4 Hours: No.8 Toyota sustains Fuji lead; AF Corse top in LMGTE Pro

No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar continues to lead at Fuji with two hours remaining. 

Brendon Hartley extends lead, while No.7 Toyota places second with Mike Conway at wheel. 

AF Corse Ferrari in control of LMGTE Pro as Alessandro Pier Guidi leads Antonio Fuoco. 

WRT push to the front in LMP2 as Robin Frijns and Dries Vanthoor extend gap to opposition. 

No.28 JOTA go from the rear after first lap incident to the front in LMP2, while in LMGTE Am category TF Sport lead the way. 

Headlines after four hours…. 

Hypercar – Led by No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing 

• No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar controls mid-portion of 6 Hours of Fuji as Brendon Hartley extends lead over sister No.7 car 
• No.7 was instructed in second hour to allow the No.8 Toyota through and the gap between the cars extends to 25-seconds as the fourth hour arrives and Ryo Hirakawa takes over the cockpit, while Mike Conway takes over from Jose-Maria Lopez in No.7 
• Alpine ELF Team continue run in third place as Nicolas Lapierre is able to overcome challenge from Peugeot but goes a lap down just as fourth hour is completed 
• The No.94 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8 car driven by James Rossiter and then Loic Duval was in a strong third position but is forced to pit with a technical issue after two and a half hours  
• The car re-emerges from the stop but loses 14 laps as repairs are administered for an oil leak 
• No.93 Peugeot still runs fourth in Hypercar but falls a lap behind the leaders but pits just before the fifth hour arrives with a problem 

LMGTE Pro – Led by No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 

• No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi leads in LMGTE Pro as the Prancing Horse looks to extend slender points lead 
• Pier Guidi though comes under significant pressure from No.52 AF Corse Ferrari driven by Antonio Fuoco 
• Porsche place third with No.92 dropping back from the Ferraris. Michael Christensen completes mid-race stints but sits 28-seconds off the leading No.51 Ferrari as the Porsche struggles with its tyres in comparison to the Ferraris 
• No.91 Porsche loses time just after two hour mark when Richard Lietz is penalised with a 5-second time penalty at pit stop after contact with No.88 Dempsey Proton run LMGTE Am Porsche 
• Corvette Racing race in fifth place but now adrift of the top four after earlier fuel issue and penalty for track limits violations 

LMP2 – Led by No.31 WRT 

• No.31 WRT car still leads LMP2 after Robin Frijns opened up gap over opposition in third and fourth hours ahead of handing over to Dries Vanthoor 
• Vanthoor, who is replacing Rene Rast for one race only, holds four second lead over the No.28 JOTA entry  
• Jonathan Aberdein gets second period at the wheel of the green JOTA Oreca-Gibson and starts to catch the leader as the fifth hour approaches 
• JOTA also places third as the points leading No.38 car sits 15-seconds off the leading WRT car 
• Prema Orlen Team are fourth with Robert Kubica enters cockpit and holds off fifth placed Realteam WRT car of Ferdinand Habsburg 
• AF Corse lead the Pro/Am category despite getting a penalty for defensive weaving by Nicklas Nielsen  

LMGTE Am – Led by No.33 TF Sport Aston Martin   

• TF Sport fightback to take lead in LMGTE Am as Henrique Chaves enjoys a 25-second advantage 
• Iron Dames star once again as Rahel Frey engages in fierce and entertaining battle with No.98 Northwest AMR Aston Martin of Nicki Thiim 
• Frey holds off the former LMGTE Pro champion and retains second place for Michelle Gatting to defend as she takes over cockpit of pink Ferrari 
• Spirit of Race Ferrari places third with Pierre Ragues harrying Gatting hard and he makes a clean move just as the fourth hour is complete 

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