FUJI REDEMPTION HANDS TOYOTA A WEC ADVANTAGE

Toyota gained redemption for its recent Austin disappointment with a sensational home win at a chaotic World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Fuji on Sunday. In a strategic masterpiece, the team made a shorter pitstop to gain track advantage under the final Virtual Safety car. Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa then held pre-race favourites Alpine off to deliver an unlikely victory.

Alpine had until then appeared on course to repeat its 2025 Japanese victory after locking out the front row and control the race up front. But just as the French team did to steal that win, Toyota and BMW gambled on a late stops to grab the advantage on Sunday. Alpine driver Victor Martins however fought back from fourth to end up second, just half a second behind winner Hirakawa’s Toyota.

Alpine men Martins and Jules Gounon had to make do with second in the end, while the Magnussen Marciello Vanthoor BMW held on to third ahead of the second Milesi Habsburg Alpine, the Bamber Bourdais Aitken Cadillac and Duval Jakobsen Pourchaire Peugeot in sixth. The Stevens Nato Cadillac followed from the Conway Kobayashi de Vries Toyota and the Pier Guidi Calado Giovinazzi Ferrari on a day to forget for the Italian squad, as the Riberas Sorensen Aston Martin closed off the top ten.

Further back, Augusto Farfus, Darren Leung and Sean Gelael’s BMW M4 took LMGT3 honours from the Drudi James Robichon Aston Martin and Eastwood Yoluc Dempsey and Catsburg Keating Edgar’s championship leading Corvettes sandwiching the fourth placed Rigon Flohr Castellacci Ferrari.

That now leaves Toyota leading the World Endurance Championship Manufacturer’s chase by 23 points from BMW with Ferrari now well behind in third. Toyota drivers, Hartley, Hirakawa and Buemi now also lead teammates Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck De Vries by 10 points in the Driver’s log with BMW men René Rast and Robin Frijns another four behind in third, with two rounds left to race.