In the Fuji 6 Hours, the BMW M Hybrid V8 #20, driven by Robin Frijns, Rene Rast, and Sheldon van der Linde, crashed again, falling twelve points behind the leading Toyota.
Rain‑torn Qualifying Hinders BMW
The event’s qualifying period was canceled by heavy rain, forcing the grid to be set from practice times. BMW had not run a single high‑fuel push lap, leaving the #20 at the back of the starting order.
Early Stint Sets the Stage
Rast began from 17th and leapt inside the top ten, taking the car back into the front‑ten group. A VSC, however, pushed the team back to twelfth by the end of the first hour.
Collisions Undermine Momentum
At the restart, ASP Lexus driver Clemens Schmid spun the former DTM star Jasper P., producing a spin that sent the BMW into a hit with the #51 Ferrari 499P of James Calado. The impact punctured a tyre and damaged the rear wing.
Rast later collided with Ferrari again, this time with Alessandro Pier Guidi and a Porsche GT vehicle surrounding him, producing a second puncture.
Stewards penalised Schmid and Pier Guidi for their contacts with the BMW, while the clash between Calado and Rast was deemed a racing incident involving a McLaren LMGT3.
Team Management Speaks Out
BMW motorsport director Andreas Roos described the weekend as “very disappointing” and admitted that external factors beyond the drivers’ control wrecked the race. “It was not their fault, but we had to repair and two times we had a puncture,” Roos said.
Roos noted that a second safety car might have fixed the issue, but accepted the outcome as unavoidable.
Seasonal Impact and Other Cars
With the #20 ending thirteenth, the BMW fell 24 points behind the win‑holding #8 Toyota. The team’s #15, driven by Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor, finished third using the same strategy that secured victory for the #8.
Frijns reflected on the loss: “We’re 24 behind and Toyota is always competitive. It’s a difficult job ahead but we’ll try to make the best of the remaining races.”
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