6 Hrs Fuji 270 minute report: Ferrari and Aston hold their nerve in GTE

The fight at the front of the LMGTE Pro category continues to be tightly fought, with the differing pit stop strategies meaning that both the No.99 Aston Martin Vantage and the No.51 AF Corse Ferrari have had their turn at the head of the time sheets. 

As the clock ticked over to the final 90 minutes of the 6 Hours of Fuji, it is a Ferrari 1-2 in the Pro class, the No.51 of Bruni leading the No.71 of Rigon as earlier in the race.  Hong Kong’s Darryl O’Young had a solid stint in the Aston Martin and has now handed the wheel to his team mate Alex MacDowall who is being pressed hard by Porsche Team Manthey’s Joerg Bergmeister in the No.91 911 RSR.

 In the LMGTE Am category, Aston’s control at the head of the class has not diminished – with a gap of just 14 seconds between the Kristian Poulsen’s No.95 Vantage V8 and the No.98 sister car of Paul Dalla Lana.  Prospeed Competition’s No.75 911 RSR, with Matthieu Vaxivière at the wheel, had climbed up into third place but a recent scheduled pit stop just at the 4.5 hour mark means that Australian Stephen Wyatt in the No.81 AF Corse Ferrari has now taken his place.

15:29:11 GTE pro leader #99 Aston into pits #51 Ferrari retakes lead

15:27:20 Rebellion #12 back on track

15:22:07 Oak Morgan #35 takes 3rd in P2 after 90 second penalty for #27 Oreca

15:19:55 P2 2nd place car #47 Oreca also into pitlane 

15:18:51 P2 leader #26 Ligier into pitlane

15:09:45 Fassler into #2 Audi

15:09:08 Audi #2 into pits

15:16:16 Porsche #20 into pits Hartley into car

15:06:50 Aston #99 takes lead in GTE Pro

15:05:53 GTE Am leader Aston #95 into pits but just retains lead from #98 Aston

15:04:02 Rebellion #12 into pit garage after cutting out problems on track

15:03:11 In GTE Am #95 Aston leads from #98 Aston and #81 Ferrari 

15:02:17 In GTE Pro #51 Ferrari leads from #71 Ferrari and #99 Aston

15:00:41 In P2 #26 Ligier leads from #47 Oreca and #27 Oreca

14:59:29 90 second stop and go penalty for #27 Oreca for speeding in pit lane 

14:58:25 With 2 hours left #8 Toyota leads #7 Toyota from #20 Porsche in LM P1

14:54:38 Aston #98 passes Aston #95 for GTE Am lead

14:50:33 Audi #1 back up to 4th

14:48:26 Porsche #14 into pits Dumas stays in

14:47:47 Oreca #27 reported for speeding in pit lane

14:47:08 No further action for yellow flag incidents for #7 #51 and #98

14:45:02 Toyota #7 also in Nakajima now in car

14:44:14 Toyota #8 into pits from the lead

14:36:04 Porsche #14 retakes 3rd place

14:35:28 Audi #1 into pitlane

14:30:03 Ferrari #51 takes lead in GTE Pro

14:24:35 37 second gap between #1 Audi in 3rd and #14 Porsche in 4th

14:22:00 Porsche #14 now back up to usual speed

14:19:07 Porsche #14 reports lack of power

14:14:20 Audi #2 into pitlane from 5th place

14:11:21 Audi #1 now up to 3rd

14:10:02 Porsche #20 into pitlane

14:04:57 In GTE Am #95 Aston leads from #98 Aston and #81 Ferrari

14:03:30 In GTE Pro #99 Aston leads from #71 Ferrari and #51 Ferrari

14:02:04 In P2 #26 Ligier leads from #47 Oreca and #27 Oreca

14:01:03 At halfway mark #8 Toyota leads by 8 seconds from #7 Toyota with #20 Porsche in 3rd

Full results can be found HERE

Fiona Miller