In front of 68,500 fans around the legendary Japanese circuit, the penultimate round of the campaign was as absorbing as it was unpredictable. From fifth on the grid, the race-winning #6 Porsche 963 Hypercar was a contender from the outset, with Vanthoor displacing both Toyotas in the opening laps before piling the pressure on Marco Wittmann in the second-placed BMW M Hybrid V8.
During the first round of pit visits, the Porsche then leapfrogged the BMW and the Cadillac Racing V-Series.R – which had led the first 42 laps from pole position – to seize the initiative. Pit-stop cycles and an inspired Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari 499P aside, it was an advantage the #6 car would not subsequently relinquish.
Artfully managing several safety car periods and exploiting an alternative strategy to the majority of the 18-strong Hypercar field, the Porsche crew always looked the most likely to win, with Lotterer getting the better of Nielsen’s Ferrari mid-race, and Estre surviving both a lunge from a lapped Ryo Hirakawa and a slippery brake pedal that sent him deep into Turn One in the final hour to stay in front.
The trio’s fifth podium of 2024 extended their margin at the summit of the standings to 35 points with only 39 remaining in play. That means just an eighth-place finish in Bahrain – irrespective of any other result – will be sufficient to seal the deal.
Manthey PureRxcing clinches LMGT3 crown
Manthey PureRxcing celebrated title glory in the LMGT3 category, as Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus Bachler produced a determined performance in Japan to put the destiny of the coveted crown beyond reach of any of their rivals.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 crew could manage no better than 14th on the grid in qualifying, but race day would prove to be a different story, as a mixture of strong speed, savvy strategy and fortuitous timing around the safety car interventions carried the title-chasing trio into contention for the race win.
Second place behind the victorious #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari piloted by Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Davide Rigon was ultimately enough to secure the championship.
The 2024 WEC campaign will conclude with the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain on 31 October – 2 November.