Late drama saw the #81 TF Sport Corvette reign supreme at the World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Fuji, pipping a penalised Ferrari at the post.
For the second race in a row in the LMGT3 category in WEC, AF Corse took the chequered flag and saw another team stand atop the podium due to a penalty. This time, it was due to #21 receiving a five-second penalty for an infringement during a pit stop.
Victory at Fuji is TF Sport’s second of the season, after the #33 sister car was victorious at the season opener in Qatar.
The race started excellently for James Cottingham in the #59 United Autosports McLaren. The Briton held a significant advantage over the field before he handed the steering wheel to Sébastien Baud.
Darren Leung, in the sister United Autosports car, remained in a solid second but then had to serve a drive-through penalty for jumping the start.
Ahmed Al Harthy had an excellent start from P11 on the grid, climbing all the way to second after several good overtakes in the opening two hours. Stefano Gattuso was equally impressive in his #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang, climbing from P9 to P3.
The #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin held firm in the opening stint, with Ian James improving their fifth-place start to a P4. Ben Keating followed in the #33 Corvette, while Ryan Hardwick sat P6 in his #92 Porsche. However, Hardwick was yet to serve his 10-second penalty for a collision with the #21 AF Corse Ferrari.
The #21 Ferrari was also spun at Turn 1, before being tagged by the #36 Alpine. Making things worse for the squad, François Hériau received a penalty for a virtual safety car offence.
Anthony McIntosh was unable to continue his qualifying effort for the race, as he fell to P7 by the end of his shift.
A safety car began the third hour as the #59 McLaren lost ground following its driver swap. Baud came under pressure from the Iron Dames Porsche, and subsequently fell to P2 as Rahel Frey made a bold move amidst traffic at Turn 1. Frey opened a small gap but lost the lead as Riccardo Pera’s #92 Porsche slipped through.
The #33 Corvette moved up to P3 with Jonny Edgar at the wheel, following Keating’s stint. Chasing him was Sean Geleal, fighting back in the previously penalised #95 McLaren. The equally unfortunate #21 Ferrari followed, with good work from Alessio Rovera seeing them fight back.
Dennis Olsen took over the #88 Mustang, which Gattuso had been driving excellently, and held the car in P6.
The fortune of the polesitters continued to tumble as the big sister #007 Hypercar hit the #27 Aston Martin. It managed to continue the race, but suffered significant damage.
The final stages of the race were all about the front of the pack. It seemed certain that the #21 Ferrari would prevail, especially after Alessio Rovera rejoined in the lead following a late dash for fuel. However, the stewards awarded a five-second penalty for a pit stop infringement, bringing the #81 Corvette into contention for the first time in the race.
Rovera appeared to have enough of a margin, but a need for fuel management caused the squad’s safe lead to collapse on the final lap. The Ferrari crossed the line just two seconds clear of Charlie Eastwood’s Corvette, seeing the victory given to TF Sport. The #21 claimed P2, with the #31 and #46 BMW cars following in third and fourth.
Sunday’s results in Japan mean that all is to play for in WEC as the teams head to the final race of the season in Bahrain.
READ MORE – Bold strategy provides Alpine with victory at WEC 6 Hours of Fuji
Discussion about this post