{"id":2861,"date":"2026-09-26T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=2861"},"modified":"2026-09-26T06:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T09:56:18","slug":"wec-cancels-fuji-qualifying-after-heavy-rain-as-alpine-inherits-pole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/endurance\/wec\/wec-cancels-fuji-qualifying-after-heavy-rain-as-alpine-inherits-pole\/","title":{"rendered":"WEC cancels Fuji qualifying after heavy rain as Alpine inherits pole"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Qualifying for the 6 Hours of Fuji was cancelled because of heavy rain<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The #36 Alpine secured pole through the combined practice classification<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The race starts at 03:00 BST on Sunday and 22:00 ET on Saturday<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Qualifying for the <strong>2026 6 Hours of Fuji<\/strong> was cancelled on Saturday after a severe rainstorm made conditions unsafe at the Japanese circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The LMGT3 field initially ventured onto the track, but Fran\u00e7ois Heriau aquaplaned in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari while exiting Turn 1 and crashed heavily at Turn 2. Heriau climbed out unharmed, but the accident caused an immediate red flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the weather continuing to deteriorate, race control confirmed that neither the LMGT3 session nor Hypercar qualifying would resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the championship regulations, <strong>the starting grid will instead be determined by the fastest times recorded across the three free-practice sessions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That decision puts the <strong>#36 Alpine A424 of Jules Gounon and Victor Martins on pole<\/strong> after Martins set a 1min29.304sec lap during FP2. It represents the Alpine A424\u2019s first pole start in the <a href=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/endurance\/wec\">World Endurance Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sister #35 Alpine driven by Ferdinand Habsburg and Charles Milesi completes the front row, while the #19 Genesis shared by Daniel Juncadella, Mathieu Jaminet and Paul-Loup Chatin starts third.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pipo Derani will begin the race from fifth in the #17 Genesis alongside Andr\u00e9 Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ford takes LMGT3 pole after Ferrari crash<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In LMGT3, the <strong>#77 Ford Mustang will start from pole<\/strong> after Eric Powell, Ben Tuck and Sebastian Priaulx recorded a 1min39.828sec lap during practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Ford finished only 0.045sec ahead of the #79 Mercedes, while the #78 Lexus secured third place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Augusto Farfus starts 14th in the #32 BMW, one position ahead of Eduardo Barrichello\u2019s #23 Aston Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The decision avoided exposing the drivers to further aquaplaning as standing water accumulated around Fuji Speedway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>6 Hours of Fuji begins at 03:00 BST on Sunday<\/strong>, corresponding to 22:00 ET and 19:00 PT on Saturday. The start is scheduled for 07:30 IST and 12:00 AEST on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2026 WEC 6 Hours of Fuji \u2014 Hypercar starting grid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Pos.<\/th><th>Car<\/th><th>Drivers<\/th><th>Team<\/th><th>Time<\/th><th>Gap<\/th><th>Penalty<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1<\/td><td>#36<\/td><td><strong>V. MARTINS<\/strong><br><strong>J. GOUNON<\/strong><\/td><td>Alpine<\/td><td><strong>1:29.304<\/strong><\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td>#35<\/td><td>F. HABSBURG<br>C. MILESI<\/td><td>Alpine<\/td><td>1:29.397<\/td><td>+0.093<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td>#19<\/td><td>M. JAMINET<br>P.L. CHATIN<br>D. JUNCADELLA<\/td><td>Genesis<\/td><td>1:29.492<\/td><td>+0.188<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td>#007<\/td><td>H. TINCKNELL<br>T. GAMBLE<\/td><td>Aston Martin<\/td><td>1:29.343<\/td><td>+0.039<\/td><td><strong>+2<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td>#17<\/td><td>A. LOTTERER<br>P. DERANI<br>M. JAUBERT<\/td><td>Genesis<\/td><td>1:29.558<\/td><td>+0.254<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td>#009<\/td><td>A. RIBERAS<br>M. S\u00d8RENSEN<\/td><td>Aston Martin<\/td><td>1:29.576<\/td><td>+0.272<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td>#38<\/td><td>E. BAMBER<br>S. BOURDAIS<br>J. AITKEN<\/td><td>Cadillac JOTA<\/td><td>1:29.617<\/td><td>+0.313<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8<\/td><td>#8<\/td><td>S. BUEMI<br>B. HARTLEY<br>R. HIRAKAWA<\/td><td>Toyota<\/td><td>1:29.694<\/td><td>+0.390<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>9<\/td><td>#93<\/td><td>N. CASSIDY<br>P. DI RESTA<br>S. VANDOORNE<\/td><td>Peugeot<\/td><td>1:29.884<\/td><td>+0.580<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10<\/td><td>#12<\/td><td>W. STEVENS<br>N. NATO<\/td><td>Cadillac JOTA<\/td><td>1:29.888<\/td><td>+0.584<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>11<\/td><td>#50<\/td><td>A. FUOCO<br>M. MOLINA<br>N. NIELSEN<\/td><td>Ferrari<\/td><td>1:29.989<\/td><td>+0.685<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12<\/td><td>#83<\/td><td>R. KUBICA<br>P. HANSON<br>Y. YE<\/td><td>AF Corse<\/td><td>1:30.036<\/td><td>+0.732<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>13<\/td><td>#7<\/td><td>M. CONWAY<br>K. KOBAYASHI<br>N. DE VRIES<\/td><td>Toyota<\/td><td>1:30.101<\/td><td>+0.797<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>14<\/td><td>#15<\/td><td>K. MAGNUSSEN<br>R. MARCIELLO<br>D. VANTHOOR<\/td><td>BMW<\/td><td>1:30.149<\/td><td>+0.845<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>15<\/td><td>#94<\/td><td>L. DUVAL<br>M. JAKOBSEN<br>T. POURCHAIRE<\/td><td>Peugeot<\/td><td>1:30.205<\/td><td>+0.901<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>16<\/td><td>#51<\/td><td>A. PIER GUIDI<br>J. CALADO<br>A. GIOVINAZZI<\/td><td>Ferrari<\/td><td>1:30.334<\/td><td>+1.030<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>17<\/td><td>#20<\/td><td>R. FRIJNS<br>R. RAST<br>S. VAN DER LINDE<\/td><td>BMW<\/td><td>1:30.362<\/td><td>+1.058<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2026 WEC 6 Hours of Fuji \u2014 LMGT3 starting grid<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Pos.<\/th><th>Car<\/th><th>Drivers<\/th><th>Team\/Manufacturer<\/th><th>Time<\/th><th>Gap<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1<\/td><td>#77<\/td><td><strong>E. POWELL<\/strong><br><strong>B. TUCK<\/strong><br><strong>S. PRIAULX<\/strong><\/td><td>Proton Competition\/Ford<\/td><td><strong>1:39.828<\/strong><\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td>#79<\/td><td>J. ZELGER<br>M. CRESSONI<br>L. HODENIUS<\/td><td>Iron Lynx\/Mercedes<\/td><td>1:39.873<\/td><td>+0.045<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td>#78<\/td><td>T. VAN ROMPUY<br>H. DAVID<br>E. MASSON<\/td><td>Akkodis ASP\/Lexus<\/td><td>1:39.933<\/td><td>+0.105<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td>#58<\/td><td>A. WEST<br>F. GEHRSITZ<br>B. GOETHE<\/td><td>Garage 59\/McLaren<\/td><td>1:40.214<\/td><td>+0.386<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td>#61<\/td><td>M. BERRY<br>R. ANDRADE<br>M. MARTIN<\/td><td>Iron Lynx\/Mercedes<\/td><td>1:40.229<\/td><td>+0.401<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td>#10<\/td><td>A. AU<br>T. FLEMING<br>M. KIRCHH\u00d6FER<\/td><td>Garage 59\/McLaren<\/td><td>1:40.257<\/td><td>+0.429<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td>#87<\/td><td>R. UMBR\u0102RESCU<br>C. SCHMID<br>J.M. L\u00d3PEZ<\/td><td>Akkodis ASP\/Lexus<\/td><td>1:40.329<\/td><td>+0.501<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8<\/td><td>#34<\/td><td>P. DEMPSEY<br>S. YOLU\u00c7<br>C. EASTWOOD<\/td><td>Racing Team Turkey\/Corvette<\/td><td>1:40.375<\/td><td>+0.547<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>9<\/td><td>#21<\/td><td>F. H\u00c9RIAU<br>S. MANN<br>A. ROVERA<\/td><td>Vista AF Corse\/Ferrari<\/td><td>1:40.419<\/td><td>+0.591<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10<\/td><td>#33<\/td><td>B. KEATING<br>J. EDGAR<br>N. CATSBURG<\/td><td>TF Sport\/Corvette<\/td><td>1:40.556<\/td><td>+0.728<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>11<\/td><td>#54<\/td><td>T. FLOHR<br>F. CASTELLACCI<br>D. RIGON<\/td><td>Vista AF Corse\/Ferrari<\/td><td>1:40.560<\/td><td>+0.732<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12<\/td><td>#88<\/td><td>S. GATTUSO<br>G. LEVORATO<br>L. SARGEANT<\/td><td>Proton Competition\/Ford<\/td><td>1:40.588<\/td><td>+0.760<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>13<\/td><td>#69<\/td><td>A. MCINTOSH<br>P. THOMPSON<br>D. HARPER<\/td><td>Team WRT\/BMW<\/td><td>1:40.601<\/td><td>+0.773<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>14<\/td><td>#32<\/td><td>D. LEUNG<br>S. GELAEL<br>A. FARFUS<\/td><td>Team WRT\/BMW<\/td><td>1:40.617<\/td><td>+0.789<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>15<\/td><td>#23<\/td><td>G. NEWELL<br>E. BARRICHELLO<br>J. ADAM<\/td><td>Heart of Racing\/Aston Martin<\/td><td>1:40.682<\/td><td>+0.854<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>16<\/td><td>#27<\/td><td>I. JAMES<br>Z. ROBICHON<br>M. DRUDI<\/td><td>Heart of Racing\/Aston Martin<\/td><td>1:40.693<\/td><td>+0.865<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>17<\/td><td>#92<\/td><td>Y. SHAHIN<br>R. PERA<br>R. LIETZ<\/td><td>Manthey\/Porsche<\/td><td>1:40.844<\/td><td>+1.016<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>18<\/td><td>#91<\/td><td>J. COTTINGHAM<br>T. BOGUSLAVSKIY<br>A. G\u00dcVEN<\/td><td>Manthey DK Engineering\/Porsche<\/td><td>1:41.137<\/td><td>+1.309<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WEC, IMSA and endurance: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What time does the 2026 6 Hours of Fuji start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race starts on Sunday at <strong>11:00 JST<\/strong>, equivalent to <strong>03:00 UK, 22:00 ET Saturday, 07:30 India, 12:00 Australia and 15:00 New Zealand<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can I watch the 6 Hours of Fuji?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The race is available through <strong>FIAWEC+<\/strong>, with additional coverage offered by regional WEC broadcast partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who was fastest in practice for the 6 Hours of Fuji?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The #8 Toyota led FP1 with Ry\u014d Hirakawa\u2019s <strong>1:29.694<\/strong>, before Victor Martins put the #36 Alpine on top of FP2 with a <strong>1:29.304<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why was WEC qualifying at Fuji cancelled?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Qualifying was abandoned because heavy rain created dangerous levels of standing water and aquaplaning. The decision followed Fran\u00e7ois Heriau\u2019s crash in the #21 Ferrari.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who starts the 2026 6 Hours of Fuji from pole?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The #36 Alpine driven by Jules Gounon and Victor Martins starts from pole after setting the fastest time across the three practice sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The #36 Alpine will start the 6 Hours of Fuji from pole after worsening conditions and an LMGT3 crash forced race control to abandon qualifying<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020316104,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Alpine secures pole after storm","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Fabrizio Boldoni\/DPPI","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[47],"tags":[582,202,616,623],"42wp_author":[48],"class_list":["post-2861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wec","tag-6-hours-of-fuji","tag-alpine","tag-fia-wec","tag-world-endurance-championship","42wp_author-giovani-danjo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2861"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2864,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2861\/revisions\/2864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020316104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2861"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=2861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}