WRT livery in the flesh for 6H Fuji
WRT’s Jägermeister-inspired livery on the #69 BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo for this weekend (featured) looks as striking in person as expected. It’s the only car with a significant colour scheme change for this event.
Garage 59 welcomes new TM
David Clarke is on site for his first WEC weekend as acting trackside team manager for LMGT3 team Garage 59.
Clarke, formerly of Lola’s Formula E programme, will oversee the team’s pair of McLarens in the absence of team co-owners Andrew Kirkaldy and Chris Goodwin, who have clashing commitments this weekend.
Clarke joined the team the week of Lone Star Le Mans, and was present in Austin to get up to speed. Following this weekend in Fuji, he will join the team in Portimão for GT World Challenge Europe’s Endurance Cup finale next month, and the WEC finale in Monza.
Genesis organises fan festival
Genesis Magma Racing’s first visit to the Fuji Speedway this weekend comes at an interesting time for its Hypercar programme, following its season best finish of seventh at COTA last time out with the #19 GMR-001.
While not a true home race for the South Korean brand, its first visit to its home continent brings additional fanfare. Sunday’s race is the only one on the calendar in a sensible time zone for its growing domestic fanbase, making it an important opportunity to get cut through.
To make the most of the occasion, Genesis is welcoming VIP customers from South Korea at the circuit during the event, and hosting a motorsport festival near the capital city, Seoul. Fans in Korea will be able to get up close to the weathered #19 chassis which finished the Le Mans 24 Hours on the brand’s first attempt back in June, and watch the race on a big screen at the Starfield Hanam shopping complex.
Tyre selection
Michelin has brought the soft and medium compound tyres to the Fuji Speedway, after selecting the medium and hard for COTA.
“Fuji is a particularly interesting circuit for tyres because its three sectors feature very different characteristics,” says Michelin sportscar racing boss Pierre Alves. “The very long straight in the first sector helps cool the tyres before the car enters a much faster second section, where the loads and energy transferred to the tyres increase significantly. Turns 4 and 5 will be particularly important: the car needs enough grip to perform well in this fast section without overworking the tyres, ensuring their potential is preserved for the final sector.
“That last sector is much slower and demands high levels of mechanical grip and traction. The goal, therefore, is to maintain tyre performance throughout the stint so the driver has consistent grip right up to the final laps. Striking this balance between warm-up, immediate performance, and durability will be one of the keys to the weekend.
“Our new Michelin Pilot Sport Endurance 2026 range delivers a significant improvement in warm-up performance. The tyres reach their optimal operating window faster, allowing the driver to regain grip and confidence sooner—especially when track temperatures are relatively cool. At the same time, we must manage the energy transferred to the tyres to prevent excessive thermal or mechanical degradation over the course of the stint.”
Goodyear teams in LMGT3, meanwhile, will run the Mediums, as they have all season following the change in tyre allocation rules.
According to the constructor, due to the low tyre wear at the circuit, the Eagle Medium may support single-stint strategies this weekend, maximising performance from each set of tyres rather than pursuing multi-stint strategies.
However, the weather forecast doesn’t look great at the time of writing, with rain expected across all three days of track action, with Saturday looking particularly grim, with heavy rain set for most of the day.
Toyota’s Le Mans winner present
Toyota has revealed that its 2026 Le Mans-winning TR010 Hypercar will be at Fuji Speedway this weekend, with a YouTube video recreating a scene from the movie Cars.
Da Costa’s late call
An Instagram story from Alpine Hypercar driver Antonio Felix Da Costa earlier this week suggested he was already en route to Japan from Lisbon when he learned he wouldn’t be racing there. He later posted a follow-up story with the caption “change of plans”.
The decision to run with two drivers per car clearly came very late, as shown by the fact that the team was posting about the Fuji race on Monday, citing all six drivers, at the same time Endurance Info broke the story that the team was fielding two drivers in each car. The boards above the garages in the pit lane also list all six drivers.
The cars, however, reflect the change.
Stewart in Fuji
Sir Jackie Stewart is present in Fuji for what is believed to be his first FIA WEC race weekend.
The three-time F1 World Champion will act as honorary starter for the race alongside promotional activities for his Race Against Dementia charity, which will include a charity auction and gala dinner.
Sir Jackie’s sportscar adventures were somewhat rarer than his outings in single-seaters, with outings in Can-Am in Lola and Chaparral machinery and a one-off run at Le Mans in 1965 alongside Graham Hillingdon in the Rover BRM gas turbine machine. The pair finished a distant second in class, 10th overall.
Gems in the museum
Arriving early in Japan for the race weekend, the DSC editor and editor-in-chief took the opportunity (finally) for their first visit to the Fuji Museum (RJ O’Connell visited in 2024).
Sited on the first two floors of Fuji Speedway Hotel, the beautifully presented museum hosts a rolling collection of sports cars, GT cars, touring cars, rally cars, stock cars and single-seaters.
Highlights of the tour included a pair of examples of the awesome Toyota 7 ‘Can-Am’ car, the 2007 24 Hours-winning Toyota Supra Hybrid (the first-ever hybrid-powered winner of a 24 Hour race), and examples of both the Mazda 787B and Toyota TS020 (GT One).
