Ferrari endurance racing triumphs at Fuji

The track. The Fuji International Speedway was, in 1963, originally intended to be an American-style ‘super-speedway’ design, with an oval layout that included two straights linked by banked curves, but two years later the project was brought to fruition with the track opening as a road-style racing track.

Prototypes. The Japanese track has been the scene of several events featuring prototypes designed for endurance racing. In addition to the 1000 Miles of Fuji, which took place from 1967 to the early 1990s, the 200 Miles, an invitation-only competition held at the end of the racing season, stands out among them. In this context, Ferrari was to achieve its first triumph on Japanese soil with the Scuderia Picchio Rosso-managed 512 S, taken over the finish line by driver Gianpiero Moretti from Milan, who shared the car with Corrado Manfredini.

The Ferrari 512 S was designed in record time in the latter half of 1969 and was finalised by engineer Mauro Forghieri and his team, who in a three-month period oversaw the construction of 25 models, the target needed to be able to homologate the car in Group 5 of the Sport Prototypes that would participate in the World Championship. Under the bonnet, the 512 S featured a 4,993.53 cc V12 engine initially capable of delivering 550 horsepower, a power unit that allowed the car to reach 340 km/h. After debuting at the 24 Hours at Daytona with third place for Mario Andretti, Arturo Merzario and Jacky Ickx, the 512 S went on to win the Fuji 200 Miles in the 1970 season and finished on the podium in other key races such as the 1000 Kilometres of Monza.

GT. Since the inaugural season of the FIA WEC in 2012, Fuji has hosted a leg of the calendar every year except for 2021. Over that period, the Maranello manufacturer has recorded five class wins. The first two date back to the 2014 and 2015 seasons when the Ferrari 458 Italia GTE took top honours with Toni Vilander and Gianmaria Bruni in LMGTE Pro. The following competition racer, the 488 GTE, extended the winning streak in 2017 when the Prancing Horse won with Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado in the LMGTE Pro class, and with Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci and Miguel Molina in LMGTE Am.

In 2022, the one-two finish registered by the AF Corse team-run 488 GTEs – in the category reserved for crews made up of professionals only – with Pier Guidi-Calado first in car number 51 followed by Antonio Fuoco and Miguel Molina in number 52, allowing Ferrari to take the lead in the Constructors’ standings and arrive in Bahrain as championship leader, where the Maranello manufacturer with the Italo-British pairing would win both the Drivers’ title and the Manufacturers’ title.