WEC News: Porsche gets big win in Fuji
Porsche Penske Motorsport trio André Lotterer, Kevin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor took a significant step closer to title glory in the FIA World Endurance Championship today (15 September), by securing an impressive second victory of the season in the 6 Hours of Fuji.
In front of 68,500 fans around the legendary Japanese circuit, the penultimate round of the campaign was as absorbing as it was unpredictable. From fifth on the grid, the race-winning #6 Porsche 963 Hypercar was a contender from the outset, with Vanthoor displacing both Toyotas in the opening laps before piling the pressure on Marco Wittmann in the second-placed BMW M Hybrid V8.
During the first round of pit visits, the Porsche then leapfrogged the BMW and the Cadillac Racing V-Series.R – which had led the first 42 laps from pole position – to seize the initiative. Pit-stop cycles and an inspired Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari 499P aside, it was an advantage the #6 car would not subsequently relinquish.
Artfully managing several safety car periods and exploiting an alternative strategy to the majority of the 18-strong Hypercar field, the Porsche crew always looked the most likely to win, with Lotterer getting the better of Nielsen’s Ferrari mid-race, and Estre surviving both a lunge from a lapped Ryo Hirakawa and a slippery brake pedal that sent him deep into Turn One in the final hour to stay in front.
The trio’s fifth podium finish of 2024 extended their margin at the summit of the standings to 35 points with only 39 remaining in play. That means just an eighth-place finish in Bahrain – irrespective of any other result – will be sufficient to seal the deal.
Their cause was aided by a disappointing day for championship rivals Toyota and Ferrari. Following a quiet start, the #7 Toyota GR010 – Hybrid of home hero Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries at one stage appeared to be hauling itself into the reckoning, particularly in the hands of rapid Dutchman de Vries, but a clash between Kobayashi and Matt Campbell in the #5 Porsche on lap 163 put both cars out on the spot and spelt the end of the Toyota drivers’ title ambitions.
The #8 Japanese machine was similarly in the mix for the rostrum, but a late drive-through penalty for Hirakawa’s contretemps with Estre dropped that car down the order, meaning there was no Toyota on the podium at Fuji for the first time since 2015.
Despite Nielsen’s race-leading heroics on distinctly worn tires, the #50 499P could ultimately finish no better than ninth. While still mathematically in contention, the Dane and team-mates Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina now need a minor miracle to steal the crown from Porsche’s grasp.
Having scored just six points all season arriving in Japan, the #15 BMW M Team WRT entry piloted by Wittmann, Raffaelle Marciello and Dries Vanthoor featured up at the sharp end throughout and deservedly scooped the runner-up spoils following a strong run, marking only the second time in history that two brothers have finished on the same WEC podium.
There was a battle royale for the bottom step of the rostrum, but the penalty for the #50 Ferrari and a similar offense by the #35 Alpine – with Charles Milesi hitting an LMGT3 car after a stellar run during which the Frenchman set the race’s fastest lap – ruled both out of the reckoning, and the Cadillac fell victim to a number of errors.
That opened the door for the #36 Alpine to take third place, with Mick Schumacher producing a superb final stint to overhaul both Oliver Rasmussen and Noman Nato. There was, however, still cause for celebration for Hertz Team JOTA, as the British outfit clinched the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams.
“This tremendous result has inched us closer to our goal of winning the World Endurance Championship,” states Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President of Porsche Motorsport. “I have the utmost respect for the entire team! At the same time, my congratulations go to Hertz Team Jota and Manthey PureRxcing: They have already won the first championship titles with and for Porsche. I’m deeply grateful for that!”
“That was definitely one of the best races we’ve contested so far with the Porsche 963 – our strategy was perfect and the pit stops were sensational,” asserts Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. “Now we’re well and truly back in the race for the world championship title because we extended our points lead in the drivers’ standings and returned to the top spot in the manufacturers’ rankings. What a pity for our number 5 sister car: it was shunted twice and we had to retire it early.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of the entire Porsche Penske Motorsport crew – we had an amazing day here in Fuji. It’s brilliant that our number 6 Porsche managed to win. We’re back on top in both areas of the championship and looking strong going to Bahrain. The number 5 crew executed a perfect race until it had another contact with a competitor. But for the number 6 crew to bring home the victory in Japan was an amazing effort.”
The 2024 WEC campaign will conclude with the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain on 31 October – 2 November.
Manthey PureRxcing clinches LMGT3 crown
Manthey PureRxcing celebrated title glory in the LMGT3 category, as Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler produced a determined performance in Japan to put the destiny of the coveted crown beyond reach of any of their rivals.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 crew could manage no better than 14th on the grid in qualifying, but race day would prove to be a different story, as a mixture of strong speed, savvy strategy and fortuitous timing around the safety car interventions carried the title-chasing trio into contention for the race win.
Second place behind the victorious #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari piloted by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon was ultimately enough to secure the championship.
The 2024 WEC campaign will conclude with the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain on 31 October – 2 November