6 HOURS OF FUJI: TOYOTA WINS AT HOME
Toyota claimed victory in the 2026 6 Hours of Fuji with Ryo Hirakawa, Brendon Hartley, and Sébastien Buemi, delivering a home win in the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The No. 8 TR010 Hybrid perfectly capitalized on strategy and race neutralizations to finish ahead of Alpine and BMW, while BMW and WRT celebrated in LMGT3 with Darren Leung, Sean Gelael, and Augusto Farfus.
Ferrari endured a much tougher day, with the No. 51 finishing ninth, although Maranello remains in contention for both the Drivers' and Manufacturers' championships with two races remaining.
The second half of the race began in the worst possible way for Aston Martin. Tom Gamble's No. 007 had virtually moved into the lead thanks to a slightly different energy strategy compared with the Alpine entries, but a penalty for crossing the white line at pit entry cost the car valuable ground just as the fight for victory was entering its decisive phase.
The two factory Ferraris paid an even heavier price. The No. 51 was forced into an extended pit stop and received a 10-second penalty following two separate contacts, while the No. 50's race ended with one hour and 40 minutes remaining. After previously experiencing an issue with the car's air jacks during a pit stop, the 499P came to a halt exiting Turn 16, with Miguel Molina unable to bring it back to the pits.
The resulting Virtual Safety Car erased the advantage Alpine had built during the middle portion of the race, bringing the entire field back together. Victor Martins led the restart in the No. 36 ahead of Charles Milesi's No. 35, with the two A424s under pressure from Marco Sørensen in the No. 009 Aston Martin, Jack Aitken in the No. 38 Cadillac, and Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 19 Genesis.
The return to green was followed by additional penalties for violations committed under the previous Full Course Yellow period. The No. 12 Cadillac was penalized along with the No. 7 Toyota, which had already endured a difficult race after a slow puncture forced the Japanese entry into an early first pit stop.
The complexion of the race changed again late in the event following a heavy crash for Garage 59's No. 58 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO. Finn Gehrsitz hit the barriers under braking for Turn 1 after contact with Mattia Drudi's No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, which had nowhere to go.
The resulting Safety Car and the field's simultaneous pit stops played directly into the hands of the No. 8 Toyota and No. 15 BMW. Ryo Hirakawa and Dries Vanthoor emerged in first and second, followed by Charles Milesi's No. 35 Alpine, Marco Sørensen's No. 009 Aston Martin, and Victor Martins in the No. 36 Alpine.
The closing laps produced an intense fight for the win. Running on fresher tires, the No. 36 Alpine nailed the restart and quickly passed the No. 15 BMW, moving directly behind the leading Toyota and setting up a final showdown.
Hirakawa absorbed the pressure and held on through the checkered flag. Hirakawa, Buemi, and Hartley therefore delivered Toyota's third victory of the season and moved into the championship lead. The No. 8 TR010 Hybrid finished ahead of the No. 36 Alpine of Gounon and Martins and the No. 15 BMW shared by Marciello, Magnussen, and Vanthoor.
The No. 35 Alpine, No. 38 Cadillac, No. 94 Peugeot, No. 12 Cadillac, and No. 7 Toyota followed in the finishing order. The No. 51 Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi had to settle for ninth, although it still finished ahead of the No. 009 Aston Martin, which had spent much of the race fighting near the front alongside its No. 007 sister car.
BMW and WRT celebrated LMGT3 victory with the M4 GT3 EVO of Darren Leung, Sean Gelael, and Augusto Farfus. The Brazilian made the difference during the closing stages, charging through the field and passing Marvin Kirchhöfer's No. 10 McLaren along with the No. 34 and No. 33 Corvettes of Charlie Eastwood and Nicky Catsburg.
Farfus still had to defend against a late charge from Mattia Drudi. Heart of Racing's No. 27 Aston Martin produced an impressive comeback in the decisive stages, with Drudi bringing the car he shared with Zacharie Robichon and Ian James all the way up to second place.
TF Sport's No. 34 Corvette of Charlie Eastwood, Salih Yoluç, and Peter Dempsey completed the podium, while VISTA AF Corse's No. 54 Ferrari finished fourth ahead of the No. 33 Corvette. The latter maintains the championship lead with only two rounds remaining. The No. 69 BMW took sixth ahead of the No. 91 Porsche.
Fuji therefore delivered a hugely important victory for Toyota in the World Championship battle, while Ferrari leaves Japan after a difficult race but still with a chance to fight for both titles over the final two rounds.
The FIA WEC will return to action in Barcelona on Sunday, October 18, before the season finale at Monza in November.
© Cavalieri Garage & Co.
