Toyota delivered a home victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji on September 27, but the result was still far from secure entering the final hour.
The No. 8 TR010 HYBRID of Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryō Hirakawa won by 0.591 seconds, according to Toyota’s race report. The result moved the trio into the drivers’ championship lead and extended Toyota’s manufacturers’ advantage to 23 points. Toyota race report
Alpine had shaped much of the contest. Its two Hypercars occupied the front row and controlled the opening five hours before a late safety car transformed the strategic picture. The interruption followed a crash involving the No. 58 Garage 59 McLaren; the FIA reported that driver Finn Gehrsitz was unhurt. FIA race report
Toyota used the interruption to shorten the No. 8’s fuel stop and leave its existing tyres fitted. The team says its engineers anticipated a lengthy barrier repair, reducing the fuel needed for the remaining racing. Hirakawa emerged in front and faced a 20-minute run to the flag. Toyota
Alpine’s Victor Martins had fresh tyres on the No. 36 and worked his way into second, putting the Toyota under pressure. Hirakawa held on, with Alpine second and the No. 15 BMW completing the podium. It was Toyota’s tenth Fuji WEC victory and its first there in three years. FIA
The sister No. 7 Toyota recovered to eighth. Its crew—Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries—now sits second in the drivers’ standings, ten points behind the No. 8. Toyota
From a strategy perspective, the lesson is the trade-off: a shorter stop secured track position, but left Hirakawa to defend without the benefit of fresh rubber. The decision created the opportunity; the final stint still had to deliver it.
In LMGT3, Team WRT’s No. 32 BMW won with Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung. FIA
WEC now heads to the inaugural 6 Hours of Barcelona on October 18. Toyota leaves home with momentum—and both crews still involved in the title fight. Toyota
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