News Summary
- Toyota #8 won at Fuji by 0.591 seconds over Alpine #36, with BMW #15 third.
- A late Safety Car prompted Toyota to keep its used tyres and take on less fuel, moving Hirakawa ahead of the Alpine cars for the restart.
- Hirakawa, Buemi and Hartley took the 2026 WEC drivers’ championship lead with two rounds remaining.
For most of Sunday’s 6 Hours of Fuji, Alpine appeared headed for a one-two finish. Its #35 and #36 cars had started from the front row after rain prevented qualifying from taking place, and the French team controlled much of the race. Toyota’s #8, meanwhile, had spent time outside the podium places and had even been spun during an earlier incident.
The order changed when Finn Gehrsitz crashed the #58 Garage 59 McLaren late in the race, bringing out the Safety Car. With the leaders heading to the pits, Toyota chose not to change the tyres on its #8 TR010 Hybrid and gave Hirakawa a shorter fuel fill. BMW made a similar tyre decision with Dries Vanthoor in the #15. Alpine fitted four fresh tyres to Martins’s #36 and changed the two left-side tyres on Charles Milesi’s #35.
Those choices put Hirakawa in front, Vanthoor second and the two Alpines behind them for a restart with roughly 20 minutes left. Martins quickly passed Marco Sørensen’s Aston Martin, moved ahead of teammate Milesi and then overtook Vanthoor. His fresh tyres gave him a chance to attack Hirakawa for the win, but the Toyota driver held the lead through the final laps and crossed the line 0.591 seconds ahead.
“The re-start was really tricky, with the conditions changing and being on cold tyres on a slightly damp track,” Hirakawa said. He described the closing laps as stressful and credited the team’s guidance on where he needed to defend. It was Toyota’s tenth WEC victory at Fuji, its first at the circuit since 2023 and the second win of 2026 for the Hirakawa, Buemi and Hartley crew.
The result was particularly striking given how the #8’s race had developed. Brendon Hartley was sent into a spin after contact with Harry Tincknell approaching Turn 1, and the Toyota was running sixth before the decisive pit-stop sequence. The Safety Car created the opportunity, but the team still had to make its shorter stop work on worn tyres while Martins chased on a fresher set.
Martins and Jules Gounon took second in the #36 Alpine. Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello completed the podium in BMW’s #15, while the second Alpine of Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg finished fourth. Alpine’s two cars had looked capable of securing the team’s strongest possible result at Fuji before the late change in order; fourth and second still gave it its best two-car finish in WEC’s top class.
Toyota’s sister #7 car finished eighth. Ferrari endured a difficult race: its #51 was tenth and its #50 did not finish. In LMGT3, Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung won in Team WRT’s #32 BMW after another late fight for the lead.
Fuji also changed the WEC title contest. Hirakawa, Buemi and Hartley had arrived 11 points behind the joint leaders and leave Japan at the top of the drivers’ standings. The championship continues with the 6 Hours of Barcelona on October 16–18, followed by the season finale at Monza in November.
WEC 2026: 6 Hours of Fuji results — Hypercar
| Pos. | Car | Drivers | Team | Laps/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | S BUEMI B HARTLEY R HIRAKAWA | Toyota | 203 laps |
| 2 | 36 | V MARTINS J GOUNON | Alpine | +0.591 |
| 3 | 15 | K MAGNUSSEN R MARCIELLO D VANTHOOR | BMW | +6.415 |
| 4 | 35 | F HABSBURG C MILESI | Alpine | +7.699 |
| 5 | 38 | E BAMBER S BOURDAIS J AITKEN | Cadillac JOTA | +8.142 |
| 6 | 94 | L DUVAL M JAKOBSEN T POURCHAIRE | Peugeot | +10.176 |
| 7 | 12 | W STEVENS N NATO | Cadillac JOTA | +13.497 |
| 8 | 7 | M CONWAY K KOBAYASHI N DE VRIES | Toyota | +14.206 |
| 9 | 009 | A RIBERAS M SØRENSEN | Aston Martin | +24.237 |
| 10 | 51 | A PIER GUIDI J CALADO A GIOVINAZZI | Ferrari | +26.443 |
| 11 | 19 | M JAMINET P-L CHATIN D JUNCADELLA | Genesis | +45.525 |
| 12 | 83 | R KUBICA P HANSON Y YE | AF Corse | +1 lap |
| 13 | 20 | R FRIJNS R RAST S VAN DER LINDE | BMW | +1 lap |
| 14 | 007 | H TINCKNELL T GAMBLE | Aston Martin | +1 lap |
| 15 | 17 | A LOTTERER P DERANI M JAUBERT | Genesis | +1 lap |
| 16 | 50 | A FUOCO M MOLINA N NIELSEN | Ferrari | Retired |
| 17 | 93 | N CASSIDY P DI RESTA S VANDOORNE | Peugeot | Retired |
WEC 2026: 6 Hours of Fuji results — LMGT3
| Pos. | Car | Drivers | Team | Laps/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 32 | D LEUNG S GELAEL A FARFUS | Team WRT BMW | 187 laps |
| 2 | 27 | I JAMES Z ROBICHON M DRUDI | Heart of Racing Aston Martin | +1.062 |
| 3 | 34 | P DEMPSEY S YOLUÇ C EASTWOOD | Racing Team Turkey Corvette | +4.676 |
| 4 | 54 | T FLOHR F CASTELLACCI D RIGON | Vista AF Corse Ferrari | +6.601 |
| 5 | 33 | B KEATING J EDGAR N CATSBURG | TF Sport Corvette | +10.136 |
| 6 | 69 | A MCINTOSH P THOMPSON D HARPER | Team WRT BMW | +12.389 |
| 7 | 91 | J COTTINGHAM T BOGUSLAVSKIY A GÜVEN | Manthey DK Engineering Porsche | +12.402 |
| 8 | 10 | A AU T FLEMING M KIRCHHÖFER | Garage 59 McLaren | +13.194 |
| 9 | 77 | E POWELL B TUCK S PRIAULX | Proton Competition Ford | +23.051 |
| 10 | 78 | T VAN ROMPUY H DAVID E MASSON | Akkodis ASP Team Lexus | +34.218 |
| 11 | 87 | R UMBRĂRESCU C SCHMID J-M LÓPEZ | Akkodis ASP Team Lexus | +2 laps |
| 12 | 92 | Y SHAHIN R PERA R LIETZ | Manthey Porsche | +6 laps |
| 13 | 79 | J ZELGER M CRESSONI L HODENIUS | Iron Lynx Mercedes | +9 laps |
| 14 | 21 | F HÉRIAU S MANN A ROVERA | Vista AF Corse Ferrari | +3 laps |
| 15 | 58 | A WEST F GEHRSITZ B GOETHE | Garage 59 McLaren | Retired |
| 16 | 23 | G NEWELL E BARRICHELLO J ADAM | Heart of Racing Aston Martin | Retired |
| 17 | 88 | S GATTUSO G LEVORATO L SARGEANT | Proton Competition Ford | Retired |
| 18 | 61 | M BERRY R ANDRADE M MARTIN | Iron Lynx Mercedes | Retired |
WEC, IMSA and endurance: FAQ
What time does the 2026 6 Hours of Fuji start?
The race starts on Sunday at 11:00 JST, equivalent to 03:00 UK, 22:00 ET Saturday, 07:30 India, 12:00 Australia and 15:00 New Zealand.
How can I watch the 6 Hours of Fuji?
The race is available through FIAWEC+, with additional coverage offered by regional WEC broadcast partners.
Who was fastest in practice for the 6 Hours of Fuji?
The #8 Toyota led FP1 with Ryō Hirakawa’s 1:29.694, before Victor Martins put the #36 Alpine on top of FP2 with a 1:29.304.
How did Toyota win the 2026 WEC race at Fuji?
Toyota kept the #8 car on used tyres and took on less fuel during a late Safety Car pit stop. The shorter stop put Ryō Hirakawa ahead, and he held off Alpine’s Victor Martins by 0.591 seconds.
