The first day of track activities for round seven with the Hypercars of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji International Speedway over the weekend has concluded. The official Ferrari – AF Corse team’s 499Ps completed 176 laps, which are valuable for the car’s fine-tuning, on the Japanese circuit hosting the 6 Hours of Fuji, while AF Corse car number 83 – winner of the previous round at COTA – racked up 97 laps.
Free Practice 1. The 90-minute morning session took place in dry conditions, with air temperatures of 26 to 27 °C and the track between 32 and 36.8 °C.
Antonio Fuoco and James Calado were the first into the cockpits of 499P numbers 50 and 51, respectively, followed by Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, then Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Crew number 50 took third place at the chequered flag with a best time of 1’31”104 (0”543 behind the session leader, Porsche number 6), while the teammates in 499P number 51 finished tenth in 1’31”324. The two cars completed 45 and 39 laps respectively in the session.
The Giallo Modena-liveried Le Mans Hypercar, driven by the Maranello-based manufacturer’s official drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman, alongside Robert Kubica, secured sixth place. The crew completed 44 laps and set a best time of 1’31”282.
Free Practice 2. In the afternoon, the Fuji programme continued with another 90-minute session in similar weather to the morning, though with temperatures a few degrees lower.
The standings showed the 499P number 51 in seventh place and the number 50 in fifteenth. They completed 52 and 40 laps, respectively, with best lap times of 1’29”975 (just 0”398seconds behind the session leader, BMW number 15) and 1’30”593.
The AF Corse Ferrari completed 53 laps, setting the fourth-fastest time of 1’29’’904.
The programme. On Saturday, 14th September, after the practice session from 10.20 to 11.20 a.m., the qualifying sessions will take place at 3 p.m., followed by the Hyperpole at 3.20 p.m., to determine the starting grid for the 6 Hours of Fuji, which kicks off on Sunday, 15th September, at 11 a.m. (local time).