OPENING DAY AT FUJI: PEUGEOT SETS THE PACE, LEXUS SHINES ON HOME SOIL
The FIA World Endurance Championship returned to Fuji Speedway for the 6 Hours of Fuji, one of the most iconic rounds on the calendar. With Toyota enjoying the spotlight at its home race and a packed crowd ready to witness the battle between the top manufacturers, the first two free practice sessions delivered plenty of intrigue in both the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes. Changing track conditions between the morning and afternoon sessions allowed teams to explore setups, while the competitive order began to take shape ahead of qualifying. Peugeot emerged as the standout in Hypercar, topping both sessions with the 9X8, while in LMGT3 it was Lexus, also racing on home soil, that delighted local fans with a sweep of FP1 and FP2. Despite these strong early markers, the margins were close, and both classes look set for fierce qualifying fights.
Free Practice 1
The morning session began under dry, warm conditions, and Peugeot wasted no time asserting itself. Loïc Duval set the fastest lap of FP1 in the #94 Peugeot 9X8 with a 1:30.152, a time that would remain unbeaten. Jean-Éric Vergne in the sister #93 ensured a Peugeot one-two, just under half a second behind. Aston Martin’s Valkyrie Hypercar once again proved its competitiveness, with Marco Sørensen pushing the #009 into third and Harry Tincknell keeping the #007 close behind in fourth. Porsche Penske was also firmly in the mix, as Julien Andlauer and Mathieu Jaminet placed the #5 Porsche 963 in fifth, only a few tenths away from the Peugeots. Toyota, competing on home turf, had Brendon Hartley, Sébastien Buemi, and Ryo Hirakawa put the #8 GR010 in sixth, giving fans encouragement but also highlighting that the reigning champions still had ground to make up. Further back, the Cadillac V-Series.R and Ferrari 499P showed solid pace without breaking into the top five, while Alpine’s #35 continued to improve but remained outside the leading group.
LMGT3
The GT runners saw Akkodis ASP Lexus delight its home supporters. Ben Barnicoat powered the #78 Lexus RC F GT3 to the top of the class with a 1:41.257, leading by a razor-thin 0.033s over the #81 TF Sport Corvette. The United Autosports McLaren rounded out the top three, confirming the car’s ability to compete consistently at the sharp end. Porsche and Ferrari both placed cars in the top six, though neither quite had the one-lap pace to match Lexus or Corvette in FP1. The Proton Competition Ford Mustang showed flashes of speed but not yet enough to trouble the leaders. Still, with the gaps across the top ten measured in mere tenths, LMGT3 looked set for a highly competitive weekend.
Free Practice 2
Hypercar
The afternoon brought slightly warmer track conditions and faster lap times, and once again it was Peugeot that led the way. This time Mikkel Jensen set the outright fastest lap of the day in the #93 Peugeot 9X8, breaking into the 1:29s with a 1:29.495. The margin was razor-thin, however — just 0.017 seconds ahead of the #5 Porsche Penske, proving that Porsche is capable of mounting a serious qualifying challenge. Sørensen continued his strong form, keeping the #009 Aston Martin in third, while Toyota’s #8 GR010 improved to fourth, reducing the gap to the leaders compared to FP1. The #7 Toyota also found more pace to enter the top ten, joined by Alpine’s #35, Cadillac’s #12, and Ferrari’s #50, each showing encouraging signs of progress. With eight different manufacturers represented in the top ten, FP2 highlighted the depth of competition in the Hypercar field and confirmed that qualifying could produce a mixed-up grid.
LMGT3
If FP1 belonged to the #78 Lexus, FP2 was all about its sister car. Clemens Schmid put the #87 Akkodis ASP Lexus on top with a 1:41.431, giving the manufacturer a clean sweep of both sessions. United Autosports again impressed, with the #59 McLaren slotting into second, while the FP1-leading #78 Lexus remained firmly in the top three. Manthey EMA’s Porsche improved significantly to claim fourth, showing the car’s adaptability as conditions evolved, while AF Corse’s Ferrari added variety to the front-running order in fifth. The #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang produced one of its best performances of the season with sixth overall, underlining its potential against more established GT3 rivals. Corvette, after pushing Lexus so close in FP1, slipped slightly down the order in FP2 but remained well within striking distance. The diversity of cars and manufacturers in the LMGT3 top ten reinforced just how competitive the class has become.
Day one set for a weekend of racing. In Hypercar, Peugeot’s one-two in FP1 and fastest overall time in FP2 marked the 9X8 as the car to beat, though Porsche’s narrow gap in the afternoon session, Aston Martin’s consistent strength, and Toyota’s home-ground determination ensure that qualifying will be anything but straightforward. Ferrari, Cadillac, and Alpine also showed flashes of pace, making the front of the grid wide open.
In LMGT3, Lexus delivered a perfect homecoming by topping both sessions, with the #78 and #87 cars trading honors. Yet the margins remain slim, with Corvette, McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari, and Ford all close enough to mount a challenge. With lap times dropping between sessions and the competitive order tightening, qualifying promises to be a tense affair — and both classes look set for a dramatic and unpredictable 6 Hours of Fuji.
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