Hypercar
- The opening two hours saw frantic action and multiple incidents to enthral a large Fuji Speedway crowd in FIA WEC’s milestone 100th race
- Pole-sitter Will Stevens led a Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA one-two in the opening exchanges, building up a gap in the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R Hypercar over stablemate Sébastien Bourdais in the sister #38 Cadillac entry
- Bourdais saw drama even before the start when he spun on the exit of Turn One on the formation lap but recovered without major delay
- The battle for third place in the opening hour was between the Marco Sørensen-driven #009 Aston Martin and #93 Team Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar piloted by Paul di Resta. The pair exchanged positions twice before the Dane had to serve a drive-through penalty for an early Full Course Yellow infringement
- There was also drama for the #007 Aston Martin of Harry Tincknell, after the Brit collected both the #83 AF Corse Ferrari of Phil Hanson and the #15 BMW M Team WRT car driven by Kevin Magnussen
- That incident damaged all three cars, which subsequently underwent repairs at their first pit-stops; the Aston Martin had a new front bodywork section applied, while the #83’s right sidepod was patched up and the BMW had a rear deck replaced
- Sørensen then went on a potent charge through the field after the first safety car period of the race 45 minutes in, due to debris on the track; he hauled the Valkyrie back up to sixth position prior to losing out to the #94 Peugeot
- The Cadillac one-two was penetrated after an hour of racing when first di Resta and then the championship-leading #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi completed moves to climb to second and third respectively
- The recovering #38 Cadillac driven by Bourdais remains fourth ahead of the #5 Porsche Penske Motorpsort 963 Hypercar in the hands of Julien Andlauer, although the French ace is under investigation for multiple offences
- The #6 sister Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 raced in the first two hours by Laurens Vanthoor made initial progress from a lowly 17th on the grid to sit seventh at one stage, but then received damage via contact to its rear bodywork which had to be changed at the car’s first pit-stop
- Completing the top ten in Hypercar behind Sørensen’s seventh-placed Aston Martin are the #50 Ferrari AF Corse in eighth, the #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR010 Hybrid in ninth and the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 in tenth
- Repairs were needed for another incident involving the #35 Alpine driven by Ferdinand Habsburg and the #8 Toyota of Sébastien Buemi, the latter of whom picked up a left-rear puncture in the contact, obliging him to pit
- The #8 Toyota subsequently received a three-minute stop-and-go penalty for failing to pit again after making an emergency pit visit for repairs. Habsburg was adjudged to have caused the incident and the Alpine driver received a five-second penalty
LMGT3
- James Cottingham was the standout performer of the first two stints at Fuji, as he twice pulled impressive gaps over the LMGT3 field in the #59 United Autosports McLaren he shares with Sébastien Baud and Grégoire Saucy
- The British ace was head-and-shoulders the class of the 18-car field, opening up a significant advantage before handing over to Baud, who consolidates the lead
- The sister United Autosports McLaren started by Darren Leung initially ran a strong second, but was forced to pit after receiving a drive-through penalty for jumping the start; the Brit subsequently began a long fightback in the lower reaches of the order
- Ahmed Al Harthy stealthily climbed through the pack in the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 Evo, running second after executing several impressive overtakes early in the second hour
- Stefano Gattuso also starred in the initial phase of the race as he pushed up into third position in the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang
- Fourth in LMGT3 is the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin, with Ian James fighting gamely in the car he shares with Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi
- Completing the top six are the #33 TF Sport Corvette of Ben Keating and #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche of Ryan Hardwick, but Hardwick was handed a ten-second penalty for an incident with the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari just after the end of the first hour, and will drop back when he serves it at his second stop in the hour three
- The #21 Ferrari was also earlier spun around at Turn One and then tagged by the #36 Alpine, losing more time with an off-track excursion. To compound the team’s misery, François Hériau additionally received a penalty for a Virtual Safety Car offence
- The pole-sitting Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin dropped back to seventh in-class after two hours, as Anthony McIntosh got ready to hand over to Valentin Hasse Clot
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