2024 6 Hours of Fuji
| Event information | |
|---|---|
| Round 7 of 8 in the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship | |
 | |
| Date | 15 September 2024 |
| Location | Oyama, Shizuoka |
| Venue | Fuji Speedway |
| Duration | 6 Hours |
| Results | |
| Laps completed | 213 |
| Distance (km) | 971.612 |
| Distance (miles) | 603.732 |
| Hypercar | |
| Pole position | |
| Time | 1:28.901 |
| Team |  Cadillac Racing |
| Winners | |
| Team |  Porsche Penske Motorsport |
| Drivers |  Kévin Estre André Lotterer Laurens Vanthoor |
| LMGT3 | |
| Winners | |
| Team |  Vista AF Corse |
| Drivers | Francesco Castellacci Thomas Flohr Davide Rigon |
The 2024 6 Hours of Fuji was an endurance sportscar racing event held on 15 September 2024, as the seventh of eight rounds of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. It was the eleventh running of the event in its current format in the World Endurance Championship.
Background
[edit]The event was announced on 9 June 2023, during the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend, with the race being held in every WEC season, except the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[1]
Entry list
[edit]36 cars entered the race: 18 in Hypercar and 18 in LMGT3. The only changes from the Lone Star Le Mans entry list are Jules Gounon replacing Paul-Loup Chatin in the No. 35 Alpine, and Christian Ried replacing Ben Keating in the No. 88 Ford.[2][3]
Schedule
[edit]| Date | Time (local: JST) | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, 13 September | 11:00 | Free Practice 1 |
| 15:30 | Free Practice 2 | |
| Saturday, 14 September | 10:20 | Free Practice 3 |
| 14:20 | Qualifying - LMGT3 | |
| 14:40 | Hyperpole - LMGT3 | |
| 15:00 | Qualifying - Hypercar | |
| 15:20 | Hyperpole - Hypercar | |
| Sunday, 15 September | 11:00 | Race |
| Source:[4] | ||
Practice
[edit]Three practice session were held: two were held on Friday, and one was held on Saturday. The sessions on Friday morning and Friday afternoon lasted 90 minutes, and the session on Saturday morning lasted 40 minutes, after being scheduled to last 60 minutes.[4]
Practice 1
[edit]The first practice session started at 11:00 JST on Friday. Laurens Vanthoor topped the sheets with a lap time of 1 minute, 30.561 seconds in his No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche, 0.010 seconds quicker than second-placed Ryō Hirakawa in the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota. Antonio Fuoco rounded out the top three in the No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari, 0.543 seconds behind Vanthoor.[5] Marino Sato was quickest in his No. 95 United Autosports McLaren in LMGT3, with a lap time of 1:40.528. Alessio Rovera set an identical fastest lap time in the No. 55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari, with Davide Rigon in the sister No. 54 Ferrari 0.265 seconds behind both Sato and Rovera.[6] The session saw one red flag: the No. 95 McLaren stopped at turn 10 after contact with the No. 2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac.[6]
| Class | No. | Entrant | Driver | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypercar | 6 | Porsche Penske Motorsport
|
Laurens Vanthoor
|
1:30.561 | |
| LMGT3 | 95 |  United Autosports
|
 Marino Sato
|
1:40.528 | |
| Source:[7][8] | |||||
- Note: Only the fastest car in each class is shown.
Practice 2
[edit]The second practice session started at 15:30 JST on Friday, with Dries Vanthoor quickest in the No. 15 BMW M Team WRT BMW: he set a lap of 1 minute, 29.577 seconds. Vanthoor's lap was 0.009 seconds quicker than that of Matt Campbell in the No. 5 Porsche, with Alex Lynn claiming third place in the No. 2 Cadillac.[9] LMGT3 was topped by Rovera in the No. 55 Ferrari, with a lap time of 1:40.682. Hiroshi Koizumi was second in the No. 82 TF Sport Corvette, 0.169 seconds slower. The top three was rounded out by Franck Perera in the No. 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini.[10]
| Class | No. | Entrant | Driver | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypercar | 15 | BMW M Team WRT
|
Dries Vanthoor
|
1:29.577 | |
| LMGT3 | 55 | Vista AF Corse
|
Alessio Rovera
|
1:40.682 | |
| Source:[11][12] | |||||
- Note: Only the fastest car in each class is shown.
Final practice
[edit]The third and final practice session started at 10:20 JST on Saturday. Hirakawa topped the timing sheets in the No. 8 Toyota with a lap time of 1:29.621. Lynn was second in the No. 2 Cadillac, 0.086 seconds slower, with Fuoco rounding out the top three in the No. 50 Ferrari.[13] François Heriau topped the LMGT3 cars in the No. 55 Ferrari, with a lap of 1 minute, 41.206 seconds. Rigon was in second in the sister Ferrari, 0.107 seconds slower, with Arnold Robin rounding out the top three.[14] The session was red-flagged after 40 minutes due to curbing issues in turn 1.[14]
| Class | No. | Entrant | Driver | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypercar | 15 | BMW M Team WRT
|
Dries Vanthoor
|
1:29.577 | |
| LMGT3 | 55 | Vista AF Corse
|
Alessio Rovera
|
1:40.682 | |
| Source:[15][16] | |||||
- Note: Only the fastest car in each class is shown.
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying results
[edit]Pole position winners in each class are marked in bold.
| Pos | Class | No. | Entrant | Qualifying | Hyperpole | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hypercar | 2 | Cadillac Racing
|
1:29.090 | 1:28.901 | 1 |
| 2 | Hypercar | 8 | Toyota Gazoo Racing
|
1:29.513 | 1:28.942 | 2 |
| 3 | Hypercar | 15 | BMW M Team WRT
|
1:29.505 | 1:29.059 | 3 |
| 4 | Hypercar | 7 | Toyota Gazoo Racing
|
1:29.423 | 1:29.065 | 4 |
| 5 | Hypercar | 6 | Porsche Penske Motorsport
|
1:29.256 | 1:29.152 | 5 |
| 6 | Hypercar | 35 | Alpine Endurance Team
|
1:29.402 | 1:29.154 | 6 |
| 7 | Hypercar | 50 | Ferrari AF Corse
|
1:29.510 | 1:29.196 | 7 |
| 8 | Hypercar | 5 | Porsche Penske Motorsport
|
1:29.591 | 1:29.223 | 8 |
| 9 | Hypercar | 63 | Lamborghini Iron Lynx
|
1:29.721 | 1:29.582 | 9 |
| 10 | Hypercar | 99 | Proton Competition
|
1:29.399 | 1:29.589 | 10 |
| 11 | Hypercar | 20 | BMW M Team WRT
|
1:29.724 | 11 | |
| 12 | Hypercar | 51 | Ferrari AF Corse
|
1:29.772 | 12 | |
| 13 | Hypercar | 83 | AF Corse
|
1:29.829 | 13 | |
| 14 | Hypercar | 93 | Peugeot TotalEnergies
|
1:29.883 | 14 | |
| 15 | Hypercar | 36 | Alpine Endurance Team
|
1:30.028 | 15 | |
| 16 | Hypercar | 12 | Hertz Team Jota
|
1:30.072 | 16 | |
| 17 | Hypercar | 38 | Hertz Team Jota
|
1:30.092 | 17 | |
| 18 | Hypercar | 94 | Peugeot TotalEnergies
|
1:30.157 | 18 | |
| 19 | LMGT3 | 55 | Vista AF Corse
|
1:40.932 | 1:40.893 | 19 |
| 20 | LMGT3 | 81 | TF Sport
|
1:41.110 | 1:40.975 | 20 |
| 21 | LMGT3 | 95 | United Autosports
|
1:41.332 | 1:41.120 | 21 |
| 22 | LMGT3 | 85 | Iron Dames
|
1:41.189 | 1:41.265 | 22 |
| 23 | LMGT3 | 59 | United Autosports
|
1:41.619 | 1:41.293 | 23 |
| 24 | LMGT3 | 78 | Akkodis ASP Team
|
1:41.527 | 1:41.308 | 24 |
| 25 | LMGT3 | 82 | TF Sport
|
1:41.267 | 1:41.310 | 25 |
| 26 | LMGT3 | 27 | Heart of Racing Team
|
1:41.426 | 1:41.397 | 26 |
| 27 | LMGT3 | 54 | Vista AF Corse
|
1:41.483 | 1:41.608 | 27 |
| 28 | LMGT3 | 77 | Proton Competition
|
1:41.440 | 1:41.719 | 28 |
| 29 | LMGT3 | 87 | Akkodis ASP Team
|
1:41.850 | 29 | |
| 30 | LMGT3 | 46 | Team WRT
|
1:41.866 | 30 | |
| 31 | LMGT3 | 777 | D'station Racing
|
1:41.908 | 31 | |
| 32 | LMGT3 | 92 |  Manthey PureRxcing
|
1:41.935 | 32 | |
| 33 | LMGT3 | 91 | Manthey EMA
|
1:41.999 | 33 | |
| 34 | LMGT3 | 31 | Team WRT
|
1:42.013 | 34 | |
| 35 | LMGT3 | 88 | Proton Competition
|
1:42.502 | 35 | |
| 36 | LMGT3 | 60 | Iron Lynx
|
1:43.417 | 36 | |
| Source:[17] | ||||||
Race
[edit]Race results
[edit]The minimum number of laps for classification (70% of overall winning car's distance) was 149 laps. Class winners are in bold and ‡.
- ^ The No. 77 Proton Competition Ford received a 1-minute time penalty due to a pitlane infringement. Their final finishing position was unaffected.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ Kilbey, Stephen (9 June 2023). "Eight-Round 2024 FIA WEC Calendar Released". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ Euwema, Davey (6 September 2024). "Gounon Returns to Alpine Hypercar Lineup at Fuji". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ Euwema, Davey (10 September 2024). "Ried Returns to No. 88 Ford Lineup in Fuji". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ a b "2024 Fuji - FIA World Endurance Championship". fiawec.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ Thukral, Rachit (13 September 2024). "WEC Fuji: Porsche pips Toyota in red-flagged opening practice". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ a b Kilbey, Stephen (13 September 2024). "Porsche Strikes First At Fuji". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Free Practice 1 – Final Classification" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Free Practice 1 – Final Classification by Driver Fastest Lap" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ Klein, Jamie (13 September 2024). "BMW Edges Porsche in Tight Fuji FP2". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ Watkins, Gary (13 September 2024). "WEC Fuji: BMW leads Porsche and Cadillac in tight FP2". Motorsport.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Free Practice 2 – Final Classification" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Free Practice 2 – Final Classification by Driver Fastest Lap" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ Kilbey, Stephen (14 September 2024). "#8 Toyota Tops Red-Flagged Final Practice". Dailysportscar. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ a b Dagys, John (14 September 2024). "Hirakawa Quickest in Red-Flagged Fuji FP3". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Free Practice 3 – Final Classification" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Free Practice 3 – Final Classification by Driver Fastest Lap" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Qualifying – Final Classification" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "Doc 94 – Decision No. 60 – Car 77" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "FIA WEC – 6 Hours of Fuji Race – Final Classification" (PDF). fiawec.alkamelsystems.com. Alkamel Systems. 15 September 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.