WEC Fuji post-race notebook: Reflections by Frijns, Marciello, Juncadella, Giovinazzi, and Hanson

Toyota’s late fuel-only gamble decided the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 6 Hours of Fuji, but the weekend brought frustration for several of its rivals. Here is what drivers from BMW, Genesis and Ferrari said after the race.

BMW

Robin Frijns and team-mate René Rast arrived at Fuji level on points at the top of the championship, but he described the race for the #20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 as “pretty shocking”.

“We had decent pace, not enough to fight for the win, but good points were definitely on the table for us. We then went a lap down with the puncture and couldn’t get the lap back. It was a painful weekend for us.”

The other side of the WRT garage fared better, with the sister #15 car recovering from P14 on the grid to finish on the podium. Raffaele Marciello said it wasn’t an easy race for BMW, as the car lacked pace and the team benefited from trouble for the cars ahead. A different strategy call also let them make the most of the late safety car.

Looking ahead, Marciello said the championship remains open for BMW, but the team will need to find more speed at the next race in Spain to take advantage. He believes the BMW M Hybrid V8 suits Monza well, given how much of the track is made up of straights, but said Barcelona is the unknown factor.

Genesis

Dani Juncadella described 11th place for the #19 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 as a “frustrating result”, with the team failing to capitalise on the late restart in its first race at Fuji.

“We were racing at the front, we were running well all day but unfortunately, last stop was a bit of a heartbreaker, with the wrong call and an issue at the stop.

“We lost 20 seconds more and we dropped a lot, then we got a drive-through for a double yellow infringement. So everything that could went wrong at the end went wrong.”

Nevertheless, Juncadella said the GMR-001 once again showed promising pace, and the #19 car was “up there”. With his home race in Barcelona next, he hopes to repeat his Fuji performance and “fight for something very strong”.

Ferrari

Unlike at COTA, where the Italian outfit took pole position and brought home a late win, Ferrari never found its rhythm in Japan and struggled from the start of the weekend.

Antonio Giovinazzi, driver of the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P, told GT REPORT it was “not a great one” for the reigning champions.

“We’ve been struggling with the pace and the balance of the car since FP1. We scored one point, but it wasn’t the ideal result. Our main competitors scored a lot of points, so it will be difficult to challenge for the championship.”

Ferrari is third in the manufacturers’ standings, 54 points behind leaders Toyota. For the remaining races, Giovinazzi said the team will try to make the most of the opportunities that new tracks present, with Barcelona unfamiliar to everyone and Monza last hosting the WEC in 2023. He is less optimistic about defending the title, though.

“The championship is too far away now, to be honest, both the manufacturers’ and the drivers’, but we won’t give up and we’ll push really hard to end the season on a high.”

Ferrari’s struggles also carried over to the privateer #83 AF Corse 499P. Phil Hanson agreed it was a difficult race, calling it a “bit of a rubbish weekend”.

“We definitely didn’t have the pace to fight at the front, but we were hanging in there. Since it’s quite a short lap here, trying not to lose a lap is crucial. We were within touching distance and saving good tyres for the end, but unfortunately we shortened some of the stints for track position, and we boxed 15 seconds before the VSC.”

Those 15 seconds proved costly. The car lost its place on the lead lap, and from there it was “game over”, the Briton told GT REPORT.

Hanson said AF Corse wants to get back to fighting for wins and podiums “like they used to” last year, but issues with pace, strategy and execution have held the team back this season.

“Eventually it’ll come together. All the ingredients are there, we just need to put it together on a weekend where we’ve got a good package and be able to execute.”

Barcelona and Monza next

Two replacement rounds in Europe now decide the titles, after the Qatar 1812 km and 8 Hours of Bahrain were cancelled. The 6 Hours of Barcelona follows on 18 October, with the 6 Hours of Monza closing the season on 8 November.

Toyota heads there with a one-two in the drivers’ standings. Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa lead on 89 points, ten clear of the sister #7 crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, with Frijns and Rast a further four points back on 75.