Both Alpine A424 led a total of 166 laps of the 203 covered but Toyota Racing did the smartest last pitstop to take the win of the 6 Hours of Fuji at Fuji Speedway this Sunday.

Toyota Racing wins dramatic home race.

With just an hour remaining, the TR010 HYBRIDs were out of podium contention after experiencing different setbacks against strong Hypercar competition. But, in front of a 72,326-strong weekend crowd, a bold strategy turned the race on its head, and determined driving earned a tense win.

Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa won the race in their #8 TR010 HYBRID and took the lead in the drivers’ standings with two races remaining in the season. The team’s 10th victory at Fuji stretches its advantage in the manufacturers’ championship to 23 points.

Sebastien Buemi on board of the #8 started from eighth when the race began on a damp track. Sébastien quickly made up two positions.

Early in the fifth hour, Brendon Hartley was pushed into a spin by the #007 Aston Martin at turn one. At the next pit stops soon after, Ryō Hyrakawa took the wheel in sixth.

However, a safety car with 55 minutes to go enabled a bold strategic call from the #8 crew. Engineers correctly anticipated a longer interruption due to barrier repairs, so the #8 was refuelled accordingly, and did not change tyres. Ryō Hyrakawa therefore led the race when it resumed with 20 minutes remaining. As the rain fell and under intense pressure, he held off the #36 Alpine and crossed the line 0.591secs ahead.

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “This is one of our best wins in a long time. I’m really proud of this one, especially because it was completely unexpected going into the last part of the race. The team made a great call on the last pit stop and it was enough to jump ahead of everyone. An amazing strategy move. And then of course, Ryō kept everyone behind and didn’t make any mistakes in difficult conditions. All in all, it was an amazing win.”

📷 © Toyota Racing. From left to right: Hyrakawa, Buemi, Hartley

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “What an incredible race and home win. I’m so happy for Ryō to take the flag at his home race. It's a really nice feeling that we're going to enjoy for a while. We didn't have the ultimate pace but with good execution, no mistakes on track, and an amazing strategy at the end, we came away with the home win. Massive thanks for everyone on the team.”

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It’s amazing to be on the top step of the podium in front of our fans. Of course, we always pushed to get a victory but until the last safety car, it didn’t look possible. The team did a great job on strategy. This win is for them. The last few laps were really stressful. The track conditions were quite tricky, and the Alpine was closing quite fast. I was able to manage it, so I’m really happy, especially in Fuji. It’s a really special feeling and also good for the World Championship.” Source: Toyota Racing

Alpine shines in Fuji with a podium and P4

The weekend that began with the A424's maiden Hypercar pole position ended with Alpine Endurance Team securing second and fourth at the 6 Hours of Fuji. The two cars performed constantly during the race, and dominated most of the race on P1 and P2 until the appearance of the last Safety Car.

📷 © Alpine Endurance Team. Both Alpine A424 led the 6 Hours of Fuji during 166 laps of the 203 covered.

Jules Gounon and Ferdinand Habsburg entrusted with the challenging opening stint on slick tyres. Both held their ground before gradually pulling clear as the surface improved.

Gounon handed the #36 to Victor Martins during the first scheduled stop, while Habsburg briefly assumed the lead through the alternate pit cycle. Despite contact when the #7 Toyota challenged for position, Habsburg remained firmly in contention.

A succession of neutralisations repeatedly closed the field, but the two Alpines continued to control proceedings. The order alternated through the driver changes and strategic phases, with the #35 leading at halfway before the #36 moved back ahead.

After five hours, Victor Martins led Charles Milesi by just over two seconds, with both A424s holding a clear advantage over their closest challengers.

The complexion of the race changed shortly afterwards when a final Safety Car erased the gaps. With the Alpines running nose-to-tail, the team elected to service both during the same pit-stop window, protecting the overall result rather than compromising one. The time lost in the double stop allowed the #8 Toyota and #15 BMW to emerge ahead before the final restart.

With approximately 15 minutes remaining, Martins launched an impressive recovery from fourth. After climbing to second, he closed rapidly on the leading Toyota and crossed the line only 0.591 seconds behind. Milesi completed the race in fourth, just 1.284 seconds short of the podium.

The result gives Alpine its highest two-car points haul of the A424 era. Combined with the podium and double top-five finish achieved in Austin, it confirms the team's increasingly competitive form ahead of the final two rounds.

📷 © Alpine Endurance Team. Alpine A424 #36

Jules Gounon: “We have mixed feelings today. We led for most of the race, but the final pit stop required a difficult choice that ultimately changed the outcome. Nevertheless, second and fourth is a strong result for the team. After running at the front for so long, we really wanted the victory, so missing out is frustrating. That is racing, and I want to thank the entire team for its tremendous work.”

Victor Martins: “Second place and a podium is a strong result after an amazing race. With 50 minutes remaining, we were running first and second, which shows how well the team executed everything operationally. The final Safety Car did not fall our way. With both cars at the front, it was difficult to take a different gamble on either one. I had to fight back after our last stop, but the A424 was extremely quick throughout the weekend. We can be proud, even if victory felt within our reach s a very difficult race, but we had an encouraging start.. We had the pace to stay with the leaders and were in the fight for the podium. The puncture cost us valuable time, and we had to offset our strategy. We then had an issue with the car, which made the rest of the race particularly challenging. Under these circumstances, I think we made the most of the situation and maximised everything we had.”

Alpine A424 #35 — 📷 © Alpine Endurance Team. Alpine A424 #36

Charles Milesi: “It is a strong result for the team, with both cars scoring and our highest combined points haul since the programme began. Still, we are a little gutted to miss the one-two after occupying the top two positions for more than five hours. The entire team did a great job throughout the week, and everyone can be proud. We achieved our target of outscoring Cadillac, and now we want to carry this level of performance into Barcelona and the final two races.”

Ferdinand Habsburg: “It was an incredible day in many ways. Starting from the front row and being trusted with such a difficult opening stint, on slick tyres on a damp track, are moments I will never forget. Hearing my engineer tell me I was leading the race was particularly special. Things did not quite fall our way at the end, but that takes nothing away from the tremendous job everyone did.” Source: Alpine Endurance Team

BMW M Team WRT claims another podium at Fuji

1he #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 started the race at Fuji Speedway from 14th on the grid. Thanks to flawless performances from Magnussen, Marciello and Vanthoor, combined with a strong strategy, the trio worked its way into the top ten step by step. A safety car period in the final hour then moved BMW M Team WRT into podium contention, with Vanthoor eventually bringing the car home in third place for car #15’s third podium of the season.

Kevin Magnussen (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 3rd place): "It is a great result for us. The great work of the pitwall and the pitstop crew made the difference today. We didn’t have the pace to finish on the podium, but we still did. We kept it clean all race, so it was a great job by the team today and congrats to everyone." Source: BMW

Double points finish for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA #38 lined up in P7 since qualifying session was canceled. By hour four, the #38 had progressed to P4 but fell foul of the safety car period, having to stop for fuel and losing position taking the checkered flag in P5.

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Jack Aitken: “Another top-five finish, so it’s nice that we’ve been able to put together a consistent run of results. I think we were in the fight for the podium if we’d managed to get absolutely everything out of it today, but it was a pretty wild race with a lot of interruptions, so it was quite a tricky one. The car ran well and we had a pretty mistake-free race, which is always what we want. It’s just a shame not to come away with a trophy.”

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Earl Bamber: “It was an okay day. We probably could have got a bit more out of it, but pace-wise we were there. A top-five finish is okay, but I think there was potentially a little more available.”

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Sébastian Bourdais: “Overall, it was a decent day. There were some very tricky calls to make on the pit wall and, with the last one, you had to gamble on the future. When you look at how hard we fought to come back from the incident with Earl early on, and a start where he seemed to get all the bad breaks, to then be knocking on the door of a podium and come away with fifth, I don’t think we should be too disappointed. I guess once you start being disappointed with top-five finishes, that’s probably a good thing as well.” Source: Cadillac Racing

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