Ferrari 296 LMGT3 cars on track at Fuji

The penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship is set for the Fuji International Speedway, a historic Japanese circuit that will host the six-hour world championship race on Sunday, 15 September (from 11 a.m., local time). Competing on the track, inaugurated in 1965, will be the Ferrari 296 LMGT3s fielded by Vista AF Corse: the Ferrari number 54, entrusted to the Prancing Horse manufacturer’s official driver Davide Rigon, alongside Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci, and the number 55, shared by another official driver, Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann, and François Heriau.

Just two weeks after the previous round held at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, the world championship returns to the spotlight with an event that has fully earned its place in the history of endurance racing. Since its establishment in 2012, the FIA WEC has been a fixture at this circuit, situated at the foot of Mount Fuji, with the exception of 2021.

History. Fuji and endurance are two names often linked in the history of racing. Since its inauguration, the circuit – which in its current configuration measures 4.563 kilometres and includes 16 turns – has witnessed memorable successes for the Prancing Horse. Ferrari claimed its first-ever victory on Japanese soil at this circuit in 1970 with the 512 S of Scuderia Picchio Rosso, triumphing in the 200 Miles of Fuji with Gianpiero Moretti and Corrado Manfredini. The roll of honour also includes six class victories achieved since the inception of the FIA WEC (in 2012), all with production-derived cars. The first of these was in 2014, when Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni, in the 458 Italia GTE, claimed victory in LMGTE Pro.

The most recent success came in September 2023 when Rigon-Flohr-Castellacci won the 6 Hours at the wheel of the 488 GTE of AF Corse: a memorable victory as it was the last collected by the 488 GTE, which has been replaced by the new 296 LMGT3 in the current FIA WEC season.

The standings. For the Vista AF Corse crews, fresh from a tenth place in the United States secured by Rovera, Mann, and Heriau, after Rigon, Flohr, and Castellacci were forced to retire, the Fuji 6 Hours holds significant importance in the context of the championship. In the drivers’ standings, Rovera-Mann-Heriau are fifth, 68 points behind the leaders, while Rigon-Flohr-Castellacci are 15th (with a gap of 95 points).

The programme. Friday 13 September features two 90-minute free practice sessions at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, 14 September, after a free practice session from 10:20 to 11:20 a.m., qualifying begins at 2.20 p.m., followed by the Hyperpole session at 2:40 p.m. to set the starting grid for the 6-hour race. The race kicks off on Sunday, 15 September, at 11 a.m. (local time).