Alpine Endurance Team has admitted to ‘mixed feelings’ following last weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji (25-27 September), after dominating the majority of the sixth round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign only to miss out on victory by barely half-a-second.
At the scene of its maiden triumph 12 months earlier, the Alpine A424 was once again a force to be reckoned with in Japan come rain and shine, with standout series rookie Victor Martins topping the timesheets in the headlining Hypercar category both in the dry of FP2 on Friday afternoon and a wet FP3 the next morning.
With qualifying subsequently called off due to the deteriorating conditions, the grid was formed based upon each car’s fastest lap from the three free practice sessions, putting the #36 Alpine of Martins and Jules Gounon on pole position – the first for the A424 in FIA WEC – with the sister #35 entry of Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg lining up alongside to complete a commanding front row lockout.
On race day, Gounon and Habsburg took to the wheel for the opening stint on slick tyres on a slightly damp circuit, with the pair gradually pulling away from the chasing pack and trading the lead during the pit-stop cycles.
A succession of neutralisations repeatedly bunched the field back together and eradicated Alpine’s advantage, but on each occasion, the striking blue prototypes were able to re-assert their supremacy in front of an enthusiastic, 72,326-strong trackside crowd in the foothills of Mount Fuji.
Martins lost some time to a Turn One overshoot on cold tyres and Habsburg made light contact with Toyota’s Nyck de Vries, but the #36 continued to lead the #35 – with a healthy margin over their pursuers – until a safety car intervention prompted by an LMGT3 accident with just under an hour remaining turned the race on its head.
As the entire field peeled into the pits for a final refuelling stop, Alpine found itself leapfrogged by both the #8 Toyota – the home heroes rolling the dice by electing not to change tyres and taking the gamble to short-fuel – and #15 BMW, with the #35 rejoining the fray in third and the #36 slipping from first place to fifth.
Following an extended pause in the action to allow for barrier repairs to be carried out, when the race resumed, there were only 20 minutes left on the clock, and Martins was mired back in the pack amongst the traffic.
With a full set of fresh Michelin boots on his A424 and aware he had no time to waste, the young Frenchman went immediately on the attack, rapidly overhauling Aston Martin’s Marco Sørensen for fourth before Milesi strategically let his team-mate by into third.
Dries Vanthoor proved a tougher nut to crack in second, but Martins’ relentless pressure paid off when the Dutchman ran wide into Turn Six, releasing the Essonne native to set off after Ryō Hirakawa in the lead. He ultimately flashed past the chequered flag a mere 0.591 seconds in arrears of the Toyota, with Milesi crossing the finish line fourth, just 1.284 seconds adrift of the podium.
The best joint result in the A424 era built upon the third and fifth places Alpine had achieved three weeks earlier at COTA. It also elevated the French marque above Cadillac into fourth position in the Manufacturers’ World Championship standings, less than 20 points shy of Ferrari in third with two rounds to run, beginning in Barcelona on 16-18 October.
“Second place and a podium is a strong result after an amazing race,” commented Martins. “With 50 minutes remaining, we were running first and second, which shows how well the team executed everything operationally, but the final safety car did not fall our way and I had to fight back after our last stop. Still, the A424 was extremely quick throughout the weekend and even if victory felt within our reach, we can be proud of our performance.”
“We have mixed feelings,” echoed Gounon. “We led for most of the race, but the final pit-stop required a difficult choice that ultimately changed the outcome. Nevertheless, second and fourth is a strong result for the team. After running at the front for so long, we really wanted the victory, so missing out is frustrating but that’s racing, and I want to thank the entire team for everybody’s tremendous work.”
Last year’s Fuji winner Milesi shared his stablemates’ bittersweet emotions, while taking the positives from another event that showcased the A424’s increasingly competitive form.
“It was a strong result, but we were a little gutted to miss the one-two after occupying those positions for more than five hours,” he rued. “The entire team did a great job throughout the week, and everybody can be proud. We achieved our target of outscoring Cadillac, and now we want to carry this level of performance into the final two races.”
“This is another sign that we are performing at the level we expect,” added Alpine Team Principal, Philippe Sinault. “Naturally, there is some disappointment because we ran first and second for almost 80 per cent of the race, but the final safety car compromised our strategy.
“Victor did a tremendous job to recover and fight for victory, but it was not quite enough. After being disappointed with third and fifth in Austin, feeling the same about second and fourth at Fuji is a positive sign. We’re building real momentum and will be ready to fight again in Barcelona!”
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