The first 90-minutes of the 6 Hours of Fuji saw some incredible action throughout the field as the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship burst in to life at a dry and cloudy Fuji Speedway.
Some fantastic action on the first lap saw Mark Webber’s #20 Porsche 919 Hybrid initially claim the lead before pole sitter Sebastien Buemi re-took the Australian with a bold move. Behind them there was more drama as both of the Audi R18 e-tron Quattro entries suffered a brief loss of speed and fell temporarily behind the LMP1-L entries of Rebellion Racing.
Buemi soon managed to open a small gap to the chasing Webber, who then pitted early due to a slow puncture. This ensured that the #7 Toyota Racing TS 040 Hybrid driven by local hero, Kazuki Nakajima, made it a 1-2 for the Japanese manufacturer.
After the first scheduled stops, the out of sequence #20 Porsche picked up the lead from the two Toyota’s which then swapped positions, as well as their drivers, with Stephane Sarrazin taking over #7 and Anthony Davidson in #8. However, Davidson soon overtook Sarrazin to take what ultimately became the lead when Webber made his second pit stop.
As the race reached the 90-minutes mark the #8 Toyota TS 040 Hybrid had a 5.4s advantage over the #7 Toyota. The Japanese fans showed their delight as the two ran in formation at the head of the field.
After his second pit stop Webber re-joined in fourth place and was hunting the sister #14 Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Neel Jani. However, a lock of the brakes at the first turn saw the Porsche run wide and lose fourth position to Lucas Di Grassi’s #1 Audi. But Webber soon chased down the Brazilian and re-took the position just before the 90-minute mark.
The #2 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro was positioned in sixth place as Andre Lotterer made an early second pit stop after 78 minutes.
The LMP1-L class saw Rebellion Racing 1-2 with the #13 Rebellion R-One-Toyota driven by Dominik Kraihamer leading the #12 entry of Mathias Beche.
A tremendous battle was fought in the LMP2 category with the KCMG Oreca-Nissan, driven by Alexander Imperatori fighting off the G-Drive Ligier-Nissan, piloted by Olivier Pla. The two cars lapped nose-to-tail until Imperatori suffered a collision with the #88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR. This enabled Pla to open up a 31.6s lead over the KCMG car as they passed the 90-minute stage.
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RACE FACTS: 90-Minutes
12:27:25 Toyota #8 leads by 2 seconds after 57 laps from #7 Toyota
12:26:11 Webber back up to 4th in #20 Porsche
12:24:25 Audi #2 back into pits for tyres after 14 laps
12:18:09 Porsche #20 pits for fuel only and rejoins in 5th place
12:02:20 Porsche #20 leads by 22 seconds after one hour of racing
11:56:56 Leader #8 Toyota into pits Davidson takes over - Porsche #20 now leads
11:55:53 Audi #1 also into pit but changes tyres
11:55:07 Audi #2 into pits - fuel only Lotterer stays in
11:53:46 Toyota #7 into pitlane from 2nd place Sarrazin into car
11:51:09 Vilander into #51 Ferrari
11:49:24 Aston #95 now leads GTE Am
11:48:09 P2 leader into the pits #27 Oreca now leads
11:46:03 Ligier #26 takes lead in P2
11:45:17 P2 #47 leader hit by #88 Porsche
11:43:04 Ferrari #51 reported for track limits infringement
11:41:38 Aston #97 rejoins after 8 minute pitstop to repair damaged splitter
11:38:12 Toyota's now first and second #8 leads #7
11:30:56 Aston #99 takes lead in GTE Pro from #51 Ferrari
11:30:01 Aston #95 takes GTE Am lead
11:29:24 Ferrari #51 leads GTE Pro by less than a second after 16 laps from #99 Aston
11:22:12 Fastest lap for Webber in #20 Porsche 1:27.759
11:21:05 Oreca #47 leads P2 after 12 laps
11:20:03 Slow puncture for Porsche #20
11:16:54 Early pitstop for Porsche #20
11:13:47 Toyota #8 leads by 0.6 secs after 8 laps
11:08:27 Ferrari #51 leads GTE Pro
11:07:21 KCMG #47 leads P2
11:06:48 Oreca #37 takes 3 minute stop and hold for 4th engine change of season
11:03:53 Buemi in #8 Toyota into lead
11:02:56 Audi '#2 takes lead
11:02:16 Green Flag
10:59:57 Formation lap
10:58:54 Henri Pescarolo giving the start
Sam Smith
