6 Hours of Fuji – Race: Porsche celebrates, historic results for the French

Cadillac did not get caught. Starting from pole position for the first time, the American car perfectly negotiated the first corner and resisted the biggest threat, the Toyota #8. The latter was attacked by the BMW #15, which took second place right after the first corner.

Behind, there was a battle on all fronts. The Alpine #35 was attacked from all sides. Even though Ferdinand Habsburg was able to respond to his opponents, the French car lost several positions.

Several incidents in the first kilometers.

At the very beginning of the second round, Ferrari #83 completely missed its braking point and hit Porsche #5. This created a chain reaction as many cars were involved in the incident. The German car, as well as Alpine #35, were the main victims of the incident. The first safety car was deployed. Ferrari from team AF Corse was given a 30-second penalty.

In LMGT3, the Vista AF Corse team lost all the benefit of its good qualifications. The car that achieved pole position quickly found itself at the back of the pack.

The drivers were visibly excited at the start of the race. At the restart, Porsche #6 overtook Toyota #8, relegating its two main title rivals behind. The two German cars from the Jota team were fighting. #12 was sent off track. In the other category, the two McLarens from United Autosport suffered heavy losses at the first corner. #95, then on the provisional podium, was spun out.

Great start to the race for Alpine.

As the battle raged throughout the pack, including a comeback by the Alpine #36 with Mick Schumacher at the wheel, the Cadillac #2 managed to break away. It had a six-second lead after 50 minutes of racing.

With a very daring attack, Sarah Bovy, in the Lamborghini #85, managed to take second place, thanks to an overtaking at the first corner on the McLaren #59. The other car from United Autosport suffered a technical problem and limped back to the pits.

Drama at the start as #35 gets caught in a collision, dropping 8 positions, while #36 climbs 5 spots. The fight’s far from over – we’re pushing hard for a comeback to the top! 📈#AlpineEnduranceTeam pic.twitter.com/H4Y00dNJ9K

— Alpine Endurance Team (@SignatechAlpine) September 15, 2024

The first pit stop wave slightly changed the hierarchy. Cadillac lost its first position. But the American car quickly caught up with the leading Porsche #6. The Iron Dames briefly took the lead of the GT3 group, before returning to their second position. The Corvette #81 was leading with a five-second advantage.

After a safety car intervention to remove numerous debris on the track, the Porsche #6 found its cruising pace. This allowed it to gain a small lead over the Cadillac #2. The latter was under threat from the BMW #15 and the Ferrari #50. In the background, the Iron Ladies lost their grip a bit, dropping from second to fourth place. Sarah Bovy handed over the wheel to Rahel Frey.

A high pace for Alpine.

Alpine continued its climb. After a difficult start to the race for #35, it returned to the points zone after 2 hours and 20 minutes. Jules Gounon overtook Peugeot #94 shortly after the other Alpine. The two blue cars rejoined the Top 10 shortly after the first third of the race.

The new pit stops benefited Ferrari #50. The red car took the lead of the race, just ahead of Porsche #6. André Lotterer was glued to the gearbox of the Italian car. Behind, BMW #15, despite a long stop due to a problem with the tire-changing gun, overtook Cadillac #2.

The start of Valentino Rossi’s relay, on the BMW #46 GT3, was extraordinary. The former Moto GP rider, who was discovering the track, was very aggressive, gaining several positions in just three laps.

Hard blow for Cadillac

The Alpine #36, penalized with a drive-through for not slowing down during a yellow flag, has fallen back in the hierarchy. After threatening the leading Ferrari for a long time, André Lotterer has taken back the lead of the 6 Hours of Fuji. However, the Italian car immediately regained the advantage.

In the fight to regain third place, Cadillac #2 was hit by a puncture. This would have occurred following contact with Raffaele Marciello’s BMW.

After a long battle between the two leading hypercars, Porsche #6, who leads the drivers’ championship, took the lead and quickly created a gap of about ten seconds on Ferrari #50.

On the French side, while Alpine’s work is to be highlighted, Peugeot also made an excellent start to the race. The #94 car spent a long time in the top half of the field and was a serious contender for the Top 8.

Lamborghini abandons

The #35 was simply fantastic during this Japanese classic. Toyota, Porsche, or Ferrari. No matter the opponent, the Habsburg/Gounon/Milesi trio was perfect. Without the incident on the second lap, the provisional podium was more than conceivable. Especially since the native of Haute-Marne achieved the best lap of the race.

The first retirement to note came from the Lamborghini #63, after 4 hours and 15 minutes of the race. While changing gears on a rumble strip, Daniil Kvyat experienced a gearbox issue and had to immobilize his Hypercar at the edge of the track.

At 1:15 from the end, the race suddenly ignited. Charles Milesi, in a league of his own, claimed the third position. At the same time, the Porsche #5 and the Toyota #7 collided. The Japanese car suffered a suspension breakage and returned to the pits with a huge cloud of smoke.

The final hour of the race was breathless. Alpine #35 was setting a crazy pace, and continued to increase the gap. But Charles Milesi, too optimistic, sent a Corvette spinning. Penalized with a drive through, he lost a lot in the process. Toyota #8, which had taken over the provisional podium, received the same penalty for obstructing Porsche #6, which was one lap ahead.

Podium for Alpine

Behind, Mick Schumacher’s other Alpine was a second faster per lap and managed to climb back to third position, thereby securing his first podium. The Peugeot #94 was in similar conditions and finished fourth. All French cars finished in the points.

The Cadillac was unlucky at Fuji. Hit by a puncture around the halfway point, it dropped down the order. In the last half hour, while battling with Alpine #36, the driver lost control and ended the race in the wall.

CADILLAC IN THE WALL 💔

Huge impact sustained. The race is over for the pole-sitting #2 Cadillac Racing.

Watch LIVE on https://t.co/IPZa0nvsLu.#WEC #6HFuji pic.twitter.com/IQS18yMDlQ

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) September 15, 2024

In GT3, the #54 of the Vista AF Corse team had a strong end of the race and won. The #92 finished second after a crazy comeback. It wins the title in the category since the other car fighting for the title was not in the points zone.