Victor Martins secured Alpine Endurance Team’s first FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Hypercar pole as the French manufacturer locked out the front row for the 2026 6 Hours of Fuji following the cancellation of Saturday’s Qualifying sessions.
Heavy rain, standing water and deteriorating visibility brought the competitive action to an early end shortly after LMGT3 Qualifying began. Officials consequently used each car’s fastest lap from the three Practice sessions to determine the grid, handing Martins and the #36 Alpine A424 pole through his Friday afternoon benchmark.
The sister #35 Alpine of Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg will start alongside after a penalty dropped the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie from second to fourth. Genesis Magma Racing consequently moved up to third and will place both GMR-001s inside the top five for its best WEC starting positions to date.
Saturday rain forces cancellation of Fuji Qualifying
Teams had enjoyed completely dry conditions throughout Friday, allowing them to accumulate significant mileage across the opening two Practice sessions ahead of the sixth round of the 2026 season. The situation changed dramatically on Saturday as persistent rain left Fuji Speedway increasingly wet and significantly reduced visibility.
Drivers experienced the difficult conditions throughout FP3 at Fuji, with the wet circuit contributing to several incidents as teams attempted to gather information ahead of Qualifying. Conditions continued to deteriorate afterwards, with standing water becoming an increasing concern by the time LMGT3 Qualifying began.
Officials initially red-flagged the session after François Hériau crashed the #21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo at Turn 2. With conditions showing little sign of improvement, Race Control subsequently cancelled the remainder of LMGT3 Qualifying and Hyperpole alongside the Hypercar sessions.
The official FIA WEC decision meant each car’s fastest lap from FP1, FP2 or FP3 determined its starting position. Friday afternoon’s FP2 produced the quickest overall times, making the second Practice session decisive for most of the leading Hypercars.
Martins earns Alpine its first Hypercar pole
Martins’ 1:29.304 aboard the #36 Alpine ultimately proved the fastest lap of the weekend. The endurance racing rookie had moved to the top during Friday afternoon’s FP2 and maintained Alpine’s strong form when the conditions changed on Saturday, ensuring the French manufacturer had demonstrated pace in both the dry and wet.
The pole marks another milestone during Martins’ first endurance racing campaign. His transition into the WEC has placed him alongside Jules Gounon in the #36 A424, and the pair will now lead the field away after Martins delivered Alpine’s first Hypercar pole since the manufacturer introduced the A424.
Although the cancellation denied him the opportunity to secure the position through the conventional Qualifying and Hyperpole format, Martins felt Alpine had already demonstrated enough performance across the weekend to merit its place at the front.
“Even though qualifying was cancelled, I think we still deserve pole, because we have done a good job since the beginning of the weekend,” mused Martins, who shares the #36 with Gounon.
Alpine had shown competitive pace throughout Friday rather than relying solely on Martins’ fastest lap. Its longer runs also gave the team confidence ahead of Sunday, while the wet FP3 offered an opportunity to understand the A424 in conditions completely different from those encountered during the opening day.
“FP1 and FP2 yesterday in the dry showed we have really good single-lap and long-run pace, while FP3 in the wet this morning was good too, enabling us to gained some useful wet-weather experience. We’re happy with the result, and now we need to keep pushing and preparing for a great race tomorrow. If we put everything together, I think we can have a good day.”
Milesi completes Alpine front-row lockout
Alpine’s result became even stronger following a penalty for the #007 Aston Martin, promoting the sister #35 A424 of Milesi and Habsburg onto the front row. Milesi had set a 1:29.397 during FP2, leaving the 2025 Fuji winner less than a tenth of a second behind Martins.
The #35 therefore gives Alpine two cars at the front as the manufacturer returns to the circuit where it achieved a major breakthrough one year ago. Milesi formed part of the crew that delivered the A424’s first WEC victory at Fuji in 2025, and he now returns to the race from the front row alongside Habsburg.
Alpine had already arrived in Japan with growing confidence after demonstrating improved competitiveness during the preceding rounds. Team Principal Philippe Sinault said before the event that the manufacturer had reached a point where it could consistently fight for WEC victories, and its Fuji Practice pace has strengthened that position.
The front-row lockout now gives both crews a significant opportunity to control the early stages of Sunday’s six-hour race, although the changing conditions across the weekend have provided teams with considerably different levels of preparation.
Aston Martin loses front-row start after penalty
Aston Martin THOR Team appeared set to join Alpine on the front row after the #007 Valkyrie recorded the second-fastest time across the Practice sessions. However, officials handed the car a two-place grid penalty following Tincknell’s collision with Ian James during FP3.
Tincknell made contact with the #27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 during Saturday morning’s wet Practice session. The incident damaged the left side of the Valkyrie and scattered debris across the circuit, triggering a red flag while officials cleared the track.
The #007 subsequently returned to action, with Tincknell setting the second-fastest time during the wet session. However, the penalty ultimately relegated the car to fourth on the starting grid and denied Aston Martin what would have been its maiden WEC front-row start with the Valkyrie.
Despite the setback, fourth still leaves the #007 among the leading contenders heading into Sunday. The sister #009 Valkyrie will start sixth, placing both Aston Martins inside the opening three rows after the manufacturer demonstrated particularly strong wet-weather pace during FP3.
Genesis secures best WEC grid positions
The Aston Martin penalty promoted the #19 Genesis Magma Racing GMR-001 into third, giving the Korean manufacturer its first top-three starting position during its debut WEC season.
Mathieu Jaminet had placed the #19 among the leading runners during Friday’s dry running, and the car will now start immediately behind the two Alpines. Genesis also secured fifth with the sister #17 GMR-001 after Mathys Jaubert’s Practice performance put the second car inside the leading group.
The result represents another step forward for a manufacturer contesting its first season of motor racing. Genesis has gradually moved closer to the established Hypercar teams throughout its debut campaign, and placing both cars inside the top five gives it its strongest starting platform so far.
With Aston Martin’s #007 separating the two GMR-001s, Genesis will have cars on both the second and third rows. The #009 Aston Martin follows in sixth, meaning Alpine, Genesis and Aston Martin occupy the first six positions before the established championship protagonists appear further down the order.
Cadillac unable to continue recent Fuji Qualifying form
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA faces a more difficult starting position after Cadillac claimed pole at Fuji in each of the previous two seasons. The #38 Cadillac V-Series.R will start seventh, while the sister #12 entry lines up 10th.
The positions leave Cadillac behind both Alpines, both Genesis entries and the two Aston Martins as it attempts to convert its recent Fuji speed into another strong result. With Qualifying cancelled, neither crew received an opportunity to improve on its Practice position through the usual low-fuel Hyperpole runs.
Toyota Gazoo Racing also faces an unusual challenge at its home event. The Japanese manufacturer has won the 6 Hours of Fuji nine times, but its two GR010 Hybrids will start only eighth and 13th. The #8 leads Toyota’s challenge after Ryō Hirakawa produced one of the relatively few grid-setting laps during FP1 rather than FP2.
Toyota had started the weekend strongly by setting the fastest Hypercar time during FP1 at Fuji, but Alpine moved ahead during Friday afternoon’s running and remained at the front once the weather changed on Saturday.
Championship contenders face recovery drives
The cancellation has also left several of the leading championship contenders well outside the positions they would have targeted for Sunday’s race. Ferrari, Toyota and BMW all face significant work from the middle and rear of the Hypercar grid while Alpine, Genesis and Aston Martin occupy the leading positions.
Ferrari’s best-placed factory 499P will start only 11th, while its second works entry sits 16th. The defending world champion manufacturer therefore faces a substantial recovery drive after arriving at Fuji firmly involved in the championship battle.
BMW finds itself even further back. Its leading M Hybrid V8 starts 14th, while the #20 car will begin the race 17th and last among the Hypercars. The latter entered Fuji tied at the top of the Drivers’ Championship, increasing the importance of recovering positions during Sunday’s race.
The starting order adds another variable to a championship situation already carrying significant weight. As outlined in the Pit Debrief 6 Hours of Fuji preview, Toyota, BMW and Ferrari entered the Japanese round with little room for costly results as the 2026 campaign approaches its conclusion.
Alpine carries strongest starting position into Fuji race
Alpine therefore enters Sunday with an opportunity to build on its strongest Qualifying result since joining the Hypercar category. Martins’ FP2 benchmark has delivered the A424 its maiden pole, while Milesi’s pace and Aston Martin’s penalty have given the manufacturer complete control of the front row.
Genesis starts immediately behind with its best grid position to date, while Aston Martin remains firmly in contention despite losing its potential front-row start. Behind them, Cadillac, Toyota, Ferrari and BMW will all need to recover positions during a race in which traffic and strategy could rapidly alter the order.
The weather remains another significant unknown. Friday’s completely dry running established the grid, while Saturday’s heavy rain demonstrated how dramatically conditions can change at Fuji. Martins and Alpine have shown pace in both circumstances, but converting that performance into a race result remains the more important challenge.
The full Practice classifications that determined the starting order are available through the official FIA WEC results.
The 2026 6 Hours of Fuji gets underway at 11:00 local time on Sunday, 27 September.
