Porsche Penske have been blisteringly fast throughout the World Endurance Championship season and leads the Drivers’ Championship with two rounds to go.
The German manufacturer have been very consistent, taking just one win at the opening round in Qatar but scoring a podium at all but two races in WEC.
Last time out at Lone Star Le Mans, they suffered a minor blip, failing to score a top-five finish with either car. They still hold a 12-point advantage over the No. 7 Toyota ahead of the next round at Fuji Speedway as the No. 6 Porsche leads the standings.
Fuji is a very difficult circuit to set up the car for and to achieve a perfect balance as the technical final sector is followed by a very long 1.5km pit straight.
But Urs Kuratle, their Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, believes that Porsche found a good setup at last year’s 6 Hours of Fuji, which should help them this season.
Urs Kuratle believes ‘low drag and a very high top speed are critical’ at Fuji in WEC
Fuji Speedway requires a compromise with car setup as the top speed at the end of the main straight is vitally important when attacking and defending.
This needs to be balanced with mechanical grip in the twisty third sector over the six-hour race to battle at the front of the field.
Porsche have been very competitive at low downforce circuits already this season in WEC, finishing second and fourth at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans with the No. 6 car.
The German manufacturer even finished fourth and sixth with both cars being competitive at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Kuratle has now explained in a press release ahead of the 6 Hours of Fuji how Porsche plan to maximise lap time at the Speedway, given the wide range of turns on the track in Japan.
He said: “You always need to find a compromise with the car setup on this time-honoured Formula 1 circuit at the foot of Mount Fuji.
“The start-finish straight is almost 1.5 kilometres long. Low drag and a very high top speed are critical there. Other sections of the track require the exact opposite.
“Some corners, particularly in the second sector, need maximum downforce. Last season, we found a great setup for our two Porsche 963s for these conditions. The insights will help us to get the most out of the cars this year, too.”
Porsche’s rival Toyota have been affected by BoP ahead of the 6 Hours of Fuji
Toyota will be running with a slight disadvantage at their home race after receiving a hit from Balance of Performance.
They will be forced to compete with reduced maximum power and increased minimum weight for the second consecutive event.
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This could help Porsche in their battle with the No. 7 Toyota as the championship draws to its conclusion with two rounds to go.
Toyota was still quick last time out at the Circuit of The Americas despite suffering due to BoP. They took second place with the No. 7 car, keeping their title hopes alive.
Toyota had extra motivation to win the race as Sebastien Buemi had never won at COTA in the World Endurance Championship, as well.