WEC Fuji: Stunning Alpine, Ferrari loses match point

Stunning victory for in WEC Fuji 6H for Alpine! After an intense race that remained competitive until the final hour, the #35 Alpine Endurance Team clinched its first-ever Hypercar era win with Charles Milesi, completing 202 laps and setting a best lap of 1:31.148. It’s a historic success for the French manufacturer, confirming the major progress made throughout the season.

Right behind, 7.682 seconds adrift, the #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies secured second place after being a key contender in the middle stages of the race. A solid and finally convincing performance from the French squad, with a strong battle against Porsche that ultimately saw them hold on to P2.

Third place went to the #6 Porsche Penske of Kevin Estre, who mounted a remarkable comeback in the final two hours with blistering stints, finishing just 0.485 seconds from second place. The car’s best lap came on lap 171, highlighting an aggressive strategy carried through to the end.

The other Porsche, the #5, finished fourth in the Wec Fuji race, further behind (+16.083s), but still on the lead lap. Fifth place went to the #009 Aston Martin, which benefited from a particularly favorable BoP, showing impressive straight-line speed. Despite lacking a hybrid power unit, the British V12-powered car delivered a standout performance. By the end, however, it trailed the leader by over 23 seconds and had a slightly slower race pace (best lap: 1:30.907).

Disappointment for both Cadillac Jota cars — despite one having taken pole — and for Toyota Gazoo Racing, which finished sixth and seventh, never truly in contention for the podium. BMW and Ferrari rounded out the top 9, with the latter (#83) almost a minute behind and still struggling in the title fight.

WEC 2025 Title: Everything Will Be Decided in Bahrain

After the Fuji round, the FIA WEC manufacturers’ championship standings become even more intriguing with a surprising twist: Ferrari missed its match point to seal the title and will now have to fight for it in the final race in Bahrain. The Scuderia, which entered the weekend with a comfortable lead, scored only 1 point in Japan (for the class pole position), bringing its total to 204 points. A disappointing outcome, especially considering the #83 car’s 9th-place finish, which was never truly competitive throughout the 6-hour race.

Porsche, on the other hand, made the most of the opportunity, with the #6 car finishing on the podium and the #5 securing valuable points, bringing their total to 165 and cutting the gap to just 39 points. It’s a tough comeback, but not an impossible one: with double points up for grabs in Bahrain (50 for the win), the title is still wide open.

Cadillac remains third with 143 points, while Toyota is effectively out of contention at 105. Alpine, despite showing strong form and taking its first win of the season, sits fifth with 84 points—too far back for a serious title challenge.

BMW (78 pts), Peugeot (75), and Aston Martin (12) close out the standings after the Wec Fuji race

Corvette #81 tops the GTLM category

The WEC GTLM classification at Fuji delivered a fiercely contested race right until the final minutes, with the #81 Corvette from TF Sport taking a brilliant victory. Despite not being the fastest on a single lap (best lap in 1:41.561), the American car maintained a consistent pace, completing 185 laps in the lead and holding off the late attacks from the #21 Ferrari of Vista AF Corse, which finished just 3 seconds behind.

Third and fourth place went to the two BMW M4 GT3s from Team WRT (#31 and #46), finishing 4.888 and 8.482 seconds behind the leader respectively, showing solid performances but lacking that final edge to challenge for the win.

The #92 Porsche from Manthey 1st Phorm finished fifth in Wec Fuji, posting one of the fastest laps in the race (1:41.337), but it was too far off to be a real threat for victory.

Another AF Corse Ferrari (#54) took sixth, followed by the #27 Aston Martin from Heart of Racing Team, which lost a lap but showed good pace with a best lap of 1:41.288.

Completing the top 10 were the #61 Mercedes (Iron Lynx), #78 Lexus (Akkodis ASP Team), and #95 McLaren (United Autosports), all finishing one lap down. It was a very balanced race overall, where reliability and traffic management made the real difference.