WEC: Toyota runs 1-2 in Fuji 6 Hour practice

The two Toyota GR010 HYBRID Hypercars ran 1-2 on the opening day of WEC practice at Fuji International Raceway.

On a day of changing weather on the foothills of Mount Fuji, the WEC season resumed following a two-month summer break. Heavy morning rain hit first practice before a dry afternoon session featured the best lap times of the day.

World Championship leaders Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, in the #8 GR010 HYBRID, set the pace on opening day with a lap of 1min 29.523secs. Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López in the #7 GR010 HYBRID, winners last time out at Monza, were second, 0.597secs back.

As well as defending its outstanding record at Fuji Speedway, with eight victories from nine WEC races in Japan, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing aims to tighten its grip on the World Championship. The team leads Hypercar rivals Ferrari by 26 points and will secure the crown if it outscores the Italian marque by 13 points in Fuji.

Highlights

Hypercar 

• Sebastien Buemi sets the pace in FP2 at Fuji as fully dry running is completed for first time
• The No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hypercar Hybrid laps Fuji Speedway in 1m29.523s, 0.597s ahead of sister Toyota
• Kamui Kobayashi sets the best time for the No.7 Toyota as he chases his third victory on home ground in WEC
• Hertz Team Jota is best placed non-Toyota as Antonio Felix da Costa laps in a best time of 1m30.584 in gold delivered Porsche 963
• Ferrari AF Corse place fourth and sixth as the No.51 499P leads the No.50 car that was quickest in earlier wet FP1 session
• No.5 Porsche Penske places fifth as a 1m30.734s is set by Michael Christensen
• Peugeot TotalEnergies lap sixth and seventh with the No.93 9X8 heads the No.94 car, as Jean-Eric Vergne and Loic Duval set best lap for ‘The Lions’
• No.6 Porsche Penske is eighth as Kevin Estre peaks on a 1m31.236 to head the No.99 Proton Porsche 963 Hypercar to round out the top ten
• Floyd Vanwall takes 11th ahead of the No.2 Cadillac Racing V.Series R with Richard Westbrook learning the track on his first visit completing majority of laps

LMP2 

• Points leading No.41 WRT entry of Robert Kubica, Rui Andrade and Louis Deletraz quickest ahead of the No.22 United Autosports entry
• A late 1m33.131s lap by Deletraz demotes the No.28 Jota Oreca-Gibson as Pietro Fittipaldi had set the pace for most of session on a 1m33.620s best
• The Brazilian’s time was just 0.005s quicker than Oliver Jarvis’ lap in the No.23 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson which sits third
• No.31 WRT car, which won the 2022 6 Hours of Fuji, is fourth as Ferdinand Habsburg sets a 1m33.711s best
• Le Mans winners Inter Europol Competition end 90-minute session fifth as Albert Costa clocks time
• No.22 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson completes the top six as Phil Hanson sets a time of 1m34.207s

LMGTE Am  

• Davide Rigon leads the way in LMGTE Am category for the No.54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo squad
• Kei Cozzolino springs surprise in LMGTE Am as his time of 1m38.718s midway through session is good enough for best category time for most of session
• But Rigon’s late time demotes the fellow AF Corse Ferrari
• The Cozzolino driven No.21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo headed the similar Richard Mille AF Corse machine with just 0.006s separating the two cars in second and third
• No.77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche that led FP1 is fourth as Julien Andlauer sets best lap of 1m38.864s
• ‘Rexy’ Project 1-AO Porsche 911 RSR continues strong form as Matteo Cairoli’s 1m38.866s lap is good enough for fifth place
• ‘D’Station Aston Martin makes it three manufacturers in the top six as Casper Stevenson sets time for local heroes
• GR Racing’s Porsche 911 RSR 19 rounds out the top seven as they aim for third consecutive podium of the season

Fastest Team Quotes

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “We were actually very lucky with the weather today compared to what I was expecting. We were able to do both sessions smoothly and it is helpful to have one fully wet and the other fully dry. I feel like it was a positive Friday. We gathered lots of data and we seem to be quite competitive. Now it’s all about improving for tomorrow. We need to work on keeping the degradation of the tires under control because that will be a big factor for the race.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It was a drama-free day for us. Finishing the dry session in first and second looks really positive but it is very close. In the wet conditions we didn’t quite have the pace of some of our competitors so we are hoping it’s dry for the rest of the weekend. We tested different set-ups between the two cars, looked at the different tire compounds and got a lot of information. Overall it has been a very good start; it was pretty much a perfect Friday.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “I am quite happy with the first day of track action and it’s always nice to drive here at Fuji Speedway, even if the weather was not kind to us this morning. First practice was tricky thanks to the rain; the track was wet at the start then damp later so it was always changing. Then in the afternoon it was fully dry and we finished one-two which is positive. I hope we can achieve the same result in qualifying and the race. We’ve made a good start and we’ll push to keep that going.”

Friday Practice Fast Times