No. 36 Alpine on Fuji pole after qualifying washout

Alpine's No. 36 A424 will start from pole position in Sunday's 6 Hours of Fuji, after FIA WEC qualifying for both LMGT3 and Hypercar classes were cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Heavy rain through the morning and early afternoon, and the resulting low visibility, caused race director Eduardo Freitas to call off the qualifying and Hyperpole sessions after a red flag before any competitive lap times were set in the first stage of qualifying in LMGT3.

The stoppage came after Francois Heriau in the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari aquaplaned off into the Armco barriers at the exit of Turn 2. It was a big hit, damaging the front-right corner of the car substantially.

Article 10.2.2 of the WEC Sporting Regulations states that if neither qualifying session takes place, the grid is established based on the best times across all three practice sessions.

This meant the No. 36 Alpine was named the polesitter in Hypercar, after Victor Martins' hot lap topped the timing screens in Free Practice 2 on Friday. It's Alpine's first pole with the A424.

"It's a bit weird. I just woke up for a nap ahead of qualifying. We have a strong car in the dry; we are there. It's just weird to get pole without going out for qualifying," Martins told WEC TV.

"It's frustrating to not achieve the real time on quali, but in the end we have to take what the Japanese spirits gave to us. Thanks to the team for making the strategy in FP2 to run a simulation of qualifying. It was a good plan, and we will enjoy starting from this position," Alpine team boss Philippe Sinault said. "I will continue to cross my fingers until tomorrow evening."

The No. 007 Aston Martin was shown as second on the TV graphics when the full grid was displayed, but it will drop to fourth due to a two-place grid penalty for the collision with the No. 27 Aston Martin in FP3 this morning. That means the No. 35 Alpine will rise to second, making it an Alpine front-row lockout.

The No. 19 Genesis start third, with the penalized No. 007 Aston Martin fourth. The No. 17 Genesis and No. 009 Aston Martin make up row three, with the No. 38 Cadillac seventh and the No. 8 Toyota eighth on the fourth row. The No. 8 was the only Hypercar to have had its grid space decided on a lap set during Free Practice 1.

“Obviously, it's always a pity not to have a qualifying session, especially because we are convinced that we could have ended up higher on the grid than what we will now experience in tomorrow's race," Dieter Gass, team principal for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, said.

“Overtaking is always difficult here, and there are some cars in front of us who have a very good top speed - that’s going to be the challenge tomorrow. Today, we’re focusing on our strategy and what we can do to move up the order.

“Most importantly, thank you to the amazing Japanese fans for their support today, and sorry not to have come out this afternoon. We hope that we can deliver a great show in tomorrow’s race to make it up to them.”

In LMGT3, the No. 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang will lead the field away, joined on the front row by the No. 79 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3. The No. 78 Lexus is third, with the No. 58 Garage 59 McLaren fourth.

"It would have been nice to have done qualifying, but I'm happy for Ford, happy we're starting up front; the car has been strong this weekend," Ford factory driver Sebastian Priaulx said after Ford captured its first WEC pole since COTA last year.

The 2026 6 Hours of Fuji is set to start at 11:00 local time on Sunday.