The 296 LMGT3s entered by the Vista AF Corse team will be the protagonists on the track, inaugurated in 1965: Ferrari number 54, entrusted to the official driver of the Maranello company Davide Rigon, together with Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci, and number 55, shared by the other official driver Alessio Rovera, Simon Mann and François Heriau.
Just two weeks after the previous round held at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, the world championship returns to the spotlight with an event that is rightfully part of the history of endurance.
In fact, the facility located on the slopes of Mount Fuji has hosted a round of the World Endurance Championship since the birth of the FIA WEC – in 2012 – with the exception of 2021.
#54 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, Davide Rigon
Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images
The story
Fuji and endurance are two names often associated in the history of competitions. Since its inauguration, in fact, the facility – which in its current configuration measures 4.563 kilometers and includes 16 curves – has witnessed memorable successes for the Prancing Horse.
On this track Ferrari achieved its first ever success on Japanese soil, in 1970 with the 512 S of Scuderia Picchio Rosso, first in the Fuji 200 Miles with Gianpiero Moretti and Corrado Manfredini.
The roll of honor also includes six class victories obtained since the birth of the FIA WEC (in 2012), all with cars derived from series production. The first in chronological order dates back to 2014 when Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni, with the 458 Italia GTE, won in LMGTE Pro.
The most recent success, however, was in September 2023 when Rigon-Flohr-Castellacci won the 6 Hours at the wheel of the 488 GTE of the AF Corse team: a memorable victory also for the fact that it was the last collected by the 488 GTE destined, from the current season, in the FIA WEC, to be replaced by the new 296 LMGT3.
#55 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera
Photo credit: JEP / Motorsport Images
The ranking
For the Vista AF Corse team crews, fresh from a tenth place in the United States of America – signed by Rovera, Mann and Heriau – and a retirement – with Rigon, Flohr and Castellacci – the 6 Hours of Fuji represents an event of particular importance in terms of the championship.
In the Drivers’ standings Rovera-Mann-Heriau are fifth with a gap of 68 points from the leaders, while Rigon-Flohr-Castellacci are 15th (their gap is 95 points).
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