The 6 Hours of Fuji got off to a very wet start with heavy rain prior to Free Practice 1, making the conditions extremely tricky for the entire field. The rain continued to fall during the 90-minute session that saw Porsche take control with a 1-2 in both the LMP1 and LMGTE Pro classes.
The wet conditions saw plenty of spinning cars as drivers tested the limits of the grip levels around the track. A clash between the no2 Porsche of Brendon Hartley and the no61 Ferrari of Weng Sun Mok saw a Full Course Yellow declared to collect debris left on the circuit. Both cars were able to continue the session and take the chequered flag.
The no1 Porsche 919 hybrid was the fastest car on track with Andre Lotterer setting a 1m35.527, 0.133s ahead of the no2 Porsche of Earl Bamber. In the wet conditions the two Toyota TS050 hybrids were in close contact with the no7 Toyota of Jose Maria Lopez finishing the session with a 1m36.010, 0.4s behind the lead Porsche and just 0.095s ahead of the no8 TS050.
In the LMGTE class the Porsche 911 RSR clearly revelled in the wet conditions with the no92 Porsche of Michael Christensen setting a 1m47.365, 0.2s ahead of the no91 911 of Richard Lietz. The two AF Corse run Ferraris were 3rd and 4th fastest with the no71 F488 of Davide Rigon posting a 1m47.627, just 0.01s behind the second placed Porsche and 0.054s ahead of the sister car.
The LMP2 class was headed by the no37 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca with Alex Brundle posting a 1m42.735, 0.490 ahead of the no28 TDS Racing Oreca, with the championship leading no38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca third quickest with a 1m43.327 lap.
Miguel Molina was the fastest of the LMGTE Am category runners, posting the fourth fastest time in the GTE category in the no54 Spirit of Race Ferrari F488, the Spaniard’s 1m47.655 lap just 0.320s behind the fastest time in LMGTE Pro.
The second fastest LMGTE Am car was the no61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari of Matt Griffin with a 1m48.246, with the no77 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche third quickest with a 1m49.042.
Free Practice 2 for the 6 Hours of Fuji will begin at 15h30 (local) / 08h30 CET.