New Zealander Jaxon Evans and co-driver Andrés Pato have claimed their first GT World Challenge Asia victory of the season after leading Race 2 from start to finish at Okayama International Circuit in Japan.
Evans started the second race of the weekend from pole position in the Audi Sport Asia Team Phantom entry, completing an all-Audi front row alongside Race 1 winners Congfu Cheng and Kuai Yu.
Fellow Kiwi Brendon Leitch and co-driver Jiajun Song started sixth overall and fourth in the Pro-Am class, looking to bounce back after their Race 1 ended in a crash and DNF.
Evans and Pato had already made strong progress in the opening race, recovering from 13th on the grid to finish ninth overall and fifth in Pro-Am.
Race 2 got off to an aggressive start, with Evans immediately coming under pressure as the field fought for position through the opening corners.
Further back, contact in the midfield sent dirt, dust and debris across the circuit as several cars became caught up in the incident. One car spun into the barriers while another continued with damage, and both eventually tried to make their way back to the pits.
Atsushi Miyake remained on track in his heavily damaged Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3, with smoke coming from the car, while championship contender Alessandro Ghiretti also suffered damage to his Porsche 911 GT3 R and dropped to the rear of the field before heading for the pits.
At the front, Evans held onto the lead while Leitch made early progress to climb into fifth, battling Laurin Heinrich as he looked to move further forward.
Race control eventually called a Full Course Yellow because of the debris left across the circuit, neutralising the race while the track was cleared.
After a short delay, racing resumed with Evans again leading the field.
As the field approached the halfway point, the leading cars began their mandatory pit stops and driver changes. Evans handed the Audi over to Pato, with the pair retaining their advantage through the pit cycle as Pato returned to the circuit at the head of the field.
Leitch also handed over to Song, who rejoined in fifth before slipping to seventh overall during the closing stages.
There was no such trouble for Pato at the front, who controlled the remainder of the race to take the chequered flag and complete a lights-to-flag victory alongside Evans.
The result marked Evans and Pato’s first GT World Challenge Asia victory of the season and capped off a strong weekend after their recovery drive in Race 1.
Leitch and Song crossed the line seventh overall and fourth in the Pro-Am class, securing a solid result following their Race 1 retirement.
GT World Challenge Asia now heads to the Beijing Street Circuit on October 2-4 for Rounds 9 and 10, the penultimate round of the 2026 season.
Header Image: GT World Challenge Asia
