2026 | WEC | 6 Hours of Fuji | Qualifying | Alpine inherits pole as heavy rain halts session

Alpine Endurance Team will lock out the front row for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) 6 Hours of Fuji after heavy rain forced officials to cancel Qualifying and Hyperpole at Fuji Speedway.

Victor Martins’ 1:29.304 from FP2 ultimately secured pole for the #36 Alpine A424 he shares with Jules Gounon, while the sister #35 of Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg will start alongside. The #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie had recorded the second-fastest Practice time but received a two-place grid penalty following Harry Tincknell’s collision with Ian James during FP3, promoting the second Alpine and #19 Genesis GMR-001.

In LMGT3, Proton Competition secured pole with the #77 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO after Ben Tuck set the fastest Practice time in the class. With worsening rain and standing water preventing any meaningful Qualifying running, the starting order instead comes from each car’s fastest lap across the three Practice sessions.

Heriau crash brings Qualifying to an immediate halt

Conditions had already deteriorated significantly during a wet FP3 at Fuji, when drivers faced standing water, poor visibility and several incidents around Fuji Speedway. The rain continued ahead of Qualifying and created even more difficult conditions by the time the LMGT3 field attempted to begin the first competitive session of the weekend.

François Heriau lost control of the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 shortly after leaving Turn 1. The Frenchman appeared to aquaplane as he accelerated away from the opening corner, sending the Ferrari across the circuit and into the barrier on the right-hand side at Turn 2. Heriau climbed from the damaged car without assistance, but Race Control immediately red-flagged the session as officials assessed both the accident and worsening track conditions.

Qualifying never resumed. With visibility continuing to deteriorate, standing water creating a significant aquaplaning risk and the forecast predicting further heavy rain, officials cancelled the remaining LMGT3 Qualifying and Hyperpole sessions alongside both scheduled Hypercar sessions. The official FIA WEC report confirmed that the grid would therefore come from each car’s individual fastest lap across the three Practice sessions.

Martins secures first Hypercar pole for Alpine A424

The cancellation handed pole to Martins after the Frenchman set the outright fastest time of the weekend during Friday afternoon’s FP2. His 1:29.304 put the #36 Alpine at the top of the combined order and ultimately secured the A424 its first pole position since Alpine entered the Hypercar category.

Martins had already established himself as one of the fastest drivers of the weekend before the weather intervened. After Toyota led the opening session on Friday, the #36 moved ahead in FP2 and Martins maintained that form when conditions changed completely on Saturday. He again led during the wet FP3 session, setting a 1:40.594 as Alpine demonstrated competitive pace in both dry and wet conditions.

The result gives Alpine an ideal starting position as it targets another victory at a circuit that has already delivered one of the defining moments of its Hypercar programme. The French manufacturer won at Fuji in 2025, and Team Principal Philippe Sinault made clear before the weekend that Alpine now expects to consistently challenge for WEC victories after returning to the podium at COTA.

Aston Martin penalty hands Alpine front-row lockout

The #007 Aston Martin initially appeared set to join Martins on the front row after Tom Gamble recorded a 1:29.343, just 0.039s slower than the Alpine. However, the Valkyrie will start fourth after officials handed it a two-place grid penalty following Tincknell’s incident during FP3.

Tincknell collided with James in the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 during the wet Saturday morning session. The contact damaged the left side of the #007 and scattered debris across the circuit, briefly bringing FP3 under a red flag. Tincknell later returned to the track and set the second-fastest time of that session, but the subsequent penalty ultimately proved costly once officials cancelled Qualifying.

The penalty promoted the #35 Alpine of Milesi and Habsburg onto the front row. Milesi’s 1:29.397 from FP2 left the sister A424 only 0.093s behind Martins, giving Alpine the two fastest eligible cars once the Aston Martin penalty took effect. Instead of starting first and third, the French manufacturer will therefore lead the field away with both cars when the race begins on Sunday.

Genesis earns its best WEC grid positions

Genesis Magma Racing also benefited from Aston Martin’s penalty, with the #19 GMR-001 moving onto the second row in third. Mathieu Jaminet’s 1:29.492 had placed the car fourth in the combined Practice order, but the penalty ahead promoted Genesis to its best starting position since joining the WEC.

The Korean manufacturer will also place both GMR-001s inside the top five. Mathys Jaubert set a 1:29.558 in the #17 to secure fifth, immediately behind the penalised #007 Aston Martin, while the sister #009 Valkyrie will start sixth. Genesis therefore heads into Sunday with both cars ahead of several established Hypercar manufacturers after showing increasingly competitive pace across the opening rounds of its debut campaign.

The result continues the momentum Genesis carried into Japan after a strong performance at COTA. Its two top-five starting positions now provide another opportunity to convert that improving pace into a significant race result, although the changing conditions across the Fuji weekend leave teams with considerable uncertainty over what Sunday could produce.

Cadillac and Toyota lead several contenders starting further back

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA will start seventh with the #38 Cadillac V-Series.R, while Toyota Gazoo Racing leads the home manufacturer’s challenge from eighth with the #8 GR010 Hybrid. Ryō Hirakawa was among the minority of drivers whose fastest lap came during FP1 rather than FP2, allowing the #8 to retain a place inside the top 10 despite Toyota failing to reproduce its session-leading opening pace later on Friday.

The #93 Peugeot 9X8 and #12 Cadillac complete the top 10, leaving several championship contenders with substantial ground to recover. The #50 Ferrari 499P starts 11th as the leading Ferrari, while the best BMW M Hybrid V8 will line up 14th. The #20 BMW, which arrived at Fuji tied at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, starts 17th and last among the Hypercars.

Those starting positions add another dimension to a championship battle that was already tightly poised before the weekend. As detailed in the Pit Debrief Fuji preview, Toyota arrived in Japan leading BMW by nine points in the Manufacturers’ Championship, while Ferrari remained within 26 points of the lead following its COTA victory. The cancellation of Qualifying leaves all three starting behind Alpine, Genesis and Aston Martin machinery.

Ford takes first LMGT3 pole of season

Proton Competition will lead the LMGT3 field away after Tuck’s FP2 benchmark secured pole for the #77 Ford Mustang GT3 EVO. Tuck set a 1:39.828 during Friday afternoon’s dry running, and with conditions preventing any Qualifying improvements, that time proved enough to put the Ford he shares with Eric Powell and Sebastian Priaulx at the head of the class.

The #79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo will start alongside after Lin Hodenius set the second-fastest Practice time, while the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3 takes third through Hadrien David’s FP2 effort. Only small margins separated the leading cars during Friday’s running, but Saturday’s cancellation denied the Bronze-rated drivers their usual opportunity to fight directly for the front positions through Qualifying and Hyperpole.

Garage 59 starts fourth with the #58 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo thanks to Finn Gehrsitz’s performance during FP1. Unlike most of the leading runners, the McLaren’s best time came during the opening session and remained quick enough to secure a place on the second row. The #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG follows in fifth, while the #10 McLaren completes the top six.

2026 WEC 6 Hours of Fuji Hypercar starting grid

1. #36 Alpine Endurance Team — Alpine A424 — 1:29.304
2. #35 Alpine Endurance Team — Alpine A424 — 1:29.397
3. #19 Genesis Magma Racing — Genesis GMR-001 — 1:29.492
4. #007 Aston Martin THOR Team — Aston Martin Valkyrie — 1:29.343*
5. #17 Genesis Magma Racing — Genesis GMR-001 — 1:29.558
6. #009 Aston Martin THOR Team — Aston Martin Valkyrie
7. #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Cadillac V-Series.R
8. #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing — Toyota GR010 Hybrid
9. #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies — Peugeot 9X8
10. #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — Cadillac V-Series.R
11. #50 Ferrari AF Corse — Ferrari 499P
12. #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies — Peugeot 9X8
13. #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing — Toyota GR010 Hybrid
14. #15 BMW M Team WRT — BMW M Hybrid V8
15. #83 AF Corse — Ferrari 499P
16. #51 Ferrari AF Corse — Ferrari 499P
17. #20 BMW M Team WRT — BMW M Hybrid V8

*The #007 Aston Martin recorded the second-fastest Practice time but received a two-place grid penalty following its collision with the #27 Aston Martin in FP3.

The full classifications from the weekend are available through the official FIA WEC results portal.

2026 WEC 6 Hours of Fuji LMGT3 starting grid

1. #77 Proton Competition — Ford Mustang GT3 EVO — 1:39.828
2. #79 Iron Lynx — Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo
3. #78 Akkodis ASP Team — Lexus RC F GT3
4. #58 Garage 59 — McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
5. #61 Iron Lynx — Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo
6. #10 Racing Spirit of Léman — McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
7. #69 Team WRT — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo
8. #59 United Autosports — McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo
9. #92 Manthey 1st Phorm — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3
10. #33 TF Sport — Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R
11. #54 VISTA AF Corse — Ferrari 296 LMGT3
12. #87 Akkodis ASP Team — Lexus RC F GT3
13. #88 Proton Competition — Ford Mustang GT3 EVO
14. #46 Team WRT — BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo
15. #85 Iron Dames — Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3
16. #81 TF Sport — Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R
17. #95 United Autosports — McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
18. #27 Heart of Racing Team — Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3
19. #21 VISTA AF Corse — Ferrari 296 LMGT3

The cancellation leaves Alpine with a significant opportunity as it targets consecutive victories at Fuji. Martins and Gounon will lead the field from pole, while Milesi and Habsburg complete the all-Alpine front row ahead of Genesis, Aston Martin and the second Genesis. However, the contrasting conditions across Practice and the championship contenders starting deeper in the field leave plenty of uncertainty over how that advantage will translate across six hours of racing.

Ford faces a similar opportunity in LMGT3, with Proton Competition starting from pole ahead of Mercedes-AMG, Lexus and McLaren. With the official FIA WEC Fuji preview highlighting the importance of the sixth round to both championship battles, the weather-induced grid has added another variable before the 6 Hours of Fuji begins at 11:00 local time on Sunday, 27 September.