The programme for the week at Fuji
The majestic silhouette of Mount Fuji dominates the skyline around the international Fuji circuit, and the surrounding mountain chain appears to form a frame for the track which will welcome on Sunday, 14th October the seventh and penultimate FIA World Endurance Championship.
The 6 Hours of Fuji event will begin, as it should, with administrative and technical scrutineering for the teams throughout the whole of Thursday, the whole field only taking to the track for the first time on Friday, 12th October. This first free practice session will follow on from driver and team manager briefings, all the more important as many don’t know the layout of the Japanese track.
Two free practice sessions of 90 minutes are scheduled for Friday for all competitors, from 1100-1230 hours and then from 1530-1700 hours. A third and final one-hour practice session will take place on Saturday at 0925 hours before qualifying from 1330 to 1350 hours for the LMGTE Pro and Am categories, and from 1400-1420 hours for LMP1 and LMP2.
Spectators will be able to make the most of a visit to the pits (pit walk) between the final free practice and qualifying sessions, for one hour from 1215-1315 hours. A second pit walk is on the programme for Sunday 14th from 0915-0950 hours during the driver autograph session, between morning warm up (20 minutes between 0755 and 0815 hours) and the start of the race.
Unlike the Bahrain race, the 6 Hours of Fuji will take place during the day starting at 1100 hours and running until 1700 hours, with a round of the Japanese Formula 3 championship as the curtain-opener on Sunday from 0830-0900 hours. The first F3 race will be on Saturday from 1440-1520 hours.
While the Middle Eastern heat is now just a distant memory, the weather forecast is set fair for the whole week, with moderate temperatures ideal for a fantastic spectacle – the seventh round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Fiona Miller
Photo: OYAMA-CHO (SHIZUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN), FUJI INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY, 6 HOURS OF FUJI, TUESDAY, 9TH OCTOBER 2012. The Fuji track will welcome the seventh round of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship.
