Alpine Endurance Team came within 0.591 seconds of its first Hypercar victory at Fuji, with the #36 A424 of Jules Gounon and Victor Martins finishing second and the #35 sister car fourth. The two French prototypes ran first and second for most of the six-hour race before a late Safety Car forced the team into a double pit stop that cost it the lead. The 30 points scored is Alpine’s biggest two-car haul of the A424 programme and lifts the brand to fourth in the Manufacturers’ Championship on 96 points.

Alpine left Japan with the strongest combined result of its Hypercar era, and with the clear sense that a maiden win in the FIA World Endurance Championship is now a question of timing rather than pace. At the 6 Hours of Fuji, the #36 Alpine A424 shared by Jules Gounon and Victor Martins crossed the line 0.591 seconds behind the winning #8 Toyota, while the #35 of Charles Milesi and Ferdinand Habsburg finished fourth, 1.284 seconds away from the podium.

An all-Alpine front row without qualifying

The weekend started with both cars at the sharp end. Martins set the fastest time in Friday’s dry second practice session and again in Saturday morning’s wet running, with Milesi confirming the sister car’s speed.

Persistent rain then forced the cancellation of Hypercar qualifying, so the grid was set by each entry’s quickest practice lap. That handed the #36 the A424’s first Hypercar pole position, with the #35 promoted from third to second after penalties elsewhere — an all-Alpine front row.

Six hours in control

Gounon and Habsburg took the start on slick tyres on a damp circuit, held position through the tricky opening phase and then edged away as the track dried. Gounon handed over to Martins at the first scheduled stop, while Habsburg briefly led during the alternate pit cycle and stayed in contention despite contact with the #7 Toyota.

A run of neutralisations kept bunching the field, but the two Alpines continued to set the pace, swapping the lead between themselves through driver changes and strategy phases. The #35 led at half distance before the #36 moved back ahead. With five hours gone, Martins was just over two seconds clear of Milesi, and both cars had a comfortable margin over the rest of the Hypercar field.

The Safety Car that changed the race

The final Safety Car wiped out that advantage. With the two A424s running nose-to-tail, the team chose to service both in the same pit window rather than sacrifice one car’s race to protect the other. The time lost let the #8 Toyota and the #15 BMW M Team WRT car through before the restart.

With around 15 minutes left, Martins recovered from fourth to second and closed rapidly on the leading Toyota, running out of laps just over half a second short.

“We were in contention to win for five hours, but the final Safety Car presented us with a difficult choice. We could service both cars together and accept losing time, or sacrifice one to maximise the other’s chance of victory. I made the decision to protect the overall team result, and I stand by it,” said Nicolas Lapierre, Sporting Director of Alpine Endurance Team.

Team Principal Philippe Sinault framed the frustration as progress: “After being disappointed with third and fifth in Austin, feeling the same about second and fourth today is a positive sign.” Milesi said the squad had met its target of outscoring Cadillac, while Habsburg described the wet-track opening stint on slicks as a moment he would never forget.

What it means for the title fight

The 30-point haul is Alpine’s largest two-car score since the A424 programme began and follows the podium and double top-five finish in Austin. It moves the French manufacturer to fourth in the Hypercar Manufacturers’ standings on 96 points, with two rounds left to run — enough to keep the brand relevant in a class where Toyota, BMW, Cadillac, Ferrari, Porsche-derived privateers and newcomer Genesis are all now capable of winning on the day.

Facts: Alpine at the 6 Hours of Fuji

  • Result: P2 (#36 Gounon/Martins), P4 (#35 Milesi/Habsburg)
  • Gap to winner: 0.591 seconds behind the #8 Toyota
  • #35 gap to podium: 1.284 seconds
  • Grid: #36 on pole — the A424’s first Hypercar pole — #35 second
  • Points scored: 30
  • Championship position: Fourth among manufacturers, 96 points

Alpine Endurance Team’s next outing is the 6 Hours of Barcelona, held from 16 to 18 October.

Source: media.alpinecars.com