The seventh round of the FIA World Endurance Championship took place on the Japanese circuit of Fuji, with the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 number 54 from Vista AF Corse, driven by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, and Davide Rigon, securing victory. The number 55 car of François Heriau, Simon Mann, and Alessio Rovera finished in sixth place. The race was held in dry conditions with rather high temperatures.
Francesco Castellacci, Vista AF Corse #54: "This is a really important victory for us, especially after we couldn’t even take our place on the grid in Texas. The car here at Fuji was very competitive, and my goal at the start was to gain a few positions and avoid any incidents, so I could hand the car over to Thomas (Flohr, ed.) as far ahead as possible for his double stint. I then got back in the car with fresh tyres and set Davide (Rigon, ed.) up in the best possible position for the final part of the race."
Thomas Flohr, Vista AF Corse #54: "Fuji is a circuit I like a lot, and the passion of the local fans is a real motivation. It’s been a tough season so far, with a lot of bad luck. But one of the team’s strengths is the ability to bounce back from difficulties, and we did that here at Fuji with an incredible team effort to bring home this win. I knew a double stint here wouldn’t be easy for me, but it was crucial for our race strategy, so I got it done while carefully managing the tyres, which is really important here."
Davide Rigon, Vista AF Corse #54: "I'm really happy with this victory. We felt really ready for a great result coming into this weekend, and in the end, we got it. It’s a win built on teamwork, tyre management, and the commitment from all of us. We had a very well-balanced car, thanks to the excellent work of the engineers and technicians. At the end, I had fun battling with the other drivers, pulling off some great overtakes and always pushing to the limit."
Alessio Rovera, Vista AF Corse #55: "It was a tough race right from the start due to the issue with the ABS, but despite that, we finished just 20 seconds behind the winners. There was potential to take the win, as the crew of the number 54 car showed. We hope to be just as competitive in Bahrain, so we can finally make it onto the podium."
Simon Mann, Vista AF Corse #55: "We had a technical issue before the start that forced us to race the whole event without ABS, which made things very difficult. We also had to serve a drive-through penalty, but still managed to finish sixth. There's some frustration, though, as the potential was there for a better result."
François Heriau, Vista AF Corse #55: "It was great to take our first pole position of the year here at Fuji, rewarding the hard work of the entire team. Right from the start of the season, we’ve shown we can be competitive."