Heavy rain forced the World Endurance Championship to cancel qualifying at the Fuji 6 Hours, meaning the Sunday start will be based on practice times.
Grid determined by practice sessions
After a wet practice on Friday afternoon, the wet track on Saturday evening saw no laps during the 90‑minute session, with a sudden rain shower cutting down visibility just before the scheduled start. A single crash by Francois Heriau at Turn 2 prompted a red flag, and officials announced the cancellation of both LMGT3 and Hypercar qualifying.
According to the sporting regulations, teams’ combined fastest laps from the three practice sessions will set the starting order. Alpine ran fastest in Friday’s FP2 session, and because the track became too wet for slicks on Saturday, most other teams are locked into those results.
Alpine moves to pole, penalties reshuffle order
Victor Martins’ lap of 1:29.304 on the #36 A424 gave Alpine the top spot. Harry Tincknell was second‑fastest, but a two‑place penalty for colliding with the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in FP3 drops the #007 Valkyrie to fourth. Charles‑Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg on the #35 Alpine move ahead to second, while the Genesis GMR‑001, shared by Paul‑Loup Charatin, Daniel Juncadella, and Mathieu Jaminet, climbs into third.
Genesis’ sister car, featuring a best time by Mathys Jaubert, lines up fifth behind the penalised #007 Valkyrie. Aston Martin’s #009 Valkyrie starts sixth following Tom Gamble’s sixth‑best practice time. The #38 Jota Cadillac V‑Series.R will be seventh, followed by the #8 Toyota TR010, with the #93 Peugeot 9X8 and #12 Cadillac filling out the top ten.
Hypercar field and LMGT3 order revealed
In the Hypercar class, the two leaders begin from the middle of the grid. Toyota’s #7 TR010 starts 13th after Kamui Kobayashi lapped over seven seconds slower in practice. BMW’s #20 M Hybrid, equal in points to Toyota, is 17th, reflecting a strategy shift due to the rain forecast. Ferrari’s three 499Ps cite 11th.
LMGT3 poles are set by the #77 Proton Ford Mustang GT3 with Ben Tuck leading. Lin Hodenius’ #79 Iron Lynx Mercedes follows in second, and Hadrien David’s #78 Lexus takes third. The points leader, #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R, starts 10th in class.
With Alpine set to lead and penalties reshuffling the order, teams will now focus on setting up for a wet Sunday start.
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