24h Le Mans
The teams competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship will hit the track this weekend at the 6 Hours of Fuji, the next to last round of the 2023 season.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is the big favourite at the 6 Hours of Fuji at home this coming weekend on the heels of a third win this season at the 6 Hours of Monza in July for the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid shared by Kamui Kobayashi/Mike Conway/José María López.
Kamui Kobayashi: "Everyone in the team is looking forward to our home race and the chance to compete in front of our Japanese fans, as well as our Toyota colleagues and partners who contribute so much. After Le Mans, winning at Fuji is our next priority and we have a very strong record there (eight of nine possible wins since 2012, Ed.). So our target is to extend our run of victories, despite the very close competition amongst the Hypercars. It will be a big fight between a lot of manufacturers which is what all the fans want to see. We won on Ferrari’s home ground in Monza in the last race, so I am sure they will want to get their revenge this weekend."
Ferrari AF Corse will look to disrupt Toyota's domination over the 2023 season, but the Italian outfit has never tested its Hypercar at the Fuji circuit. Technical Director Ferdinando Cannizo: "On the Japanese track, we know we’re not the favourites, but we’re not discouraged at all and we’re looking to defy expectations. In these weeks, we’ve multiplied our efforts to determine the direction to guide our set-ups and strategies with the aim of closing the gap between us and our opponents. It’s clear that the weather too can play a decisive role, especially in the case of rain. We’re setting off from Maranello focused and ready to do our best in this penultimate challenge."
Third at Monza, Peugeot TotalEnergies is on an upward trajectory. However, driver Nico Müller is injured and will sit out the Fuji round replaced by Stoffel Vandoorne joining Loïc Duval and Gustavo Menezes at the wheel of the #94 9X8.
The Cadillac V-Series.R's showing at Monza proved relatively disappointing (10th in the class). The American constructor will seek to right the ship. Porsche will count on two factory cars and Hertz Team Jota and Proton Competition's private 963s. The Vanwall fielded by Floyd Vanwall Racing will round out the Hypercar class.
Team WRT's #41 ORECA 07-Gibson is currently leading the provisional championship classification in the LMP2 class. The Belgian team boasts a small 10-point advantage on Inter Europol Competition's #34 ORECA, class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary.
Corvette Racing has already secured this year's LMGTE Am title thanks to a nearly flawless season, so the second and third steps on the championship podium are up for grabs between Iron Dames, ORT by TF, Dempsey-Proton Racing and GR Racing. The four teams are within 13 points of each other in the standings.
The 2023 6 Hours of Fuji entry list.
Qualifying will kick off on Saturday at 05:40 GMT and the start of the race will be given on Sunday at 02:00 GMT.
