WEC Preview | Can Ferrari beat home favourite Toyota at Fuji?

No Formula 1 this weekend, but racing fans can certainly indulge themselves next weekend. The sixth round in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) is scheduled to take place at the Fuji circuit in Japan. With only one race to go after this (in Bahrain), the tension in the title race is rising to a boiling point: will Toyota prolong the title again in the coming weeks or will Ferrari surprise, as the Italians did earlier this year by winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

On Sunday, 36 cars will appear for the six-hour race at the 4.563-kilometre Fuji International Speedway, which has the shortest track on the WEC calendar. The track at Fuji is best known for the super-fast start-finish straight (length 1.5 kilometres) on which the hypercars reach speeds of around 320 kilometres per hour. As much as 41 per cent of the track, the drivers drive at full throttle. Drivers in a hypercar have to shift gears 'only' 36 times over the entire track.

Giovinazzi looking forward

The Speedway is not easy, and this is mainly due to its unfamiliarity. Over the past year, more and more teams have entered a hypercar for the WEC, and for most it will be the first time at Fuji. Ferrari, for example, has never driven the 499P at this Japanese circuit. "I know little about the circuit, where I drove an LMP2 prototype in 2016," Antonio Giovinazzi said. "It is an unusual circuit, fast in the first two sectors and very slow in the last, so tyre management during the six hours will be important."

Toyota occupies first and second place in the championship. The trio of Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa have 115 points, the trio of Conway, Kobayashi and Maria Lopez 92. That is as many as the Ferrari of Giovinazzi, Pier Guidi and Fucco. Among the constructors, Toyota has 152 points, 26 more than Ferrari. There are still 65 points to be won in the last two races (25 in Fuji, 38 in Bahrain and twice an extra point for pole). So every chance for Ferrari to knock Toyota off the throne, although it should be noted that the Japanese team has been the strongest eight times in the last nine editions at this circuit.

Kobayashi wary of Ferrari

"It will be quite a battle between a lot of manufacturers and that is what all the fans want to see," said former F1 driver Kamui Kobayashi, now team boss and driver of Toyota. "We won the last race at Ferrari's home ground in Monza, so I am sure they will want revenge this weekend. We have to do everything right, avoid mistakes and keep pushing to stay at the front. With only two races left in the season, this is a crucial race for the world championship, so we will give everything."

Behind Toyota and Ferrari, the Peugeot team and especially their driver Stoffel Vandoorne will be watched with interest. The Belgian will make his debut in the French team's hypercar as a substitute. Cadillac is present in Japan with one car (with the trio of Bamber, Lynn and Westbrook). Their teammates Sébastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande will miss the race in Fuji.

Excitement in LMP2 class

In the LMP2 class - which disappears from the WEC after this season - excitement is also high. Belgium's Team WRT - who will be BMW's hypercars team next season - lead the title fight. Andrade, Deletraz and Kubica are on course for the title, but have a lead of just 10 points over Poland's Europol Competition. In the GT class, the title fight has been decided long and wide, though. Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nicolas Varrone already secured the championship in Monza with their Corvette.

The race starts Sunday at 11am local time at Fuji.