path of Moreno. With nowhere to go, the BMW driver struck the Lamborghini hard, sending both cars off the circuit and effectively ending any hopes either had of scoring a strong result.

Up front, Ferrari was preparing its counterattack.

Arriagada made his final stop on lap 14, discarding the hard tires and emerging on softs for an all-out charge to the finish. Solis stayed out for another lap, squeezing every last bit of performance from his own rapidly fading softs before finally diving into the pits on lap 15.

When the Subaru returned to the circuit on hard tires, Solis still held an advantage of approximately 12.5 seconds. Arriagada now possessed substantially more grip, but there were only a handful of laps remaining—and Bonelli’s Mercedes-AMG still stood between him and the leader.

Arriagada disposed of Bonelli on lap 16, setting up a four-lap pursuit of the Subaru. Behind them, the order was shifting rapidly as Bonelli’s pace faded. Cardinal moved his Mazda RX-Vision GT3 past the Mercedes-AMG on the following lap to take 3rd, while Rosenberger and Inostroza also found their way through.

At the front, Arriagada was closing fast.

The Ferrari carved huge chunks from Solis’ advantage as the laps disappeared. What had been more than 12 seconds after the Subaru’s final stop dwindled steadily until, entering the closing stages, less than one second separated the two cars.

Solis now faced the toughest task of the afternoon: defending on worn, slower hard-compound tires against a Ferrari equipped with softs and driven by a competitor who had been pressuring him since the opening lap. Arriagada searched for an opening, but Solis refused to provide one.

The Subaru crossed the line first, surviving Ferrari’s late assault to give Daniel Solis a dramatic victory in Singapore. Arriagada finished a close 2nd for Ferrari, with Cardinal claiming the final podium position for Mazda. Rosenberger brought the Audi home in 4th, while Inostroza finished 5th for Porsche.

The result carried special significance for Solis. Subaru’s previous Manufacturers Cup podium had come in Berlin in 2025, when Solis shared team duties with Kylian Drumont. With Drumont having since moved elsewhere, Singapore represented a very different achievement.

An emotional Solis reflected on the result afterward, “I’m really happy to come out with a win because this is the first time in all my eight years of competing that I managed to do something noteworthy by myself, and not on the shoulders of others.”

The victory also tightened the Manufacturers Cup championship considerably. Porsche remains atop the standings with 14 points, but Ferrari has closed the gap and now sits just two points behind with 12. Mazda moves into 3rd with nine.

After two consecutive Porsche victories to begin the season, Singapore finally broke the pattern. More importantly, it ensured that the championship battle remains very much alive as the Gran Turismo World Series moves toward its decisive final stage in Tokyo.