Toyota Racing secured its tenth home victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji in the World Endurance Championship, overcoming late-race chaos and a strategic gamble on fuel and tires to take the win. Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryō Hirakawa drove the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid to victory, edging out Alpine Endurance Team under wet and tense conditions.
Fuji Speedway Victory Secures Championship Lead for Toyota No. 8
The No. 8 Toyota crew captured the win at Fuji Speedway after team engineers opted against changing tires during a late Full Course Yellow and safety car period. The neutralisation was triggered by an accident involving the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 and the No. 58 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo. Crew members added a minimal amount of fuel to the No. 8 car, allowing Hirakawa to cycle into the lead just before the race resumed with roughly 20 minutes remaining.
Hirakawa defended the top spot against a hard-charging Alpine No. 36 driven by Victor Martins, crossing the finish line 0.591 seconds ahead of the competition. The unexpected tactical shift propelled the No. 8 trio of Buemi, Hartley, and Hirakawa to the top of the WEC Drivers’ Championship standings with two rounds remaining in the season. For Buemi, the result marks a record-setting individual win tally at the Japanese circuit.
Setbacks for the No. 7 Toyota Crew and Hypercar Field
While the No. 8 car triumphed, sister entry No. 7 faced a series of setbacks that dropped them down the order. Drivers Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries entered the weekend leading the overall drivers’ standings. However, a punctured tire in the opening half-hour disrupted de Vries’ stint, followed by a spin stemming from contact with the No. 35 Alpine.
The No. 7 car’s recovery efforts suffered a definitive blow during the fifth hour when Kobayashi received a drive-through penalty for speeding under a Full Course Yellow. The infraction relegated the entry down to twelfth place. Kobayashi ultimately gained two positions in the closing stages to finish eighth, preserving valuable points for the team’s championship campaign.
Team Strategy and Executive Reaction following the Race
David Floury explained that the pit wall made the decisive call with limited data regarding the duration of the barrier repairs. Speaking to Sportscar365, Floury noted that the car was estimated to have only two laps of energy remaining by the finish, turning the final stint into a rigorous risk-management exercise.
Toyota executive vice president Hiroki Nakajima praised the collective human effort behind the result, noting that the victory was secured through open communication and engineering persistence rather than raw pace alone. The WEC season now moves to Europe for the penultimate round, the inaugural 6 Hours of Barcelona, scheduled for October 18.
Frequently Asked Questions about the 6 Hours of Fuji
- Who won the 6 Hours of Fuji WEC race? Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryō Hirakawa won the race driving the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.
- What strategy won the race for the No. 8 Toyota? The team chose not to change tires during a late safety car period and took on a minimal amount of fuel, allowing them to jump ahead in the pit lane.
- Where does the championship head next? The WEC season continues in Europe for the 6 Hours of Barcelona on October 18.
Worth a look