Alex Lynn delivered Cadillac Racing its first-ever pole position in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji today (14 September), denying Toyota a home soil celebration by the margin of just 0.041s.

Having set the pace in the first part of the Hypercar qualifying session, Lynn maintained that stellar form in Hyperpole behind the wheel of the #2 prototype he shares with Earl Bamber, as the Briton vaulted to the top of the timesheets with just one minute remaining in an ultra-close and competitive contest that featured no fewer than seven of the series’ eight manufacturers. Having narrowly missed out on pole at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, for the American squad, the result marked redemption – and a welcome boost ahead of Sunday’s six-hour race.

For much of the ten-minute shootout, the battle for the prime starting position looked set to play out between home heroes Kamui Kobayashi and Ryo Hirakawa in Toyota Gazoo Racing’s pair of Toyota GR010 - Hybrid entries. The duo were evenly-matched throughout but ultimately had no answer to Lynn, and will duly begin from second and fourth on the grid tomorrow.

Ferrari to the fore in LMGT3

François Heriau secured his and Ferrari’s first pole position in the LMGT3 category at Fuji in the #55 Vista AF Corse car, posting two laps quick enough for the top spot on the grid as the Frenchman outpaced Belgium’s Tom Van Rompuy by 0.178s.

Sarah Bovy placed third in Iron Dames’ Lamborghini Huracan, just ahead of the TF Sport Corvette of local star Hiroshi Koizumi, as both of the American machines made it through to Hyperpole for the first time.

Arguably the biggest story of LMGT3 qualifying, however, was the failure of either Manthey Porsche to reach the top ten...

The 6 Hours of Fuji is scheduled to get underway at 11:00 local time (04:00 CEST) on Sunday morning.

Watch all the action LIVE via the official FIA WEC app.

For a full breakdown of the broadcast coverage for the 6 Hours of Fuji, click HERE

Crédit : FIAWEC/DPPI