Five hours down and one remaining. The battle for fourth spot in LMP2 is Prema vs. United Autosports. Louis Deletraz vs. Alex Lynn. But now we see a change, because Lynn hits the pit lane for service at the last possible moment. Porsche #92 to the lane from the GTE Pro lead as well and a driver change is underway. Michael Christensen gets into the car as they will be A OK on fuel and have to put less fuel in as a mechanic peels away the windscreen tear off. Do Ferrari have their fuel sums correct? They have to be. Four tires for the Porsche. Four fresh tires, as the shadows grow long as the afternoon continues. 4PM in Japan. The Ferrari's appear to be in a comfortable position in the GTE Pro lead as we watch a pit stop, too, for the #22 United Autosport entry. Toyota #7 is also into the pit lane.
Mike Conway and Ryo Hirakawa will both have to stop again. #8 will be in next time by as Mike Conway takes a well-deserved drink. It is squeaky, squeaky time at Toyota on fuel mileage. #8 in the lane now too. The fact is that the Hypercars do go longer than an LMP2 car on fuel. Both Toyota's in the lane as #7 exits while #8 enters. Toyota has a massive lead with the #8. Jota #28 in and out, with Oliver Rassmussen driving. WRT in the lead too. It may be Robin Frijns will do a double stint to the end or hand off to one of his co-drivers.
Some of the GTE-Am cars will have to fulfill drive time requirements as there is a one-minute stop and go penalty issued for a tech infraction to the #94 Peugeot, the second car on their team, which has had a fraught race today just as the sister car has. It is not all sunshine and roses for Peugeot. A probable tech infraction could be that their data card was not made available for analysis to the FIA. Jota now lead LMP2 with Will Stevens 46 seconds up on Louis Deletraz. Robin Frijns for WRT runs ten second behind Stevens. Stevens owes us another pit stop before the race is over.
Stevens is the erstwhile leader in LMP2. Toyota #8 is still leading overall and Kazuki Nakajima says that both cars have a different setup. Both cars are running well, and they have had no troubles at all. They are focused on finishing well and there has been no rain in Fuji which is not the norm. We have seen many a deluge here in Japan through the years in a return for the first time in three years. Kazuki Nakajima himself, a four-time winner of the 6 Hours of Fuji. Peugeot #94 takes their penalty. Marco Sorensen is still holding the lead in GTE Am in the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin.
Ben Keating started the car from pole and running the opening double stint of the race. Points are only scored by the top scoring car at Toyota so they cannot win the title here at their home track and will have to wait for the opportunity at Bahrain, as Will Stevens has not pitted yet. Those boys could be fuel saving. 57 seconds is the gap between Will Stevens and Robin Frijns. The longer he stays out, the less fuel they will need for their final pit stop. Your top three in LMP2 sees Stevens leading Deletraz and Frijns. Tires were more used up on one of the Jota cars.
Da Costa was fuel and tire saving, both. These are the things that win races, honestly. Wait another half an hour and we will see final pit stops. #52 is now behind the #51. Very different strategies as the #31 team have done a splash and dash to get home. #38 dives for the pit lane. They will have to make one more splash and dash to the end but a full fuel load now. Again, this is going to be tight. WET as well will need a splash and a dash before we get down to money time. This race has been defined by pace the whole time.
Well, well, well. Jota are confident and they know they can win this thing. 45 minutes to go as WRT leads both Jota cars by 14 seconds. Toyota #8 leads by a minute over the sister car having completed 202 laps, 573 miles complete. Jota and WRT scrapping in LMP2 for the honors. A Ferrari 1-2 in the cards in GTE Pro unless they have screwed up their fuel as the #33 TF Sport Aston leads Iron Dames, D'station, and AF Corse I believe. The Dempsey Proton Porsche #77 is the only official retirement of the race. Marco Sorensen is still your leader in GTE Am.
James Calado leads GTE Pro over teammate Antonio Fuoco. Sean Gelael says the team is controlling what they can. They want a clean race after troubles at Le Mans and at Monza. In LMP2, tires are going to be a huge factor as the race is in it's closing chapter. In LMP2 we are seeing a battle between the teams that have won the previous two editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with WRT in that nailbiter in 2021 and Jota who won their class at Le Mans this year. Inter Europol lock the brakes into turn one, compounding a miserable race for that team. A battle for tenth place in GTE Am between two Ferrari 488's. Giancarlo Fisichella driving the #60 Iron Lynx entry and Toni Vilander in the #21 AF Corse car. We know the #77 Dempsey Proton Porsche has been a retirement for a long time now and the sister #88, that car is buried way down in the never, never someplace. A tough race for Fred Poordad, Patrick Lindsey, and Jan Heylen today.
No pace at all for Inter Europol. We have not said a word about Alex Brundle today as Esteban Guttierez is currently at the wheel. The last time Giancarlo Fisichella raced here he was banging doors with Kei Cozzolino. The LMP2 gap between #31 and #38 (reverse those numbers... typo), has gone up to 15 seconds after being at 13 seconds for a wee while now. Fisichella has been pressed by Vilander. These are indeed rival Ferrari teams. Iron Lynx vs. AF Corse. Alessandro Pier Guidi says both AF Corse entries are running extremely well. They lost speed or time in the first half of the stint but have gained it back in the second half. Pier Guidi hopes things will be clean, green, and smooth right to the end of the race for AF Corse and Ferrari.
Meanwhile, during the interview with Pier Guidi we saw scheduled service and what should be the final stop for the #64 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. Kevin Estre runs third in GTE Pro in the Porsche. #51 was quicker on their pit stop than the #52. Antonio Fuoco is edging closer to the lead car of James Calado, but Calado seems to be in the pound seats as we speak. The AF Corse boys have been right on the button all day. You can chop and change on tire strategy but still lose grip as the older tires fade. Porsche are not slow. They have just been dealing with tires being a bit wriggly all day. Marco Sorensen brings the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin to the pit lane for the final stop of the day.
Michelle Gatting then, resumes in the GTE Am lead for the time being. Iron Dames will have to stop again. These two teams shoyuld finish 1-2 in GTE Am as Charlie Fagg in the D'station Aston Martin #777 is third, they are a second TF Sport car. #1 to the lane for Richard Mille Racing in LMP2. They have also completed their final stop. Paul Loup Chatin will take it to the finish. He is running half a minute down on Filipe Albuquerque for United Autosport while slotting in (albeit laps behind) is also the #10 Vector Sport LMP2 car in the hands of Sebastien Bourdais. Bourdais of course sharing with Renger van der Zande and Ryan Cullen.
Half an hour to go. We know the #85 Ferrari has gone longer on fuel than the #33 Aston Martin and the #777. #777, speak of the devil, is in the pit lane. Okie dokie then. Final stop of the day for the second TF Sport Aston Martin. Sorenesen is now over half a minute behind Gatting and Michelle Gatting has completed 193 laps, 547 miles. You spend less time in the pits if you gain time on track. It looks like Rahel Frey is going to finish the race. They are going longer than the Aston Martin's and now have three laps less fuel to put in the tank. The Iron Dames are very confident. Rahel Frey is set to finish the race but is only just putting her helmet on now.
Michelle Gatting might take a lap or two more. Peugeot wanted to realistically be on the podium and get through the race unscathed but neither of those things have happened. Paul Di Resta is fourth in Hypercar, four laps down. Peugeot are still in testing mode. They have not completed a race distance yet on the 9X8. 213 laps now on the board. Paul di Resta passes Will Stevens. The leading Toyota is treading carefully and so is the Jota Sport LMP2 leader. The GTE cars are still all over the shop as well, in their own race. Everyone is fighting for somnething worthy and it is easy for drivers to trip over each other.
Toyota #8 had to get home without trouble. Same for the #777. Keep it clean and then you'll be home and hosed with no worries. #85 to the pit lane, look, as the leader, the #8 Toyota clicks off another lap. 214 laps, 607 miles. Iron Dames is the final car of the lead GTE Am battle to pit. Much more urgency and they want to have a shorter stop. They will change tires on the car before the end. The Aston Martin is going to take the lead. New boots for Rahel Frey and the chase is on for the next 25 minutes. It is a two-horse race in GTE Am. Four Horsemen Aston Martin vs. Iron Dames Ferrari. The die is cast.
Sorensen and Frey are seven corners apart. The gap actually should be measured between Frey and Fagg I think. Charlie Fagg just uncorked his fastest lap of the race. The #777 D'station Aston Martin is being chased by the #54 Ferrari. The car does not know who is driving it, so good female drivers can be just as good as male drivers. There are blue timing sectors popping up everywhere in GTE-Am and this isn the class that carries on through next year's series. Charlie Fagg, though, at 1:38.625, he is faster than the other Aston Martin and Rahel Frey is flying! She is really giving it the welly. Norman Nato is harrying Oliver Rasmussen and catching him at a rate of knots.
But that is no more, because Nato dives to the pit lane, look. This will be Nato and RealTeam by WRT's final stop while the main WRT car has to pit. Just 20 minutes left before the checkers. It is squeaky, squeaky time now. Clean the glass. There's going to be a lot to watch as Alpine are in the lane now from third in Hypercar. Toyota, Toyota, Alpine, Peugeot, Peugeot. Robin Frijns will have his elbows out; you can bet your bottom dollar. The Iron Dames uncork the second consecutive fastest lap of this stint as Rahel Frey is the closer.
Matthieu Vaxiviere will take the Alpine to the finish as the GTE Pro cars slice and dice through the GTE Am traffic. Calado still leads Fuoco at AF Corse Ferrari and now, Davide Rigon is challenging for position in the Am division, 2.7 seconds down on Charlie Fagg. Well, well, well. Oliver Rasmussen pits the #28 Jota LMP2 and the #23 United Autosport car is in as well. We are looking for when the #31 WRT entry will hit the lane for the final time. On new tires, with grip, what kind of grip can these tires produce? We'll talk about that in a m9nute. Ben Barnicoat is doing all he knows to keep Giancarlo Fisichella, former Formula 1 driver, at bay in GTE Am.
It isn't really a Fuji WEC race unless Giancarlo Fisichella is going at it door to door, wheel to wheel, hammer and tongs, with other drivers. Antonio Felix Da Costa knows the strategy for his car at Jota Sport. Unless there is a Full Course Yellow, they have to hit the pit lane one last time. It will be a splash and a dash. The later they leave it, the shorter the stop. Fisichella tries to get a gap but can't. He has the door slammed in his face. Fisichella gives a love tap to Barnicoat. We have had two or three Full Course Yellows. The record distance for a WEC race at Fuji was recorded in 2016 at 244 laps, 698 and a half miles. So just shy of 700 miles.
That being said, there is no way we are going to be able to run 24 laps in 15 minutes. We have only now completed, the leading Toyota has, 220 laps, 630 miles. The LMP1 cars were so much quicker than the Hypercars. Sheesh! There is so much difference between racing tires and road cars. Night and day, with new tires on a race car, having more grip, even in a straight line. Maximum G force in a road car is one G while in a race car, these cars are pulling 3.5 to 4 G, four times your body weight. When you pull around a sharp corner in a road vehicle and go sideways, that is only half a G. That's barely anything.
A hot tire on a race car feels like a normal tire on asphalt after you have been driving on snow in the wintertime. That is how big a difference it is and it is difficult for the layperson (even me, sitting here at my computer, typing these race reports), to even imagine that! It is not that there's more rubber on the road. The grip is unreal. The contact patch is huge. #31 to the lane. Let's stop the start watch. No. Start the stopwatch! #31 has a long stop for fuel and now, Will Stevens is charging. He has to go as long as possible, hping for drama to bring out a Full Course Yellow.
Stevens will be able to do five laps more on fuel than the #31, or five more laps in the race I think. Maybe two, three laps left. Jota wants and needs a safety car and no one else does. 29 seconds the pit lane delta with 19 seconds of fuel added for a total of 48 seconds. Giancarlo Fisichella reported to the stewards for track limits. Louis Deletraz, in the meantime, he appears to be catching up to Robin Frijns. So, the gap is closing between WRT and Prema Orlen Team. 17.3 seconds officially. This is fun to watch. Toyota #7 leads by 65 seconds as the #60 Ferrari has to take a drive through penalty. Oliver Rasmussen and Norman Nato.
Information to the pit lane, drive through penalty, car #60, for continuous abuse of track limits. OK. So, Giancarlo Fisichella will have to pay the piper. Antonio Felix Da Costa's nerves have to be completely shot now with ten minutes to go. Antonio Felix Da Costa is still going for it and Charlie Fagg will have Davide Rigon all over him with ten minutes to go. Da Costa's nerves might be shot. We'll see if the Jota folks can hold on. Last year's WRT heartbreak at Le Mans is enough to give you the heebie jeebies but we'll see what happens. #28 and #41 battling for fourth place. #28 was gaining places at the start after their spin. They lost speed and now #38 is faster.
However, #28 have been able to save fuel. Peugeot #93 is now back up to fourth place ahead of Will Stevens. Stevens leading Frijns by 30 seconds. Poor old Fisichella had to open his hands as he was taken completely by surprise. The GTE drivers sit on the left side of the car while LMP2 drivers are on the right side. #38 has not pitted yet and time is of the essence. Yikes! The leaders could finish the race on time, or they might have to eke out another lap. The fuel strategy in LMP2 will be razor thin.
Fisichella just took his drive through penalty. 19 seconds of fuel for the #31 and the gap is 30 seconds. Like I said, razor thin. Frijns is pushing like mad, forcing Will Stevens to speed up. 43 minutes on a tank of gas. Oliver Rasmussen to third as Louis Deletraz pits at Prema in the #9 car. Slippery surface flag on entry to turn three, the yellow flag with the red stripes. No Full Course Yellow! Please! Pit stop time for Jota #38! Where is WRT? He is on the main strait. Splash and dash for #38. #31 has taken the lead. #38 trundling down the lane at 60 kilometers an hour. So, #31 will come out with a ten second advantage.
The ball is in WRT's court. Sean Gelael and Dries Vanthoor both sigh in relief. Vincent Vosse, Thierry Tassin, and everyone at WRT know you don't count your chickens until they hatch. No tires for the #38. 11 seconds in hand for Robin Frijns. Stevens 11 seconds behind. Frijns has completed 221 laps, 633 miles. Two minutes to go so the race shall end just two minutes before 5PM local time. Rahel Frey 36 seconds down on Marco Sorensen. Toyota #8 a minute up and it should be the final lap. 230 laps total should be completed which equates to a total race distance of 658 miles. Norman Nato in the #41 is chasing down the #28 on the final lap of the LMP2 race as well.
That will be worth keeping an eye on as well. We know Toyota are going to win at home, overall. But who else will be winners here at Fuji? We're about to find out. Ryo Hirakawa still has his foot buried in the throttle and is not slowing down any. Mike Conway just the same is still pushing although he is a minute or a tad over a minute in-arrears of the sister car. In LMP2, Rasmussen has to take a tight line into the turn and now, Norman Nato might just be able to have a head of steam. Final lap. Nato is pushing. Leader on the last lap. Teams may go to the pit wall. Rasmussen clears the D'station Aston in third in GTE Am.
Rasmussen covers Nato. Calado and Fuoco for AF Corse have the battle of their own still in GTE Pro. Nato might have a chance if Rasmussen clears traffic and he should clear both AF Corse Ferrari's. Rasmussen splits the Ferrari's but will be balked by at least one! Final turn of the final lap. Toyota #8 wins at home! Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa, and Sebastien Buemi will seal the deal here at Fuji! Toyota win in the return to Fuji for WEC for the first time in three years and they win their first dry race at Fuji in six years, since 2016. Wow! Can you believe it?! Also, eight wins in nine starts for the Toyota team. Wow. What a wild record!
LMP2 honors go the way of #41 is nipped at the line in LMP2 by #28 while WRT #31 celebrates in style with an LMP2 victory! In GTE Pro it is a Ferrari 1-2! Exceeding track limits before crossing the line, it is the duo in the #51 Ferrari, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado who get the job done and will spray the champagne on the top step of the podium! Waiting on the GTE Am winners now. #38 and #28 now home and hosed in second and third in LMP2. Actually, not home and hosed just yet. Tenth place for AF Corse gives them the LMP2 Pro-Am class victory as well in the hands of Nicklas Nielsen driving their chrome liveried #83 Oreca.
He and co-drivers Francois Perrodo and Alessio Rovera are victorious! Alpine scores third. GTE Am is won by the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin with Marco Sorensen taking it to the finish. WRT #31 is your official LMP2 winner. Robin Frijns, Sean Gelael, and Dries Vanthoor.
Overall/Hypercar: #8 Buemi/Hartley/Hirakawa Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid
LMP2: #31 Frijns/Gelael/Vanthoor WRT Oreca 07
LMP2 Pro-Am: #83 Nielsen/Perrodo/Rovera AF Corse Oreca 07
LM GTE Pro: #51 Calado/Pier Guidi AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3
LM GTE Am: #33 Keating/Sorensen/Chaves TF Sport Aston Martin Vantage AMR
So, two wins in two classes for AF Corse. TF Sport Aston Martin win the GTE Am class. ...And then, there was one. The 8 Hours of Bahrain still to come. Spoiler alert. On the very day I am writing this race report, the 8 Hours of Bahrain is going on as we speak. I shall have a race report available of that one as soon as I can have it. But, this has been highlighted full coverage of the 6 Hours of Fuji from Japan which is now complete. Championships on the line in Bahrain. Cannot wait to bring that one to you when time and energy permit. For now, sayonara from the majestic Mount Fuji, and Fuji Speedway in Japan. Goodbye, everyone. Have a great day. We'll see you next time.
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