News Informanet : 6 Hours of Fuji

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domingo, 14 de octubre de 2018

Conway, Lopez and Kobayashi win for Toyota

Toyota Gazoo Racing took a home 1-2 finish at the 6 Hours of Fuji today with the No.7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID driven by Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José Maria Lopez taking the victory today.

It is a second victory at Fuji for Conway and Kobayashi following success in 2016, and it is a first WEC win for Lopez.

Despite starting the race from the back of the LMP grid after being penalised in qualifying, the No.7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID executed a thrilling race to carve its way through and take the winner’s trophy and maximum points.

The No.8 Toyota of Fernando Alonso, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima took the flag in second place but kept their championship points lead today. Kazuki Nakajima started and finished the race which saw Toyota score a sixth victory in seven Fuji FIA WEC races. 52,800 spectators enjoyed the WEC action at Fuji Speedway this weekend.

Porsche climbs to the top of GTE mountain in Fuji

The battle was fierce throughout and there were four different manufacturers in the first four places in LMGTE Pro, but ultimately it was Porsche’s day as they took victory in both the LMGTE Pro and Am categories at the conclusion of the 6 Hours of Fuji.

Porsche GT Team’s No.92 911 RSR of Kevin Estre and Michael Christensen secured the German marque’s first WEC victory with the current model, finishing 12 seconds ahead of BMW, while 2018 WEC newcomer Team Project 1’s Porsche secured victory in LMGTE Am.

After starting the fourth round of the FIA WEC Super Season in mixed weather and track conditions, the race settled into a rhythm but there was plenty of action in GTE to keep the spectators entertained.

Jackie Chan DC Racing celebrate another 1-2

LMP2 witnessed a faultless display by the Jackie Chan DC Racing squad of the all-Malaysian line-up of Jazeman Jaafar, Weiron Tan and Nabil Jeffri. It was the first ever win for the Malaysian line-up who dominated proceedings.

They led for the majority of the race and led home the sister Jackie Chan DC Racing car of Ho-Pin Tung, Stéphane Richelmi and Gabriel Aubry in what was the second consecutive win for the Chinese-entered squad.

Completing the podium was the Signatech Alpine Matmut trio of Nicolas Lapierre, Pierre Thiriet and André Negrão. The French squad, which was confirmed as 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 champions last week, saw their standings lead cut to just one point.

Conway, Lopez and Kobayashi win for Toyota; Porsche climb to top of GTE mountain in Fuji

The headlines from qualifying at Fuji, round four of the FIA WEC Super Season

The No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing LMP1 car of Fernando Alonso, Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi will start from pole position for tomorrow’s 6 Hours of Fuji.
Alonso and Buemi initially qualified their car in second position after the No.7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID driven by José Maria Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest combined time of 1m23.437s.
Lopez exceeded the pit lane speed limit during the session and his lap times were deleted meaning that they dropped to the back of the field.
This elevated the No.8 car to a third pole position of the 2018 FIA WEC Super Season.
Starting from second position on the grid will be the No.1 Rebellion Racing R13-Gibson car driven by André Lotterer and Neel Jani in qualifying.
Now in third position is the the No.3 Rebellion car of Mathias Beche, Thomas Laurent and Gustavo Menezes.
LMP2 pole goes to Anthony Davidson and Roberto Gonzalez for DragonSpeed
Anglo/Mexican pair set an average of 1m28.906 to claim first pole for American team
Second and third in LMP falls to Jackie Chan DC Racing as No.37 heads No.38 ORECA 07

Qualifying times can be found HERE

Aston Martin on top in GTE

LMGTE Pro pole goes to No.95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen – first for AMR in Pro since Shanghai last season and also maiden P1 for new model
Thiim sets fastest time of session on a 1m35.884s and Sørensen ensures unbeatable average of 1m36.093s
BMW Team MTEK complete best ever qualifying with Tom Blomqvist and Antonio Felix da Costa securing second position in No.82 M8 GTE
The British/Portuguese alliance combines to set an average of 1m36.275s • Good day for Aston Martin as they also take third with Maxime Martin and Alex Lynn setting an average of 1m36.362s
LMGTE Am sees second pole position of Super Season for Dempsey Proton Porsche as Matteo Cairoli and Satoshi Hoshino average 1m38.366s – the Japanese driver’s first race in the WEC
No.98 Aston Martin Racing car places second with Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana just 0.064s off pole
No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche is third with Matt Campbell and Christian Ried qualifying
6 Hours of Fuji scheduled to start at 11.00 local time tomorrow

Fans of tomorrow visit the WEC in Fuji

Drivers Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Bruno Senna, Nyck de Vries, Antonio Felix da Costa and Giancarlo Fisichella with 40 children from a local school who attended the official pre-event press conference, contributing several questions.

Toyota clinch pole at Fuji

jueves, 11 de octubre de 2018

The WEC paddock, its competitors and Fuji Speedway are all getting ready to put on a fantastic week of great entertainment for the loyal and passionate Japanese fans who make the annual pilgrimage to the circuit for the 6 Hours of Fuji.

As well as 34 cars, mega stars on the driver roster including two F1 World Champions and no fewer than six Japanese drivers who will be providing plenty of excitement on track, there is also a Fan Area on the outside of the track behind the main grandstand which will be open all day on Saturday (13 October) and Sunday (14 October).

Top online racers head to Fuji for Le Mans Esports event

The 10 best online racers will be joined by two on-site competitors in a battle for a share of $10,000 prize money as the Le Mans Esports Series Fuji round reaches its thrilling climax.

For the past two weeks, competitors from around the world have been setting blistering qualifying times around the Suzuka circuit on Forza Motorsport 7 in an attempt to make it into the top 10 in their region and secure a place in the LMES Super Final at Le Mans next June. But for Asia Pacific racers, the race to compete for a Super Final spot is still open.

6 Hours of Fuji: Don’t miss a minute on your screens!

Fuji Speedway is the venue for the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Super Season, the 6 Hours of Fuji on Sunday 14th October, and spectators are guaranteed an exciting, unpredictable and action-packed race from the world’s premier endurance racing championship.

Many thousands of enthusiastic spectators are due to make the trip to Fuji to see their heroes compete, including the entire driver line up at Toyota Gazoo Racing for whom this is a home track, and also Jenson Button and André Lotterer who both have strong fan followings in Japan. No fewer than six Japanese drivers are among the line up for the Fuji event, so there’s local interest up and down the grid.

For those unable to be at the racetrack, look no further than the comprehensive WEC TV distribution guide! HERE you can see where the WEC will be broadcast via major broadcasters around the world, ensuring that you don’t miss any of the action, overtaking and competition.

Are you ready to be entertained at the 6 Hours of Fuji?

Not long to wait now to see the WEC stars at Fuji Speedway for the championship’s popular annual visit to Japan. Nakajima, Kobayashi, Alonso, Button, Lotterer...just some of the many stars from the 34 entries who will be ready to welcome fans from 12-14 October.

Practice and qualifying takes place on 12/13 October, with the 6-hour race itself getting underway on Sunday 14 October.

Japanese tennis legend to wave off 6 Hours of Fuji

Japanese tennis ace Kimiko Date has been named as Official Starter for the fourth round of the WEC Super Season, the 6 Hours of Fuji.

Retired last year from the WTA Tour due to injury, Ms Date enjoyed top-level success in her tennis career, winning the Japan Open four times and tournaments in the USA, Australia and South Korea, and reaching the semi-finals of the 1994 Australian Open, the 1995 French Open and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships.

Kimiko Date, who is very familiar with motorsport, will wave off the 34 cars for the 6-hour odyssey in Japan at 11:00 am (local time) on Sunday 14 October.

24 Hours of Le Mans: Final results published

The FIA International Court of Appeal has published its ruling concerning the appeal of G-Drive Racing and TDS Racing against a decision taken at the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The official overall classification of the 86th 24 Hours of Le Mans can be found HERE and HERE (CLASS) which confirms Signatech Alpine as the winner of the LMP2 category.

Meet the Japanese stars of the show

There will be no fewer than six Japanese drivers competing in the 6 Hours of Fuji so plenty for local fans to cheer for! Find out more about them by following the links below.

Keiko Ihara

One week to go to the 6 Hours of Fuji

Hollywood superstar and former WEC driver Patrick Dempsey will wave off the 26 entrants for this weekend’s 6 Hours of Fuji. The seventh round of the FIA World Endurance Championship will begin at 11h00 (local time) on Sunday 15 October.

Fuji Speedway has special significance for the owner/partner of the Dempsey-Proton Racing team as it was the scene of his triumphant LMGTE Am victory in 2015 which, alongside his podium finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that same year, ranks as the highlight of his motorsport career.

Patrick Dempsey will be in Japan to promote the Dempsey Challenge which is being staged in support of the Dempsey Center charity for the fight against cancer. During this time he will make a film about his win in Japan and take part in a number of events over the weekend as well as mentor the young drivers on his racing team.

To emphasise breast cancer awareness month, which was initiated by the “pink ribbon foundation”, the livery of the No.77 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR will be styled pink for the 6 Hours of Fuji.

Photo: Winners of LMGTE Am 6 Hours of Fuji 2015 - left to right: Marco Seefried, Patrick Long, Patrick Dempsey

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A look back at three of the best Fuji WEC races

As anticipation builds for the 6 Hours of Fuji, we look back on three of the most memorable races at the 4.563 km Fuji Speedway since the FIA World Endurance Championship’s first visit in 2012.

2012 – Toyota’s home triumph

2015 – Porsche breaks the stranglehold

2016 – Strategy wins the day for Toyota in three-way fight

To read all about these incredible races CLICK HERE

Meeting the fans of tomorrow at Fuji

Ahead of the first day of action at Fuji Speedway in Japan, the FIA World Endurance Championship hosted pupils from the Mukaida Elementary School in Oyama. The 17 girls and boys were shown behind the scenes of the event and observed how some different areas of the organization work ahead of the race being held on Sunday 15 October.

To read more about their visit and see photos of the excited young fans CLICK HERE

Less than a week to go to complete WEC fan survey: Get clicking now!

An amazing 45,000 fans of endurance racing and motorsport in general have so far completed the FIA WEC’s global fan survey and now, with just under a week remaining before the closing date, this is the last chance to win the superb prize of two VIP tickets to the 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans. Don’t miss the opportunity and get clicking now [https://wecsurvey.motorsport.com]!

Responses over the first three weeks of the survey have come in from 169 different countries across the world, and show that endurance racing fans are very loyal, having typically followed the discipline for multiple years.

We particularly want to hear from our fans in the Far East, Russia, and southern Europe and every opinion – no matter where or who it comes from – is valued and will help to shape the future of endurance racing.

As well as commenting on favourite circuits and the preferred length of races, fans have spoken out loudly and clearly about the marques they want to see racing in the WEC – with the GTE manufacturers being among the most popular. Key for manufacturer and private teams alike are fans’ views on the WEC’s top five brand values and leading these is that the championship should remain technological, competitive, innovative, exciting and global.

The closing date for the survey is midnight on Tuesday 17 October and the full results will be published at the final round of the 2017 season, the 6 Hours of Bahrain between 16-18 November.

All stories on the 2017 season are available online on the official FIAWEC website at www.fiawec.com

Patrick Dempsey to wave off the 6 Hours of Fuji

When to see all the action

The action begins on Friday 13 October with two free practice sessions on the challenging and fast Fuji Speedway track. A third and final practice will take place ahead of qualifying on Saturday 14 October, and the 6 Hours of Fuji will run from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday 15 October. A full timetable can be found HERE which includes details of the Circuit Safari just before Free Practice 3 on Saturday. Full details for fans on Fuji Speedway's website.

Entry list can be found HERE

Find out where and how to see the 6 Hours of Fuji on TV across the world by clicking HERE

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Meet Japan's WEC warriors...

Ahead of the 6 Hours of Fuji, meet the Japanese FIA WEC's aces and find out how they compare with some of the past racing names from the Land of the Rising Sun…

Kazuki Nakajima, Kamui Kobayashi and Keita Sawa are among the names; to read the whole story CLICK HERE

New Toyota concept car reinforces WEC technology crossover

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) is set to unveil its GR HV SPORTS concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show 2017 which starts just 10 days after the 6 Hours of Fuji, the 7th round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship.

The sports car features several key areas of technology which have been developed and honed through Toyota’s WEC motorsport programme, demonstrating perfectly how manufacturers positively benefit from involvement in the top level of endurance racing.

The GT HV SPORTS concept will be powered by THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System-Racing) that is infused with hybrid technology refined by the TS050 Hybrid, and will also feature LED headlights, aluminium wheels, and a rear diffuser similar to the TS050 Hybrid. Toyota say that the design evokes its bond with motor sports.