Porsche began the Fuji weekend in strong shape, edging Toyota in FP1, while BMW posted the fastest time in FP2.
The 6 Hours of Fuji weekend kicked off on Friday with the #6 Porsche topping the timesheets in FP1. Laurens Vanthoor was the quickest driver in the field, recording a lap time of 1:30.561 as the cars took to the track for the first time.
The #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, driven by Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, was just 0.010 seconds further back on fastest lap time. The #8 and the #6 were the only cars to break the 1:30 barrier.
Third in FP1 was the #50 Ferrari 499P of Miguel Molino, Antonio Fuoco and Niklas Nielsen with a best time of 1:31.104. Interestingly, only 0.7 seconds separated the top 10 in the Hypercar category.
United Autosports rose to the top in the LMGT3 class thanks to Marino Sato’s 1:40.528. However, the team also have some work to do ahead of the remaining on-track action after the sister car collided with the Cadillac of Alex Lynn at T10.
FP2: BMW ahead of Porsche and Toyota in Fuji
FP2 saw a surprising name at the top of the timesheets, as BMW M Team WRT sat in first position thanks to Dries Vanthoor’s 1:29.577. The Belgian was just 0.009 seconds quicker than Matt Campbell in the #5 Porsche.
Cadillac also showed that they have some good pace this weekend as Alex Lynn put his #2 V.Series.R in third position, an incredible 0.015 seconds separating the top three. Ryo Hirakawa was the fastest driver for local favourites Toyota, posting the fifth-fastest time.
Some of the other Hypercar teams had some issues to contend with, including the #93 Peugeot 9X8, which was handed a five-minute stop-and-go penalty for not respecting yellow flags. The #50 Ferrari also had some technical issues and spent the last few minutes of the session in the pitlane.
In LMGT3, Alessio Rovera went fastest for Vista AF Corse, edging out the #82 TF Sport Corvette by just 0.027 seconds. With such tight gaps up and down the field, Sunday’s race promises to be an exciting prospect. The full list of times from both free practice sessions are available here and here.
Images (c) FIA WEC press material – Charly Lopez & Javier Jiminez / DPPI