MOTORSPORT – ALPINE Endurance Team’s #35 crew won the FIA WEC 6 Hours of Fuji yesterday at Fuji Speedway in Japan.
The trio of Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Paul-Loup Chatin steered their Alpine A424 Hypercar to the chequered flag in the seventh and penultimate round of the 2025 campaign in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
The race was the series’ milestone 100th event and it set the stage for an exciting season-finale in the kingdom – the Bapco Energies 8 Hours of Bahrain, scheduled for November 7 and 8 at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
Yesterday’s result marked the French manufacturer’s first victory in more than three years. It was also the first time in WEC history that four different brands have won in succession – Ferrari at Le Mans, Cadillac at Sao Paulo, Porsche in Austin, and Alpine at Fuji.
Alpine’s triumphant crew began the race from ninth on the 18-strong Hypercar grid, and initially fell down the field after picking up penalties for contact and a pit-stop infringement.
The trio gained a crucial break shortly after the race entered its second half, and then a safety car intervention prompted by an incident elevated Milesi up the order into second. The Frenchman subsequently settled into a three-way fight for the lead with Peugeot TotalEnergies’ Mikkel Jensen in their #93 9X8 Hypercar and defending world champion Kevin Estre in the #6 Porsche 963 Hypercar of Porsche Penske Motorsport.
With an hour remaining, Alpine rolled the dice. As the top three came into the pits to make their final stops, the French manufacturer elected to save time by changing only the left-hand side tyres on their #35 car, whereas Peugeot and Porsche both replaced the full set.
That pushed Milesi to the lead, and he produced a flawless drive to keep his pursuers comfortably at bay and take the chequered flag 7.682 seconds clear of Jensen.
The result represented Alpine’s third overall triumph in FIA WEC. Peugeot celebrated their best result in the series’ top-tier to date as runners-up, while Porsche Penske’s #6 car completed the overall and Hypercar podiums.
Meanwhile, in the LMGT3 category, Vista AF Corse’s #21 crew were winners on the road, but a post-race penalty promoted TF Sport’s #81 Corvette to first place. The Bend Team WRT’s #31 car claimed third.
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