Bastian Buus fought for the podium in challenging Suzuka race

The Danish Porsche factory driver was in the mix for the podium but had to settle for fifth place in this year’s 1,000-kilometre race at Suzuka, where damage to the team’s Porsche compromised the pace.

Bastian Buus and the rest of Origine Motorsport entered the Japanese endurance classic with ambitions of taking home silverware, but ultimately left Suzuka empty-handed. The Dane and his teammates, Laurin Heinrich and Alessio Picariello, finished two places off the podium in a race where damage to their Porsche 911 GT3 R prevented a top result.

“It just wasn’t the weekend we had hoped for. After a solid qualifying which gave us a spot on the second row, we also got off to a good start in the race, and for a while things were actually looking quite promising for us,” explained Bastian Buus.

“Unfortunately, we suffered damage to the car’s floor just under two hours into the race, and that became our big issue. The floor has huge importance for the car’s aerodynamics and downforce and therefore also our speed, so from there it was simply a fight for survival and strategy.”

“We did manage to get up front and battle for the podium positions at times, but in the end we had to accept that fifth place was the best we could bring home. It’s frustrating, especially because we came into the weekend so well prepared. That said, it has still been a fantastic experience for me – my first race at Suzuka and my first participation in one of the big GT races in Asia,” the Dane concluded.

Next up for Bastian Buus is already this coming weekend, 20–21 September, when he joins Lionspeed GP for the fifth round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup in Valencia.