EDGE Sporting Management driver Charlie Fagg moved to within just one point of the GT300 championship lead following another strong performance in round five of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Series at the world-famous Suzuka Circuit.
Fagg was once again behind the wheel of the #777 D’station Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo alongside teammate Tomonobu Fujii, competing amongst a fiercely competitive 29-car GT300 field at the Japanese circuit.
Qualifying proved to be an extremely tight affair, with the D’station Racing Aston Martin immediately showing its potential. The #777 topped the times in the first qualifying session before setting the second-fastest time in the second session. With the two qualifying times combined to determine the final starting order, Fagg and Fujii secured an excellent second position on the grid for the feature race.
Extremely hot conditions greeted the field on race day, with an ambient temperature of 34 degrees and the track reaching 49 degrees, placing additional emphasis on tyre management and race strategy throughout the event.
The #777 Aston Martin made a strong start, maintaining second position through the opening corner and completing the first lap in the same position. From there, the D’station Racing pairing remained firmly in contention at the front of the GT300 field throughout the opening phase of the race.
On lap 16, the #777 became the first of the leading GT300 contenders to make its scheduled pit stop for a change of driver and tyres. However, as the remainder of the field completed their stops over the following laps, the strategy ultimately worked against Fagg and Fujii, with the Aston Martin emerging in fifth position once the pit-stop cycle had concluded by lap 24.
The pair quickly refocused and set about recovering the lost ground, climbing back into fourth position and looking capable of making further progress as the race entered its closing stages.
However, a heavy accident at Suzuka’s famous high-speed 130R corner brought out the Safety Car and resulted in a lengthy interruption while the damaged car was recovered and repairs were carried out to the barriers.
With the work taking considerable time to complete, the race ultimately reached its time limit before competitive running could properly resume, leaving Fagg and Fujii to take the chequered flag in fourth position.
While the timing of the pit stop ultimately prevented the #777 Aston Martin from converting its front-row start and strong early pace into a podium finish, another significant haul of championship points ensured it remained an extremely positive weekend for Fagg.
The result has elevated the EDGE Sporting Management driver to second position in the GT300 Drivers’ Championship, just one point away from the championship lead with three rounds remaining.
With the #777 D’station Racing Aston Martin continuing to demonstrate front-running pace and the championship battle finely poised, Fagg heads into the final three rounds of the 2026 AUTOBACS SUPER GT Series firmly in contention for the GT300 title.