We are in Fuji, Japan, with Mount Fuji as a backdrop, at Fuji Speedway for the 6 Hours of Fuji FIA World Endurance Championship round. Let's review the pre-race notebook, before we get started.
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/fuji-pre-race-notebook/
The race, has begun, and here is a report on the first hour, as Audi is in the lead.
Audi Leads Opening Hour in Fuji
http://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/audi-leads-opening-hour-in-fuji/
Let's pick up the action, in hour two.
Respect, tradition, and humility, are a part of Japanese culture, but also a part of endurance sports car racing. Last year's race here, was in the rain. Fuji Speedway also has the longest straightaway of the season. Let's go racing! We are underway. We are 60 miles away from Japan's capital of Tokyo. The final three races will be contested in the next five weeks. Immediately, we wondered who would have the upper hand. Toyota wants to win. Porsche needs strategy and fuel economy if they wan to win.
Only one Audi (#8), remains in the race. Ford is back on song in LM GTE Pro. Aston Martin, leads LM GTE Am. We have a battle for position in LMP2 right now. Manor and KCMG Oreca and Alpine are battling. These cars are basically the same except for the team, and the name. Oh my! Try the outside. No dice. These two boys are side by side into turn three. Richard Bradley is in the KCMG racer. Not sure who is piloting the Manor.
Bradley has to stay inside to make his move. Bradley is looking in the mirrors. OK. Actually, this is Manor vs. the Alpine factory car. Alpine off the road! Gustavo Menezes at the controls of #36. He's not happy with Richard Bradley's driving tactics at this moment. The plot thickens in this LMP2 fight. Gustavo Menezes is understandably frustrated. Richard Bradleey has made a couple moves in the braking zone. No, Richard. You can't do that. Don't take so much racing room and so many risks.
Romain Rusinov is in the pit lane after leading LMP2. Rusinov piloting the G Drive car. Filipe Albuquerque leads the class in the RGR Sport by Morand entry. The LMP2 cars lap one of the GTE Pro Ferrari's. 38 points is the championship gap in LMP2. But, you can't lose points. Lewis Williamson is in the Manor entry. Moving late off the racing line and cutting back to the inside is the issue. The marshals will not allow it. What is the difference between blocking and defending?
If you are moving in response to a bloke behind you, make your mind up and stick with the move. Lucas di Grassi leads and the poor CLM crew has their car in the garage. Menezes is sitting back, waiting. Filipe Albuquerque is the leader in LMP2 as we stick to the battle for third and fourth in class right now. The stewards aren't worried about this battle right now. They could be, though. We've seen that these kinds of battles can escalate. Signatech has to keep their race under control.
The battle in LMP2 is continuing to rage. Audi leads overall as Strakka leads LMP2 and Ford in LM GTE Pro. #36 could clinch the championship this weekend. Let's keep going and continue to look into this great motor race. We are in the second half. Lucas di Grassi leads Stephane Sarrazin and Mark Webber. Audi, Toyota, Porsche. Ford leads Ferrari in LM GTE Pro. The #67 Ford GT of Harry Tincknell and the #78 KCMG Porsche just made contact with each other. That incident is under investigation by the stewards.
The #7 Audi R18 eTron Quattro has been disqualified for being out of homologation for removing parts. That's painful for Audi. Andy Priaulx is currently at the controls of the #67 Ford. Half the race down. Still two hours and 55 minutes to go. Big crowd on hand for this race at Fuji. The race began and Oliver Jarvis led the field to corner one. The start was tidy. Benoit Treluyer and Mark Webber got good starts. Mark Webber had contact with the #6 Audi and the Signatech Alpine ran wide.
In the first few hours, all manufacturers led. Audi came back into the pits without a power unit working. Toyota has really been on top of it in their home race. A huge scrum in LMP2 has been going on. RGR Sport's #43 is twelfth, and they've been playing dodge 'em cars. A couple of Porsche's have done likewise. Strakka Racing currently leads LMP2 even though team boss Nick Leventis is not here. He's at home, sick, recovering from illness. In LM GTE Am, the #98 Aston Martin leads with Matthias Lauda at the controls.
Lewis Williamson drives the leading Strakka #42 car. #36 is falling back from #44. Alex Brundle is in the #26 car right now. Richard Bradley is in the lane for a routine pit stop, allowing Gustavo Menezes to pass for second. Bradley is in the Manor pit and there is a driver change. The marshal wants the team to fix damage to the number plate or some part on the car. A new nose is being put on the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid. Gustavo Menezes has his hands full, hustling the Alpine. Lewis Williamson pits from the LMP2 lead.
Ford says their #67 entry of Harry Tincknell was hit by a Porsche. Nikki Thiim is second in LM GTE Pro in the #95 Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Lucas di Grassi leads over Stephane Sarrazin, and Mark Webber, who will retire at the end of this season, as we talked about in a previous news update here on the blog. Mark Webber says he's had a wonderful career and said it's hard to do this job when his energy levels are not where they need to be. Webber is very happy that his fellow competitors accept his decision.
He has his personal life to look at as well. Webber will represent Porsche with road and racing cars. He might do media and TV work, and is still working with Red Bull. Webber will continue to be busy. What a career. 215 F1 starts, nine wins, 13 poles, and 42 podiums. He has seven race wins in FIA WEC. He joins former drivers who have retired like Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish, and Alex Wurz. How far behind is the #2 Porsche to the leading Audi? A few seconds behind. Marc Lieb in the second Porsche could be losing a lap.
Stephane Sarrazin in the Toyota is now second in the overall. Take a look at the tire temperatures. How are the tires performing? Lucas di Grassi is going to put a lap on Marc Lieb. The Audi will pit pretty soon it looks like. The plot continues to thicken, here at Fuji Speedway. Marc Lieb is being chased by the leading Audi. Lucas di Grassi is a half a second quicker than both Sarrazin and Webber! Step on it, Lucas! He's booking it. Audi has a 29 lap stint to go through on fuel. If they can last two or three more laps, they'll have a full stint under their belts.
They can't afford to get this wrong and go off cycle. The #35 car driver by Paul-Loup Chatin, hits the lane. That's the Baxi DC Rascing Alpine entry. David Cheng and Ho Pin Tung are Chatin's co-drivers. Marc Lieb moves inside one of the Ferrari LM GTE Pro racers. Lucas di Grassi continues to push. He's pitting six laps earlier than expected. They changed tires earlier. Audi in the lane. Let's see. This is no game changer. But a perfect pit stop is needed, because their fuel mileage will be in a bit of a mess.
No further action on the earlier KCMG Porsche/Ford incident. Gustavo Menezes also pits from the LMP2 lead. Fuel only for the Signatech Alpine car. Menezes is on a triple stint in that car. Loic Duval is now in the Audi. Stephane Sarrazin leads for Toyota ahead of Mark Webber. Audi didn't have the quickest pit stop. They probably put more fuel in the car. They can make two more pit stops to get to the checkers. Toyota and Audi are going to have to go ahead and make extra pit stops. What does this mean? Toyota and Porsche, those chaps are going to be behind the eight ball.
The Toyota team is keeping their home crowd happy. Can they win at home, to make up for the heartbreak at Le Mans? Audi needs a full fuel load as mentioned. One car has gone off the road. Not sure if it's the #13 Rebellion of Alexandre Imperatori, or the #77 Porsche. Alexander Imperatori is back in the cockpit after a long time away. Imperatori did well in the most recent ELMS round at Spa, a race yours truly still has to look at.
Sebastien Buemi brings Toyota #5 to pit lane. Scheduled stop. Kazuki Nakajima takes over the car. Toyota has a couple of their previous FIA WEC cars for fans to check out and actually get into and sit in, with a staircase for the kids to climb into the car. In comes Stephane Sarrazin from the lead. Mark Webber retakes the race lead as we have two and a half hours left in this race. Stephane Sarrazin has had a great career so far. Tires are changed on the Toyota, after the fuel is added. Sarrazin, serviced and sent.
Mark Webber is now in the lane in Porsche #1, giving up the lead to Marc Lieb in the sister #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid. A driver change in porsche #1. It will be full service. Marc Lieb is pushing as the Toyota runs wide, and Lucas di Grassi tries to push the Toyota. Who has the numbers right? Loic Duval moves through. Duval is scored second, and now, Timo Bernhard in car #1, is third. Wow! This is going to be quite the battle. Did Audi have too many crewmen in the pit lane? Hmmm. That's going to be a big question.
Gustavo Menezes and Jonny Kane are battling in LMP2 right now. The top three cars in qualifying, were separated by 2/10ths of a second. Two seconds separates the top three in the race, with just two hours left. This is going to be a sizzling race for it's remainder. Ryan Dalziel spins his ESM LMP2 car. Alex Brundle is going to pit as well. We are seeing Loic Duval in the lead, Stephane Sarrazin, in the Toyota, and the Porsche of Timo Bernhard. The best racing drivers and the best teams in the world of sports car racing, have brought their A game.
Loic Duval continues to lead and Stephane Sarrazin is feeling the heat from the Porsche. Marc Lieb, Neel Jani, and Romain Dumas lead the points by 36. If Audi #8 wins today, they cut 15 points out of the lead, to 21, with two races still to run. One of the ESM cars is in the lane. Loic Duval is 2.4 seconds ahead of the Toyota and the Porsche. Watch out for dirt offline. Two hours and eleven minutes now remain in this race. On lap 18, the MGU (Motor Generator Unit), failed on the #7 Audi. The tech stewards informed the team the car was not up to regulation, so, the car was withdrawn from the motor race.
Porsche down the inside and eats up Stephane Sarrazin. Andy Priaulx the GTE Pro leader, moves aside. The FIA told Audi their car was non compliant. They avoided being disqualified by retiring the car. Filipe Albuquerque brings the RGR Ligier into the pits. Live by traffic, die by traffic. That's the name of the game in sports car racing. Stephane Sarrazin stayd inside and is now ahad of the Porsche. This is quite the battle on the road at the moment. Bruno Senna is ahead on cold tires on his outlap. Senna stays out of the way and obeys the blue flags.
Oh my! There's a tussle between Porsche and Toyota. Porsche is alongside and he pulls in front of the Toyota. Timo Bernhard has used more hybrid boost. Stephane Sarrazin will have to attack. Loic Duval has the chance to move ahead a little ways here. Duval is actually behind, trying to pass Romain Dumas in the sister Porsche. Yutaka Yamagishi pits the Larbre Competition Chevrolet Corvette C-7-R-. Fuel saving and efficiency, plus maintaining track position, are the two factors this race will come down to.
It's not about laps or seconds. It's about tenths of a second. The Audi #8 has had slower pit stops, and slower lap times. Alex Brundle leads LMP2 by 6.7 seconds over Gustavo Menezes. Jonny Kane is third. Matt Rao fourth in class. Kane is catching Menezes. Jonny Kane was so close at the Nurburgring back in July. It is time to push now. Bernhard is charging, and is second. More action still to come. Stephane Sarrazin has been told there's more boost available. Loic Duval still leads, by 4.5 seconds.
This race should come down to the final pit stop. Matt Rao is now at the wheel of the #44 Manor Oreca 05 Nissan. Richard Bradley sharing with Matt Rao and Roberto Merhi. 163 laps have now been completed. 462 miles, on this 2.635 mile track. Jonny Kane pits for the fifth time. One of the Ford GT's is in the lane. #67 is the car pitting. Someone has a missing exhaust pipe. Not sure which car it is. Stefan Mucke now leads LM GTE Pro on pit stop rotation. Will Aston Marin #95 move ahead? At the moment, with the Audi leading and the Porsche fifth, as Stefan Mucke brings the sister Ford into the lane. More points would be awarded to Porsche than Audi. 140 to #2, and 180 to Audi #8. It's less than the piints you get for winning.
So, points are all important. Harry Tincknell is back into the #67. James Calado has pitted his #51 AF Corse Ferrari. Olivier Pla takes over the #66 Ford. The sun is back out again after cloud cover blanketed the Fuji Speedway for a while. Loic Duval continues to lead this race. Stephane Sarrazin is 1.4 seconds behind the Porsche. Kazuki Nakajima is closing up as well in the Toyota. He's drawing back into the battle for second spot. Position change, as Romain Dumas has gone a lap down to Loic Duval. The plot continues to thicken. Stephane Sarrazin is not dropping behind Timo Bernhard at all.
Gustavo Menezes appears to be dropping behind in LMP2. Loic Duval is 8.6 seconds ahead of Timo Bernhard. Marco Sorenson is two seconds ahead of the Ford in LM GTE Pro. It'll be tight to see if they'll be ahead if they can stretch the fuel in their final stint, and the Ford boys need a splash and dash. Loic Duval leads by nine seconds and Timo Bernhard still has that pesky Toyota back behind him. He can't shake the Toyota. Mathias Lauda has pitted and Emmanuel Collard will need to pit in his #83 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia.
Adam Carroll is third in LM GTE Am. Marco Sorenson is defending from the Ford. The V8 Aston Martin has the legs on the V6 Ford, but the Ford has better aerodynamics than the Aston does. #36 is in the lane, and Nicolas Lapierre takes over, as the team does fuel and a driver change. Kazuki Nakajima is catchinhg Stephane Sarrazin. Loic Duval pits. We have an hour and 43 minutes left in this event, folks. The Aston Martin cannot corner the way the Ford does. Turbo V6 vs. normally aspirated V8.
Can Toyota and Porsche short fill on fuel, grab the lead, and challenge Audi? We'll find out. Stephane Sarrazin pits. Can they leapfrog the Audi? Could Toyota win their home race? Single stints on tires and drivers, for the three major teams. A collision in turn ten under investigation for a couple of GTE cars. Aston Martin hits the lane from third in class. Richie Stanaway will take over the car, it appears. He may be in the sister car. G Drive will pit and Will Stevens nwill take over the car. Kamui Kobayashi almost chops Pippo Derani in the ESM LMP2 car! Wow. Alex Brundle pits from the LMP2 lead. The top three is Alex Brundle, Bruno Senna, and Jonny Kane.
Will Stevens is going to take over. Bruno Senna cycles back into the race lead. Lots happening in pit lane right now. It's the place to be for action at this time. Aston Martin could take a podium in the GT ranks. Ferrari has not had the luck they need in this race. Just over an hour and a half remains in this motor race. Guys, we're going to take this one to the finish in one blog entry, not two. There's vibration in the Porsche 919 Hybrid. He's laying down rubber. nKamui Kobayashi is behind him. Kobayashi has pitted the Toyota #6 and Romain Dumas has not pitted. Toyota #5 in the lane.
The Ford's are going to run in lock step, and it looks like Ford will win their first six hour race. Timo Bernhard will hit pit lane soon. We've seen one heck of a race today, ladies and gentlemen. This one was worth staying up late for in the wee hours of Sunday morning here in the states. A few moments ago, Timo Bernhard pitted and will have Brendon Hartley, the young Kiwi, take the car to the checkers, chasing down Loic Duval in the Audi. Duval leads Romain Dumas in the sister Porsche, and Kamui Kobayashi is third. Audi, Porsche, Toyota.
Porsche #2 in the lane. Romain Dumas out, and in, I am not sure who has taken over. Brendon Hartley in the sister Porsche will not give it up without a fight. Romain Dumas is actually getting into thje #2. porsche mechanics are working on the car. Oooh! Porsche #1 of Hartley takes Kobayashi in the Toyta. But then, Kobayashi says, "no way, Brendon" and takes the place back. 8.5 seconds separate the top three. Loic Duval is actually still leading with an hour and 25 minutes left.
Neel Jani and Loic Duval battle. Jani is actually in the second Porsche. Nothing is in it. This is an awesome race as a slow car pits. That's Will Stevens in LMP2. Kobayashi holds his spot over the Porsche. Loic Duval is charging hard. Kobayashi is pushing the Porsche. Pippo Derani sets best lap for the #30 ESM Ligier Nissan. Oh dear. The #50 Larbre Competition Corvette C-7-R- has gone to the garage. Game over. One more pit stop to go here in Fuji, Japan. This race is going to be a sizzler to the end.
Oh my. Loic Duval has lost five seconds to Kamui Kobayashi. Duval believes he is being held up by Neel Jani, and is going bonkers. Loic... settle down, sunshine. Fastest lap for the #8 Audi is 1:25.664. Kamui Kobayashi is pushing hard as well. 190 laps completed. Pierre Ragues still has the #50 Corvette in the pit lane. We are now down to the last hour and 15 minutes of this race. No further action in the Strakka/KCMG shemozzle from earlier on. The attrition rate in this race has been low. Few cars have dropped out. Now, 193 laps in the books.
Loic Duval can put in a new lap record and needs to hit a 1:24.8 to do so. Neel Jani is also running quick lap times. Audi, Toyota, Porsche, 1-2-3. Kazuki Nakajima is keeping the two blokes in the lead honest right now. We've got the top four runners within 30 seconds! The fans are still here watching. No one has headed for the car park yet. Ford and Aston Martin lead the GT classes, and we have G Drive leading LMP2. Duval has a 5.5 second lead right now. It will come down to the final pit stop. There's no question, that it is all to play for here at Fuji.
Aston Martin can short fill their car. They cannot save a stop. But, they can short fill the car. GTE Pro is getting very interesting. The #98 Aston Martin is running well in LM GTE Pro. Loic Duval says he can stay in the car, but needs to be quick. He knows what he needs to do. The Porsche #2 has gotten better throughout the race. Audi says that Loic Duval is their fastest driver to this point in the race. That's wonderfully reassuring to hear. We've been talking about these cars having advantages and dsiadvantages. But, we are within the last hour of this race. 55 minutes left, just before sunset behind Mount Fuji.
Loic Duval will complete the 200th lap of this race, and the event should go to 240 laps. We've got one hour to go. David Cheng in one of the Signatech Alpines runs off the road. The LM GTE Pro battle was heating up, but Olivier Pla spins his Ford GT and ALMOST gets clipped by Brendon Hartley in the Porsche! THAT was close! 60 minutes to go. It's the final hour here at Fuji! We are not done yet. We cannot draw any conclusions yet. The top three are separated by ten seconds. Audi #8 of Loic Duval leads overall.
Final pit stops are going to happen soon. Loic Duval still leads by 7.8 seconds. Traffic has been a major factor here at Fuji Speedway. Kamui Kobayashi is driving his Toyota TS050 Hybrid brilliantly. Dr. Ullrich says that it takes Audi a longer time to fill their tank with less fuel. They have a bigger motor and use less energy. So, the fuel fill takes longer. A more efficient internal combustion engine, is forcing the team to have to push harder. Audi is in pit lane. They can go only 50 minutes on fuel.
Will Loic Duval stay in? Yes. Oliver Jarvis won't take over. Will there be tires? Yes. Brand new Michelin tires for the end of this race. A four tire change. How long is the fuel taking? Folks, lets hope this doesn't jeopardize anything. Tires are being changed now. Ah. This was a spot on pit stop. Audi has done all they can. Will anyone gamble on double stinting their tires? This is going to be a hot one right to the end. What will Toyota and Porsche do to try beating Audi? What are Toyota telling Kobayashi? Fuel only. Game on. Box, box, box.
Loic Duval is flying! Kobayashi in the lane. What is going to happen? Brendon Hartley leads now. Fuel only for Toyota. Seven laps for Porsche. 1:25.6 last time by. Hartley has to fly. Nakajima serviced and sent. Kobayashi is next. No Audi in sight. This is going to be wild. 60 seconds for Toyota's stop. They have leapfrogged Duval and Audi. Where does Brendon Hartley come back in seven laps time? Kobayashi is down and away, back in the fight.
Brendon Hartley has his final stop to make. Could Toyota win their home race? They have to squeeze everything out of themselves to go for a win, at home. 30 laps to go. Looking for a record distance here at Mount Fuji. Sam Bird is holding off Andy Priaulx, and Nicki Thiim could be in with a shout. Stefan Mucke is up there too, for the GTE scrap. Kobayashi and Duval have eleven seconds between them. Neel Jani is going to be put behind. How long will Porsche make Brendon Hartley's stop? The longer he goes, the less fuel he needs, and the less time he has on worn tires.
Toyota #5 in the pit lane for Nakajima. Nakajima is out of the car. Toyota #6 goes into second. Anthony Davidson is in #6. Not sure who will finish the race in #5. Loic Duval will have ton get around Kamui Kobayashi. Will Brendon Hartley have enough steam to hold off the Audi and the Toyota? Porsche hit pit lane. Mark Webber takes over, and they have a tire change. Webber is the closer in Porsche #1. This team is going for four straight wins. Kamui Kobayashi takes the lead. Loic Duval nips ahead. We're ready to finis this one up.
Porsche #2 is taking tires. Sixteen seconds between Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell in the two Ford's. Nikki Thiim in the Aston Martin will do a splash and dash. Marco Sorenson will finish up. RGR Sport in the lane. Bruno Senna brings the car home. Fuel only. No new Dunlop tires. Will RGR Morand hold the lead in LMP2? Bruno Senna will hold the lead! Bruno Senna has hoit tires, and this is a stroke of genius in LMP2! Six seconds separate the top three in LMP2! Long green flag runs produce tactics.
This is a wicked motor race and we're in for a real sizzler of a conclusion here in Japan! Ligir, Oreca, Alpine, the battle for LMP2. Oh! Both of the LMP2 leaders are banging on each other! Egad! Senna pushes his rival right towards the wall. Nicolas Lapierre is going to try and reel in the top two. The Oreca is faster than the Ligier on the straight. Bruno Senna tries to reel in the G Drive boys. The Oreca will be faster than the Ligier. Anthony Davidson will finish on the podium in the sister Toyota it appears.
Kobayashi leads by nine seconds. Is this the day Toyota has been waiting for? Drama again in LMP2. Race Director Edoardo Freitas has determined Will Stevens was outside track limits. Give the position back to the class leader. #31 of Pippo Derani was in the pit lane entry locking the brakes! That should be a penalty. Rebellion has done well with their lead car. Matteo Tuscher at the controls. Will Stevens has been black flagged for a drive through penalty. If he gets the penalty he will lose the podium place he has been trying to earn.
Bruno Senna has gone through. Neel Jani has some pace in his Porsche. But, he cannot unlap himself. Fifteen minutes to go. Who will win LMP2? We'll find out. G Drive wants a win. Six seconds dead, is the gap in the lead. Kobayashi didn't get tires. Will Stevens runs off the road. He'll have to be careful about track limits. If Kobayashi's tires fall off a cliff, the cool temperatures will help. Michelin tires don't often drop off. We are getting closer and closer to the finish here at Fuji.
Kobayashi still leads, but only by 4.1 seconds. Loic Duval has taken 21 seconds out of the Toyota lead. What will happen in the final ten minutes? Audi are still fighting. They are not out of this thing yet. Duval seems to be losing grip through the final corner. Duval wants Kamui Kobayashi to be held up. Mark Webber cannot hope for a better finish than third. Kobayashi leads by six seconds. Mark Webber isn't going to win four races in a row here. Toyota may be able to win their home race. We've said it since we came online for the coverage three hours ago. This could be Toyota's race.
The LMP2 lead has changed hands! Will Stevens has gone around Bruno Senna! The Oreca has more straightaway speed than the Ligier. Bruno Senna is struggling for grip. 241 laps completed. It is the first time we've seen a race go fully green since Spa 2015. But, this race isn't over. Oh no! Could Toyota be in jeopardy here? The Audi is catching the Toyota! Oh dear! What will the gap be with two minutes to go. Two laps to go! Audi has to be aggressive. Here comes the Audi. There's nothing in it! What are we going to see?
We have another lap to go! 1.9 seconds is the gap for the overall win! This has been an epic race! This is brilliant! The most important six hour race in recent memory. Where is the traffic? Loic Duval is phsing. He knows the Toyta is there. Time has elapsed. It's the chase to the finish. Duval slows by half a second. He's pushging. Oh dear! Mor etraffic. Who is going to win it? Who has the boost? This is it. Who will do it? Toyota wins their home race!
The crowd goes berserk! Payback after Le Mans! Toyota has won in Japan! G Drive wins LMP2! Ford wins GTE Pro. Aston Martin wins GTE Am.
Overall/LMP1: #6 Sarrazin/Conway/Kobayashi Toyota TS050 Hybrid
LMP2: #26 Rusinov/Brundle/Stevens Oreca 05 Nissan
LM GTE Pro: #67 Priaulx/Tincknell Ford GT
LM GTE Am: #98 Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Next up is the race in Shanghai, China, in three weeks. We'll see you then. So long, from Japan, and congratulations, to Toyota.
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