The 2026 World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Fuji is one that will live in the memory for quite some time, given Toyota managed to pull off a fantastic strategical gamble at the end of the race to beat Alpine to the chequered flag.
There was a huge a mount of drama throughout the six-hour test, but who did we see as winners in the race, and who do we think will be leaving Fuji with a taste of disappointment?
Winner: Toyota
It may be an obvious pick, but for well over five hours, this race was not one Toyota was ever likely to win.
The TR010 Hybrid couldn't match the likes of Alpine or Aston Martin, and the No.8 car was running in sixth when the final safety car came out.
The team gambled on it being a short interruption, didn’t change the tyres and sent it back out with its tank at 72% capacity.
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The decision gave Ryo Hirakawa that all-important track position, and while he was quickly closed down by a charging Victory Martins, Hirakawa’s exemplary defence allowed him to nab the win by just 0.591s.
As technical director David Floury would later admit, victory at Fuji was never considered realistic.
The team is likely to be as relieved as it is thrilled to have secured a home win.
Loser: Alpine
After a strong showing in Texas, this looked set to be Alpine’s breakthrough. The A424 was on the pace in free practice, which resulted in a slightly fortuitous front-row lockout.
But then Alpine dominated five of the six hour race, with the two cars leading 166 of the 203 laps between them.
This was Alpine’s race to lose until the final safety car.
According to Sporting Director Nicolas Lapierre, the decision to double-stack was born out of a desire to preserve the No.35 car, which was running in second at the time. Lapierre has stated that pitting the two cars a lap apart would have dropped the No.35 car out of the points. As a result, both cars pitted simultaneously, and Victor Martins in the No.36 car rejoined in second.
An inspired drive allowed Martins to close up to the leading Toyota, but Hirakawa’s dogged defence proved too much.
With 30 points in the bag, this Alpine’s largest points haul of the season so far, but that will be scant consolation to a team that looked set for a one-two.
Winner: BMW
You could be forgiven for forgetting all about BMW until that final stint.
Failure to complete any long runs in practice meant the No.15 car was forced to start 14th But strong energy management allowed it to extend its stints.
When the final safety car came out, BMW opted for the same gamble as Toyota. The No.15 was short-fueled, and its tyres were unchanged.
This allowed Dries Vanthoor to rejoin in second, and while he could do little to fend off Martins in the No.36 Alpine, Vanthoor hung on for a valuable podium. One that has kept both his and the team’s title hopes alive.
Loser: Aston Martin
Like Alpine, Aston Martin looked set to build on the steady progress made since Brazil.
This was arguably the sharpest and most competitive the Valkyrie AMR-LMH has looked since its 2025 debut.
Its straight-line speed was impressive, and both crews demonstrated exceptional racecraft. The No.007 car even led for 11 laps during the fourth hour.
However, Tom Gamble later crossed the white line on pit entry. The resulting drive-through ended his hopes of victory, while the No.009 car remained in contention for the podium.
A slow stop during the final safety car, as well as a subsequent collision with the No.51 Ferrari, relegated it to ninth, five places ahead of the No.007 car.
The pace was evident; however, operational failures and driver error robbed Aston Martin of the breakthrough result it deserved.
Winner: No.94 Peugeot
It may be a hollow victory, but given the poor season Peugeot has endured thus far, sixth place offered some much-needed respite.
The 9X8 has been a disappointment, and with the team's reserve of Evo Jokers exhausted, imminent improvements are unlikely.
To add insult to injury, the No.93 car was ruled out with mechanical issues after just two hours.
The No.94 car was able to avoid such issues, benefit from the misfortune of others and equal the team’s best result of the season.
A consolation prize after yet another trying weekend.
Loser: Ferrari
Having taken victory last time out in Austin, this race was always going to be an exercise in damage limitation for Ferrari.
The 499P struggled for pace all weekend, particularly in the final sector, and the No.50 car suffered a slow pit stop before eventually retiring with mechanical issues.
The No.51 car survived a collision with the No.009 Aston Martin to finish tenth, two places ahead of the No.83 AF Corse car.
The team has retained third in the manufacturers’ race but is now 54 points off Toyota.
With only two races left, Ferrari’s title aspirations are starting to wane.
Winner: Team WRT
After starting only 14th, the No.32 BMW steadily worked its way into contention.
The team’s efforts seemed in vain as a slow stop under the safety car dropped Augusto Farfus to sixth.
A heroic final stint allowed Farfus to claw his way back into the fight and, after an aggressive exchange with the No.33 Corvette and No.27 Aston Martin, take victory by just over a second.
Having secured only one top-five finish all season, this win has been a vital shot in the arm.
Loser: No.21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari
It's hard to escape the conclusion that the crew of the No.21 AF Corse Ferrari had a nightmare of a weekend.
François Hériau crashed within the first minute of qualifying, which led to the session’s cancellation.
An ill-timed lunge at turn one triggered a multi-car shunt that eliminated two fancied runners; a series of subsequent offs ended any hopes of a good result, and the car ended up limping home in 14th, three laps down on the winner.
AF Corse will be glad to see the back of Fuji after that display.
Winner: No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin
Fresh off a win last time out in Texas, the No.27 crew secured another valuable points haul in Japan.
The team wasn’t a viable contender for top honours until the very last stint, when an absorbing three-way battle for the lead broke out.
The late safety car undid the effects of an earlier puncture, and Mattia Drudi was able to make an opportunistic pass on the No.34 Corvette to take second with just seven minutes to go.
Having outscored their immediate title rivals, the No.27 crew have cut their championship deficit to 24 points and drawn away from Racing Team Turkey in third.
Losers: No.88 Proton Competition Mustang and No.61 Iron Lynx Mercedes
It's easy to lump these two together, as their races were pretty much identical.
Both teams had solid pace in free practice. The No.88 Mustang lined up 12th in class, while the No.61 Mercedes secured fifth.
However, both cars were victims of No.21 Ferrari’s first-corner lunge and were forced into retirement, having barely completed a single competitive corner.
Winner: No.54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari
While one AF Corse entry floundered almost immediately, another was able to salvage some pride.
After starting only 11th, the No.54 car profited from the near-continuous chaos, stayed out of trouble, and secured fourth. It's best result of the season so far.
Having scored points just once in 2026, this result is unlikely to go unnoticed.
Loser: No.58 Garage 59 McLaren
After securing the top two times in FP1, Garage 59 looked to be a strong contender this weekend and the No.58 car eventually lined up fourth on the grid.
However, any hopes of a good result disappeared when Finn Gehrsitz clipped the No.27 Aston Martin of Mattia Drudi on the main straight and speared into the barriers.
The incident triggered the race-changing final safety car, and while Gehrsitz was thankfully unhurt, any hopes of a fifth points finish of the season were dashed.
The 2026 World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Fuji is one that will live in the memory for quite some time, given Toyota managed to pull off a fantastic strategical gamble at the end of the race to beat Alpine to the chequered flag.
There was a huge a mount of drama throughout the six-hour test, but who did we see as winners in the race, and who do we think will be leaving Fuji with a taste of disappointment?
Winner: Toyota
It may be an obvious pick, but for well over five hours, this race was not one Toyota was ever likely to win.
The TR010 Hybrid couldn't match the likes of Alpine or Aston Martin, and the No.8 car was running in sixth when the final safety car came out.
The team gambled on it being a short interruption, didn’t change the tyres and sent it back out with its tank at 72% capacity.
Sign up for The Pit Stop Endurance
Incredible stories from across the world of endurance racing
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
The decision gave Ryo Hirakawa that all-important track position, and while he was quickly closed down by a charging Victory Martins, Hirakawa’s exemplary defence allowed him to nab the win by just 0.591s.
As technical director David Floury would later admit, victory at Fuji was never considered realistic.
The team is likely to be as relieved as it is thrilled to have secured a home win.
Loser: Alpine
After a strong showing in Texas, this looked set to be Alpine’s breakthrough. The A424 was on the pace in free practice, which resulted in a slightly fortuitous front-row lockout.
But then Alpine dominated five of the six hour race, with the two cars leading 166 of the 203 laps between them.
This was Alpine’s race to lose until the final safety car.
According to Sporting Director Nicolas Lapierre, the decision to double-stack was born out of a desire to preserve the No.35 car, which was running in second at the time. Lapierre has stated that pitting the two cars a lap apart would have dropped the No.35 car out of the points. As a result, both cars pitted simultaneously, and Victor Martins in the No.36 car rejoined in second.
An inspired drive allowed Martins to close up to the leading Toyota, but Hirakawa’s dogged defence proved too much.
With 30 points in the bag, this Alpine’s largest points haul of the season so far, but that will be scant consolation to a team that looked set for a one-two.
Winner: BMW
You could be forgiven for forgetting all about BMW until that final stint.
Failure to complete any long runs in practice meant the No.15 car was forced to start 14th But strong energy management allowed it to extend its stints.
When the final safety car came out, BMW opted for the same gamble as Toyota. The No.15 was short-fueled, and its tyres were unchanged.
This allowed Dries Vanthoor to rejoin in second, and while he could do little to fend off Martins in the No.36 Alpine, Vanthoor hung on for a valuable podium. One that has kept both his and the team’s title hopes alive.
Loser: Aston Martin
Like Alpine, Aston Martin looked set to build on the steady progress made since Brazil.
This was arguably the sharpest and most competitive the Valkyrie AMR-LMH has looked since its 2025 debut.
Its straight-line speed was impressive, and both crews demonstrated exceptional racecraft. The No.007 car even led for 11 laps during the fourth hour.
However, Tom Gamble later crossed the white line on pit entry. The resulting drive-through ended his hopes of victory, while the No.009 car remained in contention for the podium.
A slow stop during the final safety car, as well as a subsequent collision with the No.51 Ferrari, relegated it to ninth, five places ahead of the No.007 car.
The pace was evident; however, operational failures and driver error robbed Aston Martin of the breakthrough result it deserved.
Winner: No.94 Peugeot
It may be a hollow victory, but given the poor season Peugeot has endured thus far, sixth place offered some much-needed respite.
The 9X8 has been a disappointment, and with the team's reserve of Evo Jokers exhausted, imminent improvements are unlikely.
To add insult to injury, the No.93 car was ruled out with mechanical issues after just two hours.
The No.94 car was able to avoid such issues, benefit from the misfortune of others and equal the team’s best result of the season.
A consolation prize after yet another trying weekend.
Loser: Ferrari
Having taken victory last time out in Austin, this race was always going to be an exercise in damage limitation for Ferrari.
The 499P struggled for pace all weekend, particularly in the final sector, and the No.50 car suffered a slow pit stop before eventually retiring with mechanical issues.
The No.51 car survived a collision with the No.009 Aston Martin to finish tenth, two places ahead of the No.83 AF Corse car.
The team has retained third in the manufacturers’ race but is now 54 points off Toyota.
With only two races left, Ferrari’s title aspirations are starting to wane.
Winner: Team WRT
After starting only 14th, the No.32 BMW steadily worked its way into contention.
The team’s efforts seemed in vain as a slow stop under the safety car dropped Augusto Farfus to sixth.
A heroic final stint allowed Farfus to claw his way back into the fight and, after an aggressive exchange with the No.33 Corvette and No.27 Aston Martin, take victory by just over a second.
Having secured only one top-five finish all season, this win has been a vital shot in the arm.
Loser: No.21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari
It's hard to escape the conclusion that the crew of the No.21 AF Corse Ferrari had a nightmare of a weekend.
François Hériau crashed within the first minute of qualifying, which led to the session’s cancellation.
An ill-timed lunge at turn one triggered a multi-car shunt that eliminated two fancied runners; a series of subsequent offs ended any hopes of a good result, and the car ended up limping home in 14th, three laps down on the winner.
AF Corse will be glad to see the back of Fuji after that display.
Winner: No.27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin
Fresh off a win last time out in Texas, the No.27 crew secured another valuable points haul in Japan.
The team wasn’t a viable contender for top honours until the very last stint, when an absorbing three-way battle for the lead broke out.
The late safety car undid the effects of an earlier puncture, and Mattia Drudi was able to make an opportunistic pass on the No.34 Corvette to take second with just seven minutes to go.
Having outscored their immediate title rivals, the No.27 crew have cut their championship deficit to 24 points and drawn away from Racing Team Turkey in third.
Losers: No.88 Proton Competition Mustang and No.61 Iron Lynx Mercedes
It's easy to lump these two together, as their races were pretty much identical.
Both teams had solid pace in free practice. The No.88 Mustang lined up 12th in class, while the No.61 Mercedes secured fifth.
However, both cars were victims of No.21 Ferrari’s first-corner lunge and were forced into retirement, having barely completed a single competitive corner.
Winner: No.54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari
While one AF Corse entry floundered almost immediately, another was able to salvage some pride.
After starting only 11th, the No.54 car profited from the near-continuous chaos, stayed out of trouble, and secured fourth. It's best result of the season so far.
Having scored points just once in 2026, this result is unlikely to go unnoticed.
Loser: No.58 Garage 59 McLaren
After securing the top two times in FP1, Garage 59 looked to be a strong contender this weekend and the No.58 car eventually lined up fourth on the grid.
However, any hopes of a good result disappeared when Finn Gehrsitz clipped the No.27 Aston Martin of Mattia Drudi on the main straight and speared into the barriers.
The incident triggered the race-changing final safety car, and while Gehrsitz was thankfully unhurt, any hopes of a fifth points finish of the season were dashed.
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