Round six of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign takes competitors to Asia this weekend (25-27 September) for the 6 Hours of Fuji – with a tantalising tie at the top of the table setting the scene for a sensational show in the foothills of Japan’s highest peak.
Originally conceived as a fully-banked superspeedway before being converted into its current 4.563km, 16-turn layout – beloved by drivers and fans alike – Fuji Speedway has featured on the calendar on 12 occasions since FIA WEC’s inception in 2012, making it the series’ fourth most-visited circuit. It previously hosted the FIA World Sportscar Championship from 1982 to 1988.
Despite being the second-shortest lap on the schedule, its 1.475km main straight is one of the longest in the sport, seeing drivers hit top speeds in excess of an eye-watering 330km/h. Underscoring its unpredictability, last year’s race was the first ever in which no class-winner started from the front three rows of the grid, while no pole-sitter in either 2024 or 2025 proceeded to finish on the podium…
Five rounds in, the battle for glory in the headlining Hypercar category remains finely-poised. With Toyota and BMW failing to score big points last time out in Austin – and defending title-holder Ferrari triumphing in Texas – an intriguing three-way fight is developing for the coveted world championship crown.
Having been cruelly robbed of victory at Circuit of The Americas by a hydraulic issue barely ten minutes from the end, Toyota will be feeling particularly fired-up to bounce back on home soil – around a track it has owned for the past quarter-of-a-century. The Japanese automotive giant boasts no fewer than nine previous wins at Fuji – equating to an extraordinary 75 per cent strike rate – but the most recent of those successes now dates back to 2023.
Encouragingly for the marque, every new Toyota has won its first race at the circuit – the TS030 Hybrid in 2012, the TS040 Hybrid in 2014, the TS050 Hybrid in 2016 and the GR010 Hybrid in 2022. With the TR010 Hybrid – which has already conquered the top step of the rostrum at Imola and Le Mans during its maiden campaign of competition – it will be aiming to extend that trend.
The #8 Toyota made history by leading every single lap of the 2019 race, and Sébastien Buemi – who took the chequered flag that day – is the only active driver with four outright victories to his name at Fuji. Four of the Swiss star’s five stablemates have similarly prevailed there overall, while Nyck de Vries triumphed for the first time in FIA WEC in Japan in 2019 in the LMP2 division. The Dutchman has led both of the latest two editions of the event, with team-mate Kamui Kobayashi the Hypercar qualifying lap record-holder at the track.
Together with Mike Conway, the pair will go into the weekend still tied on points at the top of the Drivers’ classification with BMW duo Robin Frijns and René Rast. Toyota is in possession of a slender nine-point advantage over its Bavarian rival at the summit of the Manufacturers’ standings.
The M Hybrid V8 struggled for speed at COTA, having won earlier in the season in Belgium and Brazil, but Fuji has been a happy hunting-ground for the German prototype, qualifying third and finishing second in its maiden appearance there in 2024 – a result that represented BMW’s breakthrough podium in the championship’s top-tier.
Following its runner-up finish in São Paulo and its Texan success, reigning world champion Ferrari has hauled itself back into the mix, but the 499P Hypercar has yet to reach the rostrum in three trips to Japan – making this the only current venue at which the model has not cracked the top three.
Cadillac has been the brand to beat in Hyperpole at Fuji since 2024, although the JOTA-run effort will be without Alex Lynn, the man who secured those two pole positions. Fellow #12 driver Will Stevens celebrated his first series victory at the circuit in the LMP2 class a decade ago, and is the Hypercar race lap record-holder from last year.
It was Alpine, of course, that prevailed in FIA WEC’s landmark 100th event that weekend, boldly rolling the dice to add to the podium finishes achieved in its two prior Hypercar outings at the track – more than any other active manufacturer aside from Toyota. Les Bleus returned to the rostrum for the first time this season just over a fortnight ago at COTA, and the A424 is the sole Hypercar on the 2026 grid to have previously won the 6 Hours of Fuji.
Aston Martin’s Valkyrie sped to its first top five placing in Japan last September – a result that it has since bettered twice as the legendary British carmaker continues to go from strength-to-strength – while the runner-up spoils for Peugeot 12 months ago constituted the Lions’ finest finish so far.
In the #94 9X8, 2013 world champion Loïc Duval – holder of the fastest outright race lap at Fuji – is set to become the ninth driver in FIA WEC history to reach the milestone of 80 starts on Sunday, as motor racing newcomer Genesis bids to build upon the burgeoning momentum of its best performance to-date with seventh place in Austin.
Corvette has led the way in the LMGT3 category since clinching its latest victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in June, with the #33 crew of Jonny Edgar, Nicky Catsburg and Ben Keating ensconced at the head of the order arriving at Fuji – a circuit where the American brand’s partner team, TF Sport, has prevailed on three occasions, most recently last season. It was also the scene of breakthrough triumphs for #34 drivers Charlie Eastwood and Salih Yoluç, during their previous stint as team-mates seven years ago.
The Northern Irishman ascended the top of the podium again 12 months ago, but only after a penalty for the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari that denied the Italian outfit back-to-back successes in Japan. Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and François Hériau are currently the #33 Corvette’s closest competitors in the title table, while in the sister #54 entry, Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr are all multiple winners in-class at the track and looking to turn around a thus far torrid campaign that has yielded but a single point.
Much like in 2024, Ferrari is on a six-race run without reaching the LMGT3 rostrum; the last such streak ended with victory at Fuji…
Others primed to shine this weekend include Team WRT’s brace of BMWs – with the M4 a top three finisher in both of its prior appearances in Japan – and Mercedes-AMG, after Lorcan Hanafin delivered the three-pointed star its first fastest race lap in the series last year, with the Iron Lynx-run cars similarly showing promising pace earlier this month at COTA on their way to a double top seven result. Lexus, meanwhile, will be eager to impress on home turf, as the Akkodis ASP Team-fielded RC F – twice a race-winner in 2025 – targets a return to FIA WEC’s highest step.
The on-track sessions will begin with free practice on Friday, 25 September. Qualifying – and the Hyperpole top ten shootout – starts at 14:00 local time (GMT+9) on Saturday, 26 September, with the six-hour race getting underway at 11:00 local time (GMT+9) on Sunday, 27 September.
Check out all the key information regarding the 6 Hours of Fuji, including the full event timetable and entry list.
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