[WEC] 2023 Fuji 6 Hours

[Everso Biggyballies]

Fuji 6Hrs WEC round this weekend.

Sadly no Glickenhaus but we knew that was going to happen.


Timetable, entry list and all the info here: https://www.fiawec.com/en/race/show/4794


Surprise surprise and its wet for FP1.






Full results FP1.
http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Result ... ce%201.PDF

[Everso Biggyballies]

[Everso Biggyballies]

Fuji FP2: Toyota 1-2 at home race

Buemi Beats Kobayashi as Times Improve Further in FP2
No.41 WRT heads LMP2; No.54 AF Corse leads LMGTE Am.

Below are the main headlines from the second free practice session in Fuji.

Hypercar

Sebastien Buemi sets the pace in FP2 at Fuji as fully dry running is completed for first time
The No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hypercar Hybrid laps Fuji Speedway in 1m29.523s, 0.597s ahead of sister Toyota
Kamui Kobayashi sets the best time for the No.7 Toyota as he chases his third victory on home ground in WEC
Hertz Team Jota is best placed non-Toyota as Antonio Felix da Costa laps in a best time of 1m30.584 in gold delivered Porsche 963
Ferrari AF Corse place fourth and sixth as the No.51 499P leads the No.50 car that was quickest in earlier wet FP1 session
No.5 Porsche Penske places fifth as a 1m30.734s is set by Michael Christensen
Peugeot TotalEnergies lap sixth and seventh with the No.93 9X8 heads the No.94 car, as Jean-Eric Vergne and Loic Duval set best lap for 'The Lions'
No.6 Porsche Penske is eighth as Kevin Estre peaks on a 1m31.236 to head the No.99 Proton Porsche 963 Hypercar to round out the top ten
Floyd Vanwall takes 11th ahead of the No.2 Cadillac Racing V.Series R with Richard Westbrook learning the track on his first visit completing majority of laps

LMP2

Points leading No.41 WRT entry of Robert Kubica, Rui Andrade and Louis Deletraz quickest ahead of the No.22 United Autosports entry
A late 1m33.131s lap by Deletraz demotes the No.28 Jota Oreca-Gibson as Pietro Fittipaldi had set the pace for most of session on a 1m33.620s best
The Brazilian's time was just 0.005s quicker than Oliver Jarvis' lap in the No.23 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson which sits third
No.31 WRT car, which won the 2022 6 Hours of Fuji, is fourth as Ferdinand Habsburg sets a 1m33.711s best
Le Mans winners Inter Europol Competition end 90-minute session fifth as Albert Costa clocks time
No.22 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson completes the top six as Phil Hanson sets a time of 1m34.207s


LMGTE Am

Davide Rigon leads the way in LMGTE Am category for the No.54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo squad
Kei Cozzolino springs surprise in LMGTE Am as his time of 1m38.718s midway through session is good enough for best category time for most of session
But Rigon's late time demotes the fellow AF Corse Ferrari
The Cozzolino driven No.21 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo headed the similar Richard Mille AF Corse machine with just 0.006s separating the two cars in second and third
No.77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche that led FP1 is fourth as Julien Andlauer sets best lap of 1m38.864s
'Rexy' Project 1-AO Porsche 911 RSR continues strong form as Matteo Cairoli's 1m38.866s lap is good enough for fifth place
'D'Station Aston Martin makes it three manufacturers in the top six as Casper Stevenson sets time for local heroes
GR Racing's Porsche 911 RSR 19 rounds out the top seven as they aim for third consecutive podium of the season




FP2 Full Results
http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/Result ... ce%202.PDF

[Everso Biggyballies]

Live Stream link for FP3 for when it starts

[Everso Biggyballies]

FUJI 6 HOUR FP3


FP3 sees Kobayashi top a session interfered with by some rain.

No.23 United Autosports fastest in LMP2; No.54 AF Corse leads LMGTE Am. Below are the main highlights from this morning’s FP3 session.

Official notes follow but my initial comment is Peugeot surprisingly off the pace, down with the Vanwall is a bit of a surprise. I thought we might see them nearer th top. Maybe they are keeping their powder dry for more meaningful times like qualy and race.

Hypercar

Kamui Kobayashi in No.7 tops the times in the final free practice session as local hero peaks on a best lap of 1m30.068s
Final free practice session starts wet but soon dries up and times tumble as 60-minute session but a brief shower in final 10-minutes sees incredibly tight times at front of field
Kobayashi's time eclipses Loic Duval's best effort of 1m30.476s in the No.94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8
Hertz Team Jota takes third fastest time as Antonio Felix da Costa laps in a best time of 1m30.501s
The second Peugeot 9X8 is fourth as Mikkel Jensen sets a late 1m30.695 best lap for fourth
The Proton Competition Porsche 963 places strong fifth as Harry Tincknell laps in 1m30.710s in first race for the teams second chassis
No.51 Ferrari AF Corse entry driven by James Calado ends up sixth as British ace ends on a 1m30.798s best
No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing entry is seventh as Ryo Hirakawa sets a 1m30.826s late in session
Cadillac Racing is eighth as it continues to find its range on first visit to Fuji. Alex Lynn sets time for US entry.
Porsche Penske round out the top ten as the No.5 heads No.6 963
No.50 Ferrari AF Corse 11 th after surviving a spectacular lock-up at Turn 1 via Antonio Fuoco
Floyd Vanwall entry driven by Esteban Guerrieri, Joao Paulo de Oliveira and Tristan Vautier take 12th and final Hypercar position

LMP2

No.23 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson tops LMP2 times as Oliver Jarvis sets a 1m34.258s best
That beats the No.36 Alpine ELF Team Oreca-Gibson (Vaxiviere) by just 0.234s
Alpine are sandwiched by United Autosports as the No.22 places third with Phil Hanson setting best lap
Vector Sport places fourth with Gabriel Aubry putting in a best lap of 1m34.719s
No.9 Prema Racing takes fifth position ahead of the Le Mans winning Inter Europol Competition, which has an incident with the No.54 AF Corse midway through the session
Team WRT have challenging session with No.41 heading sister No.31 car in seventh and eighth positions

LMGTE Am

Davide Rigon leads the way for second consecutive session in LMGTE Am category for the No.54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo squad as he sets best lap of 1m39.074s
Earlier, a collision between the Inter Europol Competition Oreca-Gibson and the No.54 AF Corse at Turn 1 sees the latter sent pitwards with a broken wheel and puncture
D'Station Aston Martin makes it to second position on home ground as Tomonobu Fuji sets at 1m39.260s
No.77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche takes second position as Julien Andlauer sets best lap of 1m39.470s
Corvette Racing fight back from difficult Friday to place fourth ahead of the No.57 Kessel Racing entry
'Rexy' Project 1 AO Porsche has eventful session with two spins and a 5-minute penalty for crossing pit lane entry line
Qualifying will take place at 2:40 p.m. local time this afternoon.




The timing event 'tree' covering all sessions to date is here. Just click on the session you want. http://fiawec.alkamelsystems.com/

[PTRACER]

Got my stuff all packed ready to go in the morning

[Everso Biggyballies]

Got my stuff all packed ready to go in the morning

Enjoy and hope the weather isnt wet. Forecast looks quite promising, high 20's and sunshine for much of the day.. Look forward to some pics!

[erwin greven]

Got my stuff all packed ready to go in the morning

Enjoy the event!!

[Everso Biggyballies]

FUJI 6 HOUR FP3


FP3 sees Kobayashi top a session interfered with by some rain.

No.23 United Autosports fastest in LMP2; No.54 AF Corse leads LMGTE Am. Below are the main highlights from this morning’s FP3 session.

Official notes follow but my initial comment is Peugeot surprisingly off the pace, down with the Vanwall is a bit of a surprise. I thought we might see them nearer th top. Maybe they are keeping their powder dry for more meaningful times like qualy and race.

More strange I thought re Peugeot was that the two Peugeots, even down in 10th and 11th were split by effectively 2 seconds.

Now the reason has been issued for the lack of pace and indeed failure to perform as they themselves as well as many of us were expecting.

Their reasons sound perfectly feasible and I fully believe them given the qualy scenario and the difficulty in having get all the stars aligned in a small window of time. I believe they will be more on the pace come the race based on reasonings (excuses) they have given.

Peugeot attributed its lowly qualifying result at Fuji Speedway to struggles with getting its tyres into the optimal working window according to the head of Stellantis Motorsport.

In the first race since Peugeot’s first FIA World Endurance Championship podium at Monza, Mikkel Jensen and Loic Duval only qualified 10th and 11th for Sunday’s six-hour contest, out of a dozen Hypercar entries.

Jensen was the fastest of the pair in the No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 but still came through 2.1 seconds off the overall pace set by Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Kamui Kobayashi.

Stellantis Motorsport boss Jean-Marc Finot told reporters after qualifying that both drivers faced difficulty in getting the medium compound slicks into their most effective working range during the limited time available, while Duval also had a delay in his run.

“It’s not what we expected,” reflected Finot. “Tenth or 11th is not our target. After Monza, we were hoping for better.

“On this specific track, we didn’t put the tires in a good window. In just 15 minutes we have to put the car in a window. The track is specific, and we didn’t achieve it.

“On the No. 94, we had a lock of tires, so we had a flat spot and changed tires. When we came back into the window, it was raining. Even on the No. 93, we didn’t reach the right window.”

Jensen, who shares the No. 93 Peugeot with Jean-Eric Vergne and Paul Di Resta, added that variable conditions at Fuji this weekend have made it difficult to set up the car.

“It’s no secret that we expected more, but we just didn’t get the tires to work,” said the Danish driver.

“It never felt like we had the bite, so it was hard to put a lap [in]. We more or less maximized what we had in the session, but we need to analyze why we didn’t have more grip.

“I think generally with the mixed conditions it’s been hard for us to put the perfect car together [in Free Practice].

“Sometimes we have some good laps but then it doesn’t really work when we change [something] because it’s super sensitive on the right tire pressure and right balance.

“Even in this session, we had a bit of drizzling out there.”

Despite a tough qualifying, Finot reckons the grip issues won’t carry over into the race and harm Peugeot’s chances of challenging the other Hypercar manufacturers.

The French manufacturer is aiming to continue its recent uptick in form that included leading at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finishing third at Monza with the No. 93 car.

“We are not specifically worried because in the race we put the tires in the right window for longer stints,” said Finot.

“It will be different tomorrow. But so far, we are not the best of the front-runners on this track. We are losing time mainly in sector three.”

[Everso Biggyballies]

Qualifying Highlights I 2023 6 Hours of Fuji I FIA WEC

[PTRACER]

Just got here, climbing some extremely steep hills to try to get to the first corner grandstand

[MonteCristo]

Just got here, climbing some extremely steep hills to try to get to the first corner grandstand

Enjoy! Hopefully it's a good race.

[PTRACER]

Just got here, climbing some extremely steep hills to try to get to the first corner grandstand

Enjoy! Hopefully it's a good race.

Thanks! 30 mins in and enjoying so far. Most of the cars have pretty generic racing car engine sounds except for the Acura which sounds very throaty and American.

[PTRACER]

And the crowd goes wild. Both Toyotas have passed the leading Ferrari. Just saw a Corvette totally out of control into T1, I really thought he was going into the wall for a minute!

[MonteCristo]

Just got here, climbing some extremely steep hills to try to get to the first corner grandstand

Enjoy! Hopefully it's a good race.

Thanks! 30 mins in and enjoying so far. Most of the cars have pretty generic racing car engine sounds except for the Acura which sounds very throaty and American.

Chevy?

Plenty of action at T1 at the start.