Alpine prevailed in Fuji at the World Endurance Championship‘s 100th race, owing to a bold strategy call as the race entered its final stages.
The #35 squad, piloted by Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand, Habsburg, and Charles Milesi, started P9 for Sunday’s race and fell further down the field due to a dreadful start.
However, the team recovered through an incident-packed race which saw multiple incidents.
Peugeot celebrated their best result in the series to date with a P2, while the #6 Porsche finished one ahead of its sister car in P3.
The sister Porsche forced Ferrari to wait until the season finale in Bahrain to clinch its maiden Manufacturers’ Championship.
The victory is Alpine’s third in WEC, and means that four different brands have won in succession for the first time in WEC history.
Habsburg confessed that the victory means “everything,” adding, “it’s the coolest thing to win a race with two of your best friends in the paddock.
“Charles and Paul-Loup are not only some of the best drivers, but also the best people that I know.
“They have motivated me so much through my own mistakes and my own moments where I was not doing so well.
“It’s because of them really that we were able to win together as a team. Holding this trophy has been in my dreams for quite some time.”
The opening two hours in Fuji were frantic. Pole-sitter Will Stevens led the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R off the line and away from Sébastien Bourdais in the sister #38. Bourdais, however, had a far-from-ideal start as he spun on the formation lap, recovering before the flag.
The #009 Aston Martin and #93 Peugeot battled for third place throughout the opening hour. However, the fight ended abruptly when race control handed Marco Sørensen a drive-through penalty for a full-course yellow infringement. Sørensen later went on a charge following the first debris-caused safety car, dragging his Aston Martin back through the field.
Harry Tincknell found himself under investigation in the #007 Aston as an optimistic lunge at Turn 10 saw him collect the #83 AF Corse Ferrari and Kevin Magnussen’s #15 BMW. All three cars underwent repairs at their first pit stops.
After an hour of racing, Paul di Resta’s #93 Peugeot and Antonio Giovinazzi’s #51 Ferrari finally breached the Cadillac one-two by jumping Bourdais.
Eventual victor Habsburg found himself in hot water after causing a rear-left puncture on Sébastien Buemi’s #8 Toyota, who subsequently received a three-minute stop-and-go for failing to pit again after making an emergency pit visit. Habsburg did not escape unpunished, however, and received a five-second penalty.
After a busy opening two hours, drama continued heading into the mid-portion of the race. Raffaele Marciello crashed heavily, prompting a lengthy safety car period to allow for repairs to the barrier. Thankfully, he was unhurt.
The officials initially chose to place the race under virtual safety car conditions, which saw some teams benefit heavily. As Nicolás Varrone jumped into the #99 Porsche, he inherited the lead from teammate Nico Pino. The #12 Cadillac, in which Norman Nato had replaced Will Stevens, was jumped by several cars.
The Argentine held off the experienced Jean-Éric Vergne for a few laps, but Vergne slipped past with a bold lunge at Turn 10 just as the race hit the four-hour mark. Nyck de Vries led the following pack in his #7 Toyota, and also overtook Varrone, before battling with Malthe Jakobsen’s Peugeot and Nato’s Cadillac.
Kévin Estre made incredible progress through his stint in the #6 Porsche, picking off several opponents as he clawed his way up through the field.
However, the drama was to continue. Tom Gamble collided with the LMGT3 #27 Aston Martin in his #007 Valkyrie, which saw the safety car return to the track. Cars scrambled for the pits, and it was Mikkel Jensen who took advantage to lead in his #93 Peugeot as the race went green before hour five. The #27 continued its race, but Gamble’s #007 Aston Martin retired.
Also taking advantage of the safety car was the #35 Alpine, and take advantage they did. The safety car elevated Milesi to P2, as he settled into a fight for the lead with Estre and Jensen.
With an hour remaining, Alpine put themselves in pole position to win the race. As the leaders boxed, the #35 crew opted to replace only the left tyres on their car, while Peugeot and Porsche replaced the complete set.
This bold decision gave Milesi the lead, who produced a flawless performance to take the chequered flag 7.682 seconds clear of Jensen, placing them and the team in the WEC record books.
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