The #6 Penske Porsche took victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 hour’s of Fuji to claim the team’s second win this year and their 5th podium. Driven by Lauren Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer the result putting them within touching distance of the championship title with one race remaining.
The #15 BMW driven by Dries Vanthoor with Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann came in second with #36 Alpine of Mick Schumacher taking P3 with teammates Nico Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere.
In LMGT3 the #54 Vista AF Corse took victory having started from pole but needing to fight from P3 in the third stint, with Davide Rigon doing the hard work to claim the victory with teammates Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci.
Hypercar
At the start, the pole-sitting Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar, driven by Earl Bamber, was set to lead the charge. But the race was anything but a predictable procession. Toyota lost out at the start losing a place to the BMW of Marco Wittmann as the field got around the first corner safely.
The drama ignited on the second lap going into Turn 1. Robert Kubica, driving the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari, locked up and veered into the No.5 Porsche Penske of Frederic Makowiecki. The collision created a chaotic pile-up, with the No.51 Ferrari AF Corse of Antonio Giovinazzi and the No.35 Alpine of Ferdinand Habsburg also caught in the melee. The safety car was deployed while the debris was cleared, and Kubica was handed a 30-second stop-and-go penalty.
The recovery efforts were swift but challenging. Makowiecki and Giovinazzi pitted for repairs, dropping them to the back of the Hypercar field. Remarkably, Makowiecki’s No.5 Porsche fought back through the pack to seventh position, showcasing the resilience and determination of the team.
The race’s initial stint saw Bamber build an impressive lead, but as the first round of pit stops approached, the dynamics shifted dramatically. The No.6 Porsche of Laurens Vanthoor capitalized on a quicker stop, seizing the lead from Bamber, who was replaced by the fast-moving Richard Lynn in the Cadillac. Lynn, despite his best efforts, could only track the Porsche without making a significant move.
The second hour saw another dramatic turn of events. A safety car was deployed to clear track debris, leading to a frenzy of pit stops. The No.15 BMW M Team WRT, now driven by Raffaele Marciello, moved into third place but had completed one more stop than the leaders. Toyota’s GR010 Hypercars, with Mike Conway in the No.7 and Sebastien Buemi in the No.8, held fourth and fifth positions respectively. Yet, they soon faced mounting pressure from Nicklas Nielsen, who stormed through in the No.50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P. Nielsen’s bold moves propelled him into fourth position, closing in on the fierce battle for second place between Lynn and Marciello.
The race was a spectacle of strategy and raw speed, with battles erupting throughout the field. Edoardo Mortara in the No.63 Iron Lynx Lamborghini and Mick Schumacher in the No.36 Alpine delivered a thrilling contest, with the young German emerging victorious. As the race progressed, two full course yellows added more unpredictability.
The Porsche team’s gamble with an extended strategy did not pay off as the No.50 Ferrari took the lead after the third round of stops. But Andre Lotterer, driving the Porsche 963, soon closed in on Nielsen. A perfectly executed overtaking manoeuvre at Turn 1 allowed Lotterer to pull away with fresher tires, reclaiming the lead. The No.15 BMW, with Dries Vanthoor now behind the wheel, pushed hard to secure the Bavarian marque’s first-ever WEC podium.
The Cadillac’s early race leadership was thwarted when a puncture during a battle with the No.15 BMW forced Bamber to pit, dropping the car down the order. The Toyota duo of Nyck de Vries and Brendon Hartley were determined to capitalize on the shifting dynamics. De Vries’s decisive move on Ferrari’s Alessandro Pier Guidi and Hartley’s brief stint in the lead showcased Toyota’s resilience, though a strategic pit stop saw them fall into a net fourth position.
Disaster struck the #7 Toyota of Kamui Kobayashi who clipped the back of the #5 Porsche of Matt Campbell into turn 3 causing both to spin and significant damage to the rear suspension of the Toyota. Both cars pitted but with extensive damage, the pair were withdrawn from the race.
The #36 Alpine fought hard for its podium battling past the #50 Ferrari and the #8 Toyota. The work wasn’t quite done and with 15 minutes remaining, Schumacher driving the #36 had caught up with Norman Nato in the #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche. The Alpine was showing good speed and chased the Porsche until with just 6 minutes remaining, Schumacher made his move at turn 13. Nato fought back strongly and refused to give up the position without a fight but by the exit of turn 1 had to yield.
Minutes later the #12 Porsche found itself under attack from the #93 Total Energies Peugot of Mikel Jensen who took a late dive into turn 5 to take P4 for the French team.
Earl Bamber’s race in the #2 Cadillac ended with 30 minutes remaining after ploughing into the barriers after getting onto the marble on the outside of the circuit. With severe damage, Bamber was able to limp back to the pit lane but it was clear the race was over for the car that started on pole position.
LMGT3
The LM GT3 category delivered its own thrilling narrative of drama and strategy. The opening stages of the race were dominated by Tom van Rompuy in the No.81 TF Sport Corvette. With a blazing pace, Van Rompuy sought to secure a long-awaited first win of the season for the TF Sport team, which he shared with Charlie Eastwood and Rui Andrade.
Van Rompuy’s dominance was evident as he built a commanding lead over his rivals in the opening two hours. His Corvette seemed untouchable until the final minutes of the second hour, when Nicolas Costa, driving the No.82 TF Sport Corvette, began a relentless charge. Costa, with a fierce determination, muscled his way to the front, overtaking Van Rompuy to claim the lead and set the stage for a dramatic battle for victory.
Earlier in the race, a clash between the United Autosport McLarens had set the tone for an eventful LM GT3 battle. Joshua Caygill and James Cottingham, running in second and third positions respectively, collided early on. Caygill’s McLaren spun down the order, while Cottingham’s car continued in third place. The incident allowed the Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan, driven by Sarah Bovy, to slip into second position.
Bovy’s stint in second place was short-lived as Costa, demonstrating impressive pace, swiftly moved past her after 1 hour and 45 minutes to take second position. With Costa now in the hunt for Van Rompuy, the battle for the lead intensified.
In the midst of these developments, the No.46 Team WRT BMW M4, with Ahmed Al Harthy at the wheel, held a solid fourth place. Al Harthy’s consistent performance, alongside teammates Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin, kept the BMW in contention. Meanwhile, Ian James in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 maintained a strong fifth position, showcasing his familiar double stint prowess to keep the Aston Martin within striking distance.
The No.78 Akkodis ASP Lexus, piloted by Arnold Robin, trailed the Aston Martin, drawing the support of the home crowd as the favorite LMGT3 entry. The championship-leading No.92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911, driven by Christian Ried, was in seventh place. Despite early setbacks, including two penalties for pit lane speeding and a yellow flag infringement, the Porsche team aimed to extend their lead at the top of the standings.
As the race entered its mid-phase, the LM GT3 category saw a shifting landscape of leadership. Rahel Frey, driving the Iron Dames Lamborghini, initially took the lead from Rui Andrade in the No.82 TF Sport Corvette. However, as the fourth hour approached, Daniel Mancinelli in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin mounted a charge, catching up with Frey and Andrade.
The fifth hour brought fresh developments as Andrade, now behind the wheel of the No.82 Corvette, reclaimed the lead. Team WRT’s Maxime Martin followed closely in the BMW, while Joel Sturm in the Manthey PureRxcing Porsche secured third place after a double stint.
With 30 minutes remaining the top 3 were nose to tail with Ferrari looking for their first win of 2024 and McLaren looking for their maiden FIA WEC victory. The #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari that had started on pole position had dropped down the field but with Davide Rigon taking over for the final stint it was firmly back in contention.
Fighting the #59 United Autosports McLaren piloted by James Cottingham, Rigon was able to gain first place whilst Cottingham, fell out of contention after being penalized for a full course yellow infringement, the drive-through penalty derailing their chances for a win.
Second place went to the #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche of Klaus Bachler, Aliaksandr Malykhin and Joel Sturm with the Team WRT BMW of Ahmed Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin taking third place.
The final race of the season will take place on November 2nd with the 8 hours of Bahrain.
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