- Charlie Thornton
- Sep 17, 2024
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 14, 2024
FIA World Endurance Championship - 6 Hours of Fuji Weekend Report
The penultimate round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship headed to the foothills of Mount Fuji, Japan, for an exciting battle on home turf for the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.
Contributions by Michael Pokomandy
LMGT3 QUALIFYING
First on the schedule this weekend was the LMGT3 Qualifying, with the top thirteen separated by just a second, the #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 set the pace with a 1:40.932, with their sister car also progressing to hyperpole in eighth.
With only ten cars advancing to hyperpole, the other cars included the two TF Sport Corvette’s in a respectable second and fourth, the two United Autosport McLaren’s in fifth and tenth, and then the single Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 from the Iron Dames in third, the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo in sixth, the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang in seventh, and finally the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RCF GT3 in ninth.
Most importantly, neither of the Team WRT BMW’s made it through to hyperpole, as well as the championship leader and runner up in the Manthey Porsche 992 GT3’s.
The LMGT3 Qualifying saw the slowest car in the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 set a lap time 2.485 seconds behind P1 in P18, the Lamborghini was nearly a second behind the seventeenth placed car.
LMGT3 HYPERPOLE
Both of the McLaren’s set the early pace in hyperpole, but Tom van Rompuy in the #81 TF Sport Corvette set a better lap, this was then beaten by François Hériau in the #55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, claiming pole position for the 6 Hours of Fuji with a 1:40.893, just eighty-two hundredths ahead of the Corvette. This marks the first pole position for the Ferrari 296 GT3 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, after the introduction of the LMGT3 class at the start of the season.
McLaren were strong in this hyperpole session, with the #95 in third, and the #59 in fifth position. The Iron Dames, who are the only multiple-pole-sitters in 2024 only managed to qualify fourth at Fuji. Lexus managed to grab sixth on the grid at their home race, after Frenchman Arnold Robin got the team through to hyperpole. This was only the second time the Lexus team have made it to hyperpole and they secured their best starting position this season in front of their home crowd. Victorious at the previous round at the Circuit of the Americas, Heart of Racing only managed to qualify seventh, however this is a respectable position to start. Meanwhile, the #77 Proton Competition Mustang claimed tenth position.
HYPERCAR QUALIFYING
The highly anticipated Hypercars headed out on the Fuji International Speedway to claim their starting positions for the race on Sunday, where only eighteen cars would participate, following the immediate withdrawal of the Isotta Fraschini from the series.
Both of the Toyota’s made it out on track first, taking full advantage of not having much traffic while setting their hot laps. Kévin Estre in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport set the fastest lap times early on, followed by one of the Toyota’s, and then Alex Lynn in the sole Cadillac. With just a few minutes to go, Lynn topped the timing charts, and Julien Andlauer in the customer Porsche 963 from Proton Competition slotted in with a time good enough for third. As we came into the final minute of qualifying, the Cadillac and #7 Toyota decided to pit, hoping that their times were enough to progress onto hyperpole.
Surprising entrants into hyperpole included the #35 Alpine Endurance Team, #15 BMW M Team WRT, and the #63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx. Both factory Porsche 963’s made it through as well as a single customer Porsche in the #99 Proton Competition. Toyota got both cars through to hyperpole on home soil, as well as a single factory Ferrari 499P.
HYPERCAR HYPERPOLE
At the midway point in hyperpole, Kamui Kobayashi was fastest in the #7 Toyota, who was later dethroned by Ryo Hirakawa in the sister Toyota. With a minute to go, Alex Lynn in the #2 Cadillac vaulted himself into pole position by just forty-one hundredths and, after all other cars had finished their final laps, this solidified the top spot.
An excellent effort by Dries Vanthoor in the #15 BMW put them in third position, nicking the position from the #7 Toyota, as well as splitting the two Toyota’s.
The fastest Porsche, as well as championship leaders coming into Fuji only managed to qualify fifth on the grid, with the #35 Alpine behind in P6. Ferrari, with only one car in hyperpole managed to grab seventh, with the other factory Porsche 963 in P8. Lamborghini achieved an incredible ninth spot, their highest starting position in the World Endurance Championship to date, with their highest position previously at Le Mans, in thirteenth position. The customer Proton Competition Porsche managed to qualify tenth, just sixty-eight hundredths from pole.
RACE
The 2024 edition of the 6 Hours of Fuji started with the Cadillac on pole, and holding the lead into turn one, and the rest of lap one. Marco Wittmann in the #15 BMW, which qualified in third, overtook the #8 Toyota, who remained third. The first lap of the race was mostly clean, however the chaos ensued in lap two. Turn one at the Fuji Speedway has always been a crunch zone for incidents, and this is where the #83 Ferrari 499P of Formula One veteran Robert Kubica out-braked himself, and made contact with the #5 Porsche, who made contact with the #51 Ferrari and the #35 Alpine. Kubica was subsequently given a thirty second stop and go penalty for causing the incident.
With half-an-hour of the race complete, the #63 Lamborghini and #36 Alpine were battling closely, splitting some LMGT3 traffic, notably the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin. Meanwhile, in LMGT3 the all-female crew of the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini managed to make up a couple of positions, and overtook the #59 United Autosports McLaren for second position just behind the #81 TF Sport Corvette.
Unfortunately the #20 BMW hypercar came into the pits and into the garage by Team WRT, they would get back out on track soon, but eventually retired and were not classified on the race classification.
As soon as Valentino Rossi got behind wheel of the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, he started making moves, notably around the outside at turn two on the sister car. Shortly after this, Rossi made a move on the outside at turn one on the championship leading Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 992, and with the close proximity of the LMGT3 field at this point, got past the #91 Manthey EMA car, as well as the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus.
Approximately half-way into the six hour race, Earl Bamber in the Cadillac, which was in fourth position got a front right puncture, due to contact while battling with the #15 BMW at turn one. The car came into the pits, replaced the tyre and then went speeding back out on track.
With an hour and forty-eight minutes remaining, the Lamborghini hypercar stopped on track, and a safety car was called. The Lamborghini was suffering with a gearbox issue, and the car was jumping up and down the running order due to differing pit and tyre strategies from all teams involved.
A handful of laps later, Kamui Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota made contact with Matt Campbell in the #5 Porsche at turn three. Both cars received terminal damage, and this would see both cars retire from the race. More importantly, this would have serious repercussions for the Toyota crew, as they were in the battle for the championship title.
Pressure was brewing for Kévin Estre with just an hour remaining, where he missed his braking point at turn one, and locked up his tyres, as well as going off-track. Fortunately, no contact with another car or the wall, but reduced his six second lead to Dries Vanthoor in the chasing #15 BMW. Estre then reported some liquid on the brake pedal, which caused his foot to slip.
Six-time World Endurance Championship race winner, Davide Rigon made an overtake on Grégoire Saucy in the #59 United Autosports McLaren for the lead of the LMGT3 class. Ferrari was on for their first win in the 2024 season.
A damaged Cadillac battled with the #36 Alpine, while lapping LMGT3 cars, which resulted in Bamber making an overreaction, and sending himself into the tyre wall at turn four. The car tumbled down the order, and Bamber couldn’t see out of the cockpit properly, but managed to drag the severely-damaged car back to the pits, and did not return to the track.
News for the Toyota crew didn’t get any better, with less than fifteen minutes remaining the sole Toyota left in the race was given a drive through penalty for ignoring blue flags, and fighting with Estre in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport machine at turns fifteen and sixteen.
Third position was under threat for Norman Nato in the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963, up against former Formula One driver Mick Schumacher in the #36 Alpine A424, where Schumacher makes the position at the final corner with just seven minutes remaining. The sister Jota Porsche battled with the #93 Peugeot 9X8 with Mikkel Jensen at the wheel, however the Jota lost fourth position.
Final honours would go to Kévin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car, meaning this is just the second time Toyota have been beaten at Fuji Speedway, previously by the Porsche 919 LMP1 in 2015. The result also makes the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport crew the only repeat winners so far in 2024. BMW’s best finish of the season would grant Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann the second step on the podium, this would also make it only the second time two brothers have shared the podium in a World Endurance Championship race after the Shanghai and Sakhir rounds in 2014 where Kirill and Anton Ladygin achieved third and second respectively. Alpine’s #36 car would also achieve their best finish of the season, as well as a debut podium for Mick Schumacher.
The #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 crew of Callum Ilott, Norman Nato and Will Stevens would score a win in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar teams championship, meaning they also claim the championship with a round to spare. All focus will be on the customer Ferrari 499P from #83 AF Corse, as well as the two customer Porsche 963’s of #38 Hertz Team Jota and #99 Proton Competition as we head to the final round in Bahrain, with just seven points separating the three teams.
LMGT3 honours would fall on the aforementioned #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, who took their debut win for the Ferrari GT3 in 2024. However the dominant force from the #92 Manthey PureRxcing crew would finish second in class, and claiming the LMGT3 title for 2024 with a total of 136 points, meaning no other teams will be able to score enough points in Bahrain to beat them. The final podium spot went to the #46 Team WRT crew of Ahmad Al Harthy, Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi. Currently sitting third in the championship, this good result solidifies their charge for a better position in the fight, just five points behind the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche, and two points ahead of the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin.
CHAMPIONSHIP HEADS TO THE DESERT
As we head to Bahrain in November, the championship in Hypercar is still up for grabs, with thirty-seven points between the victorious #6 crew and the #7 Toyota crew, and a maximum of thirty-nine points available at Sakhir, the Penske crew must finish outside the points to give the #50 AF Corse and #7 Toyota cars the chance of clinching the championship.
In the Hypercar manufacturer’s championship, Porsche retake the lead from Toyota, the two are separated by just ten points, with Ferrari in third by twenty-seven points to Porsche. Alpine and BMW’s podiums leave them in fourth and fifth positions, separated by three point.
The final round of the championship will see a dramatic race in the desert at Bahrain International Circuit on the 1st - 2nd November.
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