Ried back in at Proton
Christian Ried will be back aboard the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 for a second time this season in Fuji after Ben Keating filled the Bronze-ranked seat at his home race at CoTA the weekend before last.
The Proton team principal is therefore set to make his 87th FIA WEC start after replacing Giorgio Roda, who raced in the car until Le Mans, at Interlagos.
Hardwick’s near miss
Ryan Hardwick, the Bronze driver in Proton’s sister #77 Mustang, had a somewhat dramatic start to his trip to Tokyo.
A social media post from the American indicated that he was aboard a Delta Airways Airbus A350 that was involved in a serious collision on the tarmac at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.
One of the Airbus’s wings made heavy contact with the rear tailplane of a parked Delta Bombardier CRJ, almost completely severing the tail structure and leaving significant subsequent damage too to the bigger aircraft.
There were, mercifully, no reported injuries to passengers on either aircraft or ground personnel.
BoP tables released
A number of tweaks and changes to the Balance of Performance tables for Hypercar and LMGT3 have been made for this weekend’s race in Fuji.
The Peugeot 9X8 has received the most significant changes, with a 7 kg weight reduction, a 4 kW increase in max power below 250 kph and a 1 MJ increase in maximum stint energy.
In LMGT3, as well as some minor tweaks to stint energy and power curves, the Success Ballast table has also been updated.
For this race, Pure Rxcing’s Porsche will compete with the most weight, with 40kg of success ballast allocated. Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin won last time in CoTA and is second on the list with 35 kg additional weight.
Tyre allocations for the weekend
Michelin has revealed that the Hypercar class runners will have the choice of its Medium and Hard compound slicks this weekend.
This decision has been made to “cover the anticipated spectrum of ground temperatures” at the Fuji Speedway across the meeting. Forecasts suggest it will be hot and dry trackside throughout the running, with temperatures set to graze 30 degrees each day.
“With Austin still fresh in our minds, here we are already on the other side of the globe,” said Pierre Alves, the manager of Michelin’s endurance-racing programmes. “We have considerable experience at Fuji Speedway, so we have good reason to feel confident, and we’ve prepared a strong package to give the drivers the confidence they will need from lights-out to the chequered flag.
“The track itself is very varied and puts different performance parameters to a real test, from the cars’ engines and their aerodynamics to the mechanical grip provided by our tyres. Our range proved a perfect match for the circuit in last year’s mild to hot conditions when it provided the necessary grip, stability and consistency, in addition to coping with the high downforce loads. This consideration is especially important through Turns 4 and 5, and through Sector 3.
“The left-hand tyres in general and the front-left in particular face the biggest demands here, so we will be particularly attentive to that. The forecasters aren’t expecting any exceptional weather. However, following the typhoon that rocked the country recently, rain clearly cannot be ruled out over the weekend.”
As for LMGT3, Goodyear’s Medium-spec rubber remains the option for teams, with the Medium Plus not expected to debut until the 2025 season.
Farfus receives Wingfoot Award for CoTA performance
Team WRT’s Augusto Farfus received the Goodyear Wingfoot Award for his performance at Lone Star Le Mans last time out (featured).
He now leads the standings after six races by 14 points over Manthey EMA’s Morris Schuring.
The Wingfoot Award recognises the consistent performance of LMGT3 drivers in the FIA World Endurance Championship, celebrating the art of maximising performance and executing consistent pace across a stint.
After each round, the award is given to the LMGT3 driver who achieves the fastest stint average (or double stint average at the 24 Hours of Le Mans).
The WEC scoring system is used for the Wingfoot Award season results, meaning the points scale with the length of the race. All LMGT3 drivers are eligible and counted in the points scoring.
