At Fuji, a calculated pit stop under a late Virtual Safety Car vaulted Toyota to a razor‑thin 0.591‑second victory over pre‑race favourite Alpine.
Strategic pit stop that changed the tables
Ryo Hirakawa, Brendon Hartley and Sébastien Buemi drove the #8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid to the check‑flag after the Japanese team opted for a shorter stop during the final VSC. The decision granted Hirakawa a clear track into the last lap, enabling a winning margin that on paper seemed almost unreal.
Earlier in the race, Alpine’s two A424 LMDhs—jockeyed by Jules Gounon, Fergus Habsburg, Frederic Makowiecki and Victor Martins—had appeared poised to repeat last year’s success, maintaining a 1‑2 front row. Yet, the final hour’s safety car threw that advantage into a frenzy of pit‑win calculations.
Intense safety‑car drama reshapes the field
A multi‑car pile‑up after Francois Heriau’s lap in the GT3 class, followed by a puncture forced Nyck de Vries’s #7 Toyota out of the race top‑ten for an unscheduled stop. The move unexpectedly elevated Habsburg into the lead, only to be overtaken by Martins before the final lap.
Alpine’s tight battle saw both cars swap positions repeatedly; Habsburg fell to third against an Aston Martin Valkyrie for a brief lead before retrieving second. Each pit cycle cemented the volatility that characterised the closing hour.
BMW, Aston and the pivotal final pit stop
With GP‑level tension, Toyota and BMW chose to change a single tyre during the last mandatory dive‑in. The gamble catapulted Toyota from seventh to race‑lead, while the #35 Alpine dropped to third and the previous #36 Alpine fell to fifth after a sluggish stop.
Alpine’s Victor Martins remained the fastest car, lashing the sister #009 Aston and a rival Mercedes with ease. Yet, the last minutes saw a narrow pass by BMW’s Dries Vanthoor, who bunched nearly a full second behind Hirakawa before the finish line.
Home‑grown hero finishes strong
Despite the constant jostling, Hirakawa steered his vehicle to victory, cementing Toyota’s first Fuji World Endurance Championship win in Japan since 2023. Martins and Gounon finished third for Alpine, while the BMW trio—Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello—claimed the last podium spot.
The race proved disastrous for BMW’s #20 entry, which began jointly leading the championship with Toyota but stumbled after punctures and collisions in separate hours of traffic.
Championship implications and follow‑up
Toyota’s triumph preserves their championship contention, while Alpine’s near‑miss reinforces their persistent challenge on home soil. Upcoming rounds will test whether the strategic precision that saw Toyota navigate safety‑car uncertainty will translate into further dominance across the WEC calendar.
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