Toyota, BMW and Ferrari in the run for crown at Fuji

WECHyperCar

Sep 24

With Ferrari triumphing in Austin while Toyota and BMW failed to score big points, the 6 Hours of Fuji is critical in their fight for the world championship crown.

Toyota Racing nine points ahead

TOYOTA RACING aims to strengthen its FIA World Endurance Championship title challenge with victory on home ground in the 6 Hours of Fuji on 27 September.

The team is ready to respond following a cruel finish to the last race in Austin earlier this month, when a technical issue snatched victory from its grasp with just 11 minutes remaining. Despite that, TOYOTA RACING extended its advantage in the manufacturers’ World Championship to nine points going into the sixth race of the season.

Victory at Fuji Speedway to complement its Le Mans win in June is the target for the team’s home event, at a venue with particular significance.

Conway, Kobayashi and de Vries on top of drivers championship

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries, who came so close to victory in Austin in their #7 TR010 HYBRID, are tied on points at the top of the drivers’ standings.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “We are expecting a lot of Japanese fans supporting us and we are very much looking forward to coming home. It’s an important race, not only for the World Championship, but because it’s our home race and the second most important of the season, after Le Mans. Obviously, we want to fight for the win, particularly in front of all our TOYOTA colleagues, partners and fans. It’s always a big target for us at the start of every season and we’ll give everything to achieve it.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “We all look forward to Fuji because it’s our home race and being in Japan is so cool. It's always a lot of fun to catch up with our partners and our colleagues at TOYOTA. Driving a TR010 HYBRID around Fuji will be a lot of fun too because it's a very technical circuit, not easy to get right. We've had great results there in the past, and I hope we can do so again this year.”

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “It's a special week for us because it’s a true home race. We obviously have a lot of colleagues, friends and support in Japan and it's an opportunity to share time with them and hopefully make them proud. I like the track, it’s fun to drive around, and the location is fantastic. So, I'm excited about this race, when hopefully we can put Austin behind us.”

Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa fourth

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa recovered from misfortunes in Austin to finish a battling sixth in their #8 TR010 HYBRID and close the gap to just 11 points with three races remaining.

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “Fuji is a big race for us, and winning there is always one of our priorities. It’s an amazing week with the support we get, and the different activities we do. Driving a Hypercar there is fun too, because you have a mix of high-speed and low-speed corners, with the long, wide straight. Traffic is tricky, and it’s not easy on the tyres, so it’s a challenging circuit.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “Fuji is a unique race for us. It's a week that I really enjoy and cherish. We have the home crowd and our colleagues there, so we feel the pride of Japan behind us. It’s a great motivation to perform well. I also enjoy the track. It's quite quirky with a nice high-speed section at the start, then the last sector with connecting long corners.”

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “I grew up as a racing driver at Fuji. Since my first year in Formula Challenge Japan in 2010 I have driven there, so I really know and like the track. It's just an important event for us and for me personally. It’s my only race of the year in Japan, and it’s very special to compete in front of the Japanese fans. I'm really excited and looking forward to it.” Source: Toyota Racing

Rast-Frijns with BMW #20, co-leaders in drivers championship

René Rast and Robin Frijns are leading the drivers championship with 75 points as does the trio Conway-Kobayashi-de Vries. Their win at Spa and the 36 points earned with a P2 at Le Mans got them on top of the Drivers standing.

After their first victory in IMSA last weekend at Indianapolis, BMW M Team WRT aims for a second win this season in FIA WEC to recover the 9 points gap with Toyota in the Manufacturers championship.

#20 BMW M Hybrid V8 — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Spa-Francorchamps. Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde won the second round of the 2026 Championship at Spa.

“It feels like we have finally got the monkey off our back,” added James, who is also the THOR team principal. “We’ve been so close over the last two seasons, and to come here, have such an impressive weekend all around and finish first and third speaks volumes about this team and what we can do.”

Ferrari back in the run after Lone Star Le Mans

Three weeks after Lone Star Le Mans, where Ferrari secured pole position with Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi, and claimed its first win of the season with Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, the 499Ps head to the circuit at the foot of Mount Fuji aiming to score points of vital importance for the World Championship standings.

The 26 points scored overall by the official Ferrari – AF Corse team’s 499Ps in the last round contested in the United States of America have enabled Ferrari to remain third in the World Manufacturers’ Championship standings, closing the gap to the leaders, now 26 points.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans. The three Ferrari 499P

Pier Guidi-Calado-Giovinazzi fifth

Antonio Giovinazzi scored two poles this season (at Imola and Austin). Together with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado driving the #51 Ferrari 499P, they are fifth on 58 points in the Drivers Championship, 17 points behind the leaders.

#51 Ferrari 499P — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Pole for Giovinazzi at COTA.

Alessandro Pier Guidi #51: “As in every race, we will try to make the most of our potential and secure valuable points for the World Championship standings. Our result at Fuji in 2025 (the number 51 crew lined up second on the starting grid and finished 15th, Ed.) did not fully reflect our potential. We return with that belief and will aim to give a better account of ourselves. We will approach this race as we did Interlagos: on the eve of that race we certainly were not among the favourites, but we produced a great team performance to take an excellent second place.”

James Calado #51: “As a team, we head into the 6 Hours of Fuji with one goal: to get everything right and try to improve on previous years. We will work on every detail, determined to leave Japan with points that, at this stage of the championship, will be particularly important for the standings.”

Antonio Giovinazzi #51: “As the number 51 crew, we came away from Austin with less than we might have, although our teammates in the 499P number 50 scored a great victory. We now return to action at Fuji, a circuit that has proved challenging for us in previous years. We will do everything possible to improve on the past, approaching the race in Japan with absolute determination. A strong result would be crucial for the championship before we return to Europe for the final two rounds.”

Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen, are seventh

Fuoco-Molina-Nielsen, winners in America, are seventh with a 21-point gap.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit of The Americas. Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen win Lone Star Le Mans in #50 Ferrari 499P

Antonio Fuoco #50: “We return to the track in Japan after our fine victory in Austin, a very important result for our crew and the entire team heading into the year’s final three races. We know Fuji has been a difficult circuit for us in the past, but as always we will do our best to continue the positive run that has brought Ferrari a podium in Brazil and a win in America.”

Miguel Molina #50: “Following our crew’s success at COTA, we’re heading to Japan in high spirits and determined to do our best to secure another positive result. We know it won’t be easy at Fuji, a circuit where we’ve never finished on the podium, but we go there knowing we’ll have to get everything right to achieve that goal.”

Nicklas Nielsen #50: “We haven’t achieved great results with the 499P at Fuji so far, but we could have said the same about another circuit like São Paulo, where this year we had a strong race and our teammates in the number 51 finished second. So we will take to the track with the same approach, aiming for a mistake-free race and as many points as possible.” Source: Ferrari