As has been the case at every regular FIA World Endurance Championship round this season, the Fuji 6 Hours will feature a field of 35 entries, with only minor adjustments compared to the previous race at the Circuit of The Americas earlier this month.
Alpine’s surprising choice to withdraw Antonio Felix da Costa and Frederic Makowiecki means five Hypercar entries will run with two-driver crews at Fuji, including both Aston Martin Valkyries and the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA car, where Will Stevens and Norman Nato reunite as a pair after Ricky Taylor’s one-off appearance at the Lone Star Le Mans earlier this month. View the latest entry list here.
In a message posted on Instagram, da Costa explained that Alpine has opted to run Fuji with a two-driver configuration for strategic reasons. He wished the entire Alpine squad and the No. 35 crew all the best for Fuji and said he was proud to have contributed to the team’s success, highlighted by the podium finish at the most recent round.
Da Costa was already at Lisbon Airport, ready to board for Tokyo, when he learned from the French manufacturer that his services would not be required for Fuji.
Ten drivers will undertake a Japanese double-header this weekend after taking part in the Suzuka 1000km earlier in the month: Nicky Catsburg, Ayhancan Guven, Maxime Martin, Mathieu Jaminet, Anthony McIntosh, Parker Thompson, Dan Harper, Alessio Rovera, Augusto Farfus and Johannes Zelger. Manthey Porsche factory driver Guven is making his third trip to Japan within a month, having also competed in the most recent GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS round at Okayama.
Team WRT’s McIntosh is understood to have tested a BMW M4 GT3 EVO on loan from GTWC Asia squad Team Studie on Goodyear tires at Fuji in late August as part of preparations for this weekend’s race. The Wisconsin native previously secured LMGT3 pole at Fuji last year driving an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo for Racing Spirit of Le Mans.
Cadillac racer Alex Lynn has revealed on social media that he has returned to racing after injuries sidelined him for the year. Last week he posted pictures of himself testing a Team RJN-prepared McLaren 720S GT3 Evo at Monza, followed by another session in Barcelona this week. Lynn is slated to rejoin the No. 12 Cadillac crew for next month’s 6 Hours of Barcelona.
Toyota convened this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans-winning TR010 Hybrid, last year’s GR010 Hybrid, and a 1998 GT-One, all in red-and-white Shimofuri livery, for a special photo session at Warp Station Edo—a faithful reproduction of a traditional Edo-period town in Ibaraki Prefecture—in the lead-up to its home race. All three cars will be displayed at Fuji this weekend alongside a GR GT road car and the forthcoming GR GT3.
The GT-One also showed up at a WEC-organized car meet in Tokyo’s Daikanyama neighborhood on Wednesday, alongside a Ferrari 499P and a Bentley 4½-litre “Blower.”
Ryo Hirakawa says he is still waiting for Haas to announce its decision on the 2027 Formula 1 seat that Esteban Ocon is set to vacate. Since the COTA WEC round, the Japanese driver has participated in another TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) session at Jerez with SUPER GT champion Sho Tsuboi and Jack Doohan, who until recently was part of Nielsen Racing’s European Le Mans Series LMP2 lineup.
When asked for an update on his prospects, Hirakawa told Sportscar365: “From my side I think I did the best I could. I am confident in what I did during the tests, and now it’s up to the team to decide. There is nothing more I can do. The situation is unchanged. Perhaps the decision will come soon, but for now my focus is on Fuji this weekend.”
Toyota Racing vice-president Kazuki Nakajima informed Japanese media on Thursday that the team has introduced a new component in the TR010 Hybrid’s hydraulic system aimed at preventing a repeat of the failure that cost the brand a likely victory at the Lone Star Le Mans with its No. 7 car. “There was limited time before Fuji, but we implemented the countermeasures we could,” Nakajima said. “The most important aim is that the same issue does not recur and that we learn from it.”
Peugeot driver Nick Cassidy makes his first Fuji appearance since December 2020, having previously won at the Toyota-owned venue in both Super Formula and SUPER GT. Cassidy skipped the Japanese round in 2022 while contesting the WEC season in LMGTE-Am for AF Corse due to a DTM clash.
Cassidy told Sportscar365: “It’s fantastic to be back. Fuji holds some of my fondest memories. It was my very first test in Japan, and I lived near here in Gotemba for a year. I won the 2019 Dream Race (the joint DTM–SUPER GT event) and my first Super Formula win also happened here. Returning to a familiar track makes a difference—Interlagos and Austin were new to me, and Le Mans was my Hypercar debut. So coming back to a track I know is always nice.”
Michelin’s white-marked Soft compound Pilot Sport Endurance tire makes its first appearance this weekend since the 24 Hours of Le Mans, paired with the Medium. The Medium tire is mandated for use in Hyperpole.
Michelin endurance program manager Pierre Alves stated: “As in 2025, Fuji will run Soft and Medium slicks to cover the temperature ranges expected in September, while also giving teams various strategic options depending on how the track conditions and temperatures evolve over the weekend. The objective is to achieve an optimal balance between warm-up, raw pace, and wear so that grip remains consistent across long stints.”
Fuji’s popular “Circuit Safari” returns this weekend, allowing fans an up-close view of the cars on track from buses. The 12-minute session, during which each team must field at least one car, starts at 9:10 a.m. local time on Saturday, just before Free Practice 3.
Formula 1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart will be at Fuji this weekend as guest of honor, commemorating 60 years since his Fuji 200 victory, a USAC Indy Car non-championship race that was among the first major events held at the circuit after its 1966 opening. Stewart represents Race Against Dementia, the dementia-research charity he founded a decade ago. A gala and charity auction is planned for Friday evening at the Fuji Speedway hotel to support the charter.
Although famed for his three F1 world championships and 27 grand prix wins, Stewart also contested the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, sharing a Rover-BRM with Graham Hill, and was set to race a Ford GT40 the following year but was prevented by a serious accident in the prior week’s F1 Belgian Grand Prix.
As in the previous year, Fuji’s support action is provided by the Formula Regional Japanese Championship and Porsche Carrera Cup Japan, which will host its season finale there.
PCCJ points leader Robert de Haan is sitting out Saturday’s two races, making his Seven x Seven Racing teammate Taichi Watarai the title favorite. Watarai trails de Haan by 4.5 points and leads Iori Kimura by 36 points with 50 on offer.
WEC track action begins on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 10:15 a.m. local time (Thursday 9:15 p.m. EST), followed by Free Practice 2 at 2:30 p.m. (1:30 a.m. EST).
