Toyota’s No. 8 GR010 HYBRID finished up the final practice session ahead of the 6 Hours of Fuji this morning on top of the timing screens, with a 1m29.621s set by Ryo Hirakawa.
The local hero’s lap came nine minutes into the hour-long session, which was preceded by a brief Circuit Safari session for a select group of fans and red-flagged with 21 minutes remaining due to an issue with the kerbs and runoff at the exit of Turn 1.
Replays during the stoppage showed a large chunk of brick coming loose as the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P passed through, which prompted the decision by the race director to bring the action to a halt and inspect the area with circuit officials.
The session did not go green again in the end, meaning the teams lost a third of the track time. We now await news on a solution to the problem that will allow track action to resume.
Nevertheless, FP3 came to a close with four different manufacturers sitting in the top four, all setting times within two-tenths, teasing what promises to be an entertaining Qualifying session later today.
The No. 2 Cadillac slotted in second after a 1m29.707s from Alex Lynn 20 minutes into the run, the No. 50 Ferrari ended up third and the No. 35 Alpine rose to fourth during a nine-lap run from Charles Milesi.
Both Toyotas ended up in the top five, as the No. 7 GR010 ended up fifth with a 1m30.055s.
In LMGT3 Vista AF Corse’s Ferraris continued to flex their muscles, with the No. 55 ending up quickest and the No. 54 setting the second-fastest time after hot laps set shortly before the red flag. The best time from the two was a 1:41.206.
“At the moment it’s good but we need to remember it was half a session and we used new tyres,” No. 54 driver Davide Rigon said. “It should be a tight qualifying as yesterday there was one second between the top 17 cars. The car is never perfect but we have a good feeling.
Best of the rest was the No. 78 AKKODIS ASP Lexus, which came within two-tenths of the No. 55 with a 1m41.422s from Arnold Robin.
The No. 95 United Autosports McLaren, which briefly sat second after a tour from James Cottingham, ended up fourth with the championship-leading Pure Rxcing Porsche fifth.
Qualifying is set to get underway at 14:20 local time later today.