Cadillac and Porsche at Fuji for manufacturers' P2

WECHyperCar

Sep 23

Despite mathematical unrealistic assumptions Ferrari will be 2025 FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Champion. The real unknown is for the second place between Porsche and Cadillac who are only separated by 4 points ahead of the penultimate round.

#5 Porsche 963 and #12 Cadillac V-Series.R — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #5 Porsche 963 ended 10th (above) while #12 Cadillac V-Series.R ended 8th (down)

Both Porsche Penske Motorsports and Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA have ramped up during the last 3 races with respectively 124 and 103 points accumulated while Toyota Gazoo Racing only scored 28 points at Le Mans, Interlagos and Austin going down from P2 to P4 in the manufacturers standing.

#6 Porsche 963 and #38 Cadillac V-Series.R — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #6 Porsche 963 winners (down) while #38 Cadillac V-Series.R ended 5th (above)

The 6 Hours of Fuji will be a key milestone for both teams to secure second place in the manufacturer’s championship. The Fuji Speedway, the second-shortest lap on the calendar at 4.563km, but with one of the longest main straight in the sport (1.475km) will host the 100th race in FIA World Endurance Championship history.

Porsche currently second

Thanks to #6 Porsche 963 driven by Kévin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell’s maiden victory of the 2025 campaign earlier this month in Texas, Porsche overtook Cadillac for the second place of the FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ Championship.

The last victory of the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport crew was at Fuji 12 months ago. That result paved the way for Estre, Vanthoor and Lotterer to the world championship crown. Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor return to the Fuji Speedway this weekend in the #6 Porsche 963 with the aim to replicate their Japanese result from last year

Three French drivers for Porsche at Fuji

Michael Christensen will not drive the #5 Porsche 963 from Penske Motorsportnat Fuji. Julien Andlauer’s Danish teammate will be replaced by IMSA championship overall standings leader Mathieu Jaminet who is providing reinforcements for this car in selected races in addition to competing in the entire IMSA championship.

Michael Christensen is heading to Road Atlanta to participate in a test session ahead of Petit Le Mans. The Dane will support Klaus Bachler and Laurin Heinrich in the AO Racing 911 GT3 R "Rexy," which is vying for the IMSA GTD Pro title.

Cadillac Racing four points out of second

With strong pace resulting in positives each of the past four races, the expansive team behind the #12 and 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs is optimistic entering the penultimate race of the eight-event campaign on the 2.835-mile, 12-turn circuit in the shadow of Mount Fuji.

Cadillac Racing is four points out of second in the Manufacturers Championship standings.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #12 Cadillac V-Series.R ended 8th

The #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R entry of Alex Lynn, Norman Nato and Will Stevens, which has been at the points table in each of the six races, is seven points out of third in the Drivers Championship. The hybrid racecar, among 18 Hypercars on the Fuji entry list, has garnered two poles this season, including at Sao Paulo that led to Cadillac Racing’s maiden WEC victory and historic 1-2 finish with the sister car.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #38 Cadillac V-Series.R ended 6th

With its sixth-place result September 7 at Circuit of the Americas, the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R roster of Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais and Jenson Button is seventh in the standings.

Cadillac Racing’s lone Hypercar entry in the 2024 Six Hours of Fuji earned the pole position – the program’s first in 14 WEC races – and led a total of 46 laps with Bamber and Lynn at the wheel. In Cadillac Racing’s inaugural WEC season of 2023, Bamber, Lynn and Richard Westbrook qualified fifth and placed 10th at Fuji Speedway. Source: Cadillac Racing

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

Alex Lynn: “Great place. Love the track and Japanese fans are great. Just super excited to get going. It’s a great track for the Cadillac and just excited to get there. I think we can expect to be competitive, honestly. That's the plan. I think with JOTA, we can expect to be fighting at the front.”

Norman Nato: “Japanese fans are so passionate and they are so supportive. They follow pretty much everything you've done in your car. They're always coming with really nice gifts and are great fans and really nice people. Fuji is quite an iconic track as well. Alex (Lynn) got pole there last year, so we're going to try to do at least, I would say, the same. We're just getting better and better and getting to the end of championship we're going to try to fight minimum for podium points because every race we've been scoring points, which is quite important if we are in position to finish top three in the championships. So, that's why every race weekend we have to score points. If it's a win, it's better. If it's a podium, it's good, if it's P5, it's P5, it's its points at the end. The goal remains the same.”

Will Stevens: “Fuji is always actually a very cool event. I think it's a circuit that's actually very challenging and quite different to others. It's always quite a hard race. Clearly, the Cadillac was strong there last year. They had a very good race going and qualifying was a very strong part of the car, so I think we can be optimistic heading toward Fuji. And I think for us we've worked our way back into a good position in the championship, so it's about maintaining your consistency, keep learning and keep trying to score as many points as we possibly can. Not only for us in the drivers, but also in the constructors. I think overall we're in a very positive trajectory and just need to keep pushing ahead in that in that direction.”

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R

Earl Bamber: “The Cadillac was competitive at Fuji last year, starting on pole and leading a lot of laps until we got a cut tire because of contact. I expect us to be strong again there with both cars in the mix in qualifying and the race. We’re looking to show our progress in these last two races. I love Japan. The fans are incredible and last year we had a lot of support for Cadillac, so I’m looking forward to going back.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “I’ve been to Fuji in F1 and in LMP2 in 2022. The fans are amazing; they love racing so much. From what we saw last year, it’s definitely not a bad place for the Cadillac, so we’ll see what level of performance we’ll have for that particular event. Just like most of the events on the calendar, looking forward to going there and discovering a new place with our car.”

Jenson Button: “I’ve driven Fuji in an F1 car, a Super GT car, a Hypercar and an LMP1 car. It’s an interesting track with a little bit of everything. The last section is tricky, Turn 3 is awesome – the long right-hander – and then you get to the long left-hander where you get a lot of inside wheel locking. And then you’ve got that harsh braking for the hairpin. It’s quite the challenging circuit. I’m a big fan of Japanese food and culture, and I look forward to it every time I get to go to Fuji. And the Japanese fans are just epic, and the little gifts you get from them are really detailed and thoughtful. I’m looking forward to getting there and looking forward to the support of the Japanese fans as always.”

Schedule

Friday 26 September
- 10:15 – 11:45 – Practice 1 (3:15 – 4:45 CEST)
- 14:30 – 16:00 – Practice 2 (7:30 – 9:00 CEST)

Saturday 27 September
- 09:50 – 10:50 – Practice 3 (2:50 – 3:50 CEST)
- 14:20 – 15:30 – Qualifying (7:20 – 8:30 CEST)

Sunday 28 September: 11:00 – 17:00 – Race (4:00 – 10:00 CEST)