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WEC Fuji: Cadillac locks out front row, Aston Martin shines

Cadillac notched up its third front-row lock-out of the season in qualifying for this weekend’s Fuji round of the World Endurance Championship. 

Alex Lynn headed the times in Hyperpole qualifying in Japan from Jota team-mate Earl Bamber, following up on his poles at the Le Mans 24 Hours and Interlagos in June and July respectively. 

Lynn set two laps good enough for pole in the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R during the 10-minute final session for the fastest 10 cars in opening qualifying. 

A 1m28.637s on his first quick lap just pipped Bamber, who had posted a 1m28.675s in the #38 Jota Caddy. 

Both Cadillac drivers tried to improve their times, Lynn knocking off four tenths to get down to a 1m28.236s while Bamber went slower by two tenths.

Third place on the grid for Sunday’s Fuji 6 Hours was taken by Marco Sorensen in the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar. 

The Dane had topped the times in opening qualifying aboard the The Heart of Racing entry, but could manage only fifth on his first hot lap in Hyperpole. 

He was able to find a couple of tenths to improve to a 1m28.705s to jump up to best of the rest behind the Caddys.

Peugeot, which had been at the forefront of the times along with Aston through free practice, took fourth place courtesy of Mikkel Jensen in the #93 9X8 2024 LMH. 

His time of 1m28.716s gave him a margin of more than a tenth over the 1m28.854s from Sheldon van der Linde that put the #20 WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh fifth.

Antonio Giovinazzi took sixth in the championship-leading #51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P LMH with a 1m28.945s. 

Porsche claimed seventh courtesy of a 1m29.031s from Julien Andlauer in the #5 factory Penske-run 963 LMDh, which was just four hundredths up on Ryo Hirakawa’s 1m29.071s in the best of the Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMHs. 

Charles Milesi and Robert Kubica rounded out the top 10 in the #35 Alpine A424 LMDh and the #83 customer Ferrari run by AF. 

Aston and Peugeot only got one car each into Hyperpole despite their free practice form.  

Harry Tincknell locked up at Turn 10 on a lap that looked to be good enough to get the #007 Valkyrie through into the second qualifying session. 

The Briton managed to improve his time to jump to 11th ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne’s Peugeot, his effort leaving him 0.03s shy of a place in Hyperpole.

Kevin Estre ended up at the foot of the times in the Penske Porsche that won last time out in the WEC at Austin earlier in September after a lock-up at Turn 1.

Aston Martin on LMGT3 pole

#10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Anthony McIntosh, Eduardo Barrichello, Valentin Hasse Clot (Photo by: Andreas Beil)

Eduardo Barrichello took his second LMGT3 pole position of the season in the Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage GT3.

The Brazilian, who took top spot in qualifying on home ground at Interlagos in July, jumped to the head of the times when he got down to a 1m39.981s on his final lap. 

That pipped Sean Gelael in the best of the United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3s Evos by just 0.03s. 

Gelael’s 1m40.011s was in turn just 0.002s ahead of Sebastien Baud in the second United McLaren. 

The Fuji 6 Hours, the penultimate round of the 2025 WEC, begins at 11:00 local time on Sunday.

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Pole sitter #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Giovinazzi

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#009 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Alex Riberas, Marco Sorensen, #007 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R: Tom Van Rompuy, Rui Andrade, Charlie Eastwood, #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R: Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar, Daniel Juncadella

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#60 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Andrew Gilbert, Lorcan Hanafin, Fran Rueda

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Kelvin Van Der Linde

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Roger Penske, Team Penske

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3: Arnold Robin, Finn Gehrsitz, Ben Barnicoat

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson, ##007 Aston Martin Thor Team Aston Martin Valkyrie: Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Roger Penske, Team Penske

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Jules Gounon, Frederic Makowiecki, Mick Schumacher

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen, #51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Fans

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Kevin Magnussen

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ryō Hirakawa, #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen, Mathieu Jaminet

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Stoffel Vandoorne

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Kazuki Nakajima, Toyota Gazoo Racing, Pierre Fillon, ACO President, Aslan Bassel, technical director of MissionH24, Hydrogen Conference

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R: Ben Keating, Jonny Edgar, Daniel Juncadella

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Stoffel Vandoorne

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Dieter Gass, JOTA Sport, Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Norman Nato

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Bernardo Sousa, Ben Tuck, Benjamin Barker

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button, #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Bernardo Sousa, Ben Tuck, Benjamin Barker, #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato, Dennis Olsen

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Bernardo Sousa, Ben Tuck, Benjamin Barker

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Kevin Magnussen

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#92 Manthey 1St Phorm Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Riccardo Pera, Richard Lietz

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Stoffel Vandoorne

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, Will Stevens, #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Stoffel Vandoorne

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Sébastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, Ry? Hirakawa

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Jenson Button, Sebastien Bourdais

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Rubens Barrichello, father of #10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Eduardo Barrichello

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Eduardo Barrichello

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Pole sitter #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9X8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Stoffel Vandoorne

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Pole sitter LMGT3: #10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Anthony McIntosh, Eduardo Barrichello, Valentin Hasse Clot

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Pole sitter LMGT3: #10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Anthony McIntosh, Eduardo Barrichello, Valentin Hasse Clot

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Eduardo Barrichello, #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

#10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: AEduardo Barrichello, Rubens Barrichello

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Pole sitter #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

Pole sitter #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Alex Lynn, Norman Nato, Will Stevens

Fuji - Saturday, in Photos

WEC
48

 Fuji WEC - Hypercar Hyerpole results:

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Team # Drivers Car Laps Time Interval km/h
1
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR
12 United Kingdom A. Lynn France N. Nato United Kingdom W. Stevens Cadillac V-Series.R 6

1'28.236

  186.168
2
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR
38 New Zealand E. Bamber France S. Bourdais United Kingdom J. Button Cadillac V-Series.R 7

+0.439

1'28.675

0.439 185.247
3
Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR
009 Spain A. Riberas Denmark M. Sorensen Aston Martin Valkyrie 6

+0.469

1'28.705

0.030 185.184
4
PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR
93 United Kingdom P. di Resta Denmark M. Jensen France J. Vergne Peugeot 9X8 6

+0.480

1'28.716

0.011 185.161
5
BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR
20 Germany R. Rast Netherlands R. Frijns South Africa S. Van Der Linde BMW M Hybrid V8 6

+0.618

1'28.854

0.138 184.874
6
FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR
51 Italy A. Pier Guidi United Kingdom J. Calado Italy A. Giovinazzi Ferrari 499P 7

+0.709

1'28.945

0.091 184.684
7
PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR
5 France J. Andlauer France M. Jaminet Porsche 963 7

+0.795

1'29.031

0.086 184.506
8
Toyota Racing HYPERCAR
8 Switzerland S. Buemi New Zealand B. Hartley Japan R. Hirakawa Toyota GR010 - Hybrid 6

+0.835

1'29.071

0.040 184.423
9
Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR
35 France P. Chatin Austria F. Habsburg France C. Milesi Alpine A424 6

+0.844

1'29.080

0.009 184.405
10
AF Corse HYPERCAR
83 Poland R. Kubica China Y. Yifei United Kingdom P. Hanson Ferrari 499P 6

+1.009

1'29.245

0.165 184.064

LMGT3 Hyperpole results:

   
1
 - 
4
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Team # Drivers Car Laps Time Interval km/h
1
Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3
10 United States A. McIntosh Brazil D. Barrichello France V. Hasse-Clot Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 5

1'39.981

  164.299
2
United Autosports LMGT3
95 United Kingdom D. Leung Indonesia S. Gelael Japan M. Sato McLaren 720S GT3 Evo 6

+0.030

1'40.011

0.030 164.249
3
United Autosports LMGT3
59
J. Cottingham
France S. Baud Switzerland G. Saucy
McLaren 720S GT3 Evo 6

+0.032

1'40.013

0.002 164.246
4
Heart of Racing Team LMGT3
27 United Kingdom I. James Canada Z. Robichon Italy M. Drudi Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 6

+0.406

1'40.387

0.374 163.634
5
Manthey 1st Phorm LMGT3
92 United States R. Hardwick Italy R. Pera Austria R. Lietz Porsche 911 GT3 R 6

+0.433

1'40.414

0.027 163.590
6
TF Sport LMGT3
33 United States B. Keating United Kingdom J. Edgar Spain D. Juncadella Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 6

+0.445

1'40.426

0.012 163.571
7
TF Sport LMGT3
81 Belgium T. Rompuy Portugal R. Andrade Ireland C. Eastwood Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 6

+0.509

1'40.490

0.064 163.467
8
Vista AF Corse LMGT3
54 Switzerland T. Flohr Italy F. Castellacci Italy D. Rigon Ferrari 296 GT3 6

+0.619

1'40.600

0.110 163.288
9
Proton Competition LMGT3
88 Italy S. Gattuso Italy G. Levorato Norway D. Olsen Ford Mustang GT3 6

+0.727

1'40.708

0.108 163.113
10
Vista AF Corse LMGT3
21 France F. Heriau France S. Mann Italy A. Rovera Ferrari 296 GT3 6

+0.838

1'40.819

0.111 162.933
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