#33 C8.R ends with a second place finish
The No.54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo claimed its first win of the 2023 season as it surged to the front in the second half of the race.
Thomas Flohr survived an early contact with the No.33 Corvette Racing Chevrolet C8.R of pole sitter Ben Keating to hand over to teammate Francesco Castellacci in the second hour.
Castellacci was able to hunt down the Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR 19 and establish the lead before handing over to Davide Rigon who took the checkered flag.
It was the No.54 AF Corse's second victory at Fuji after its 2017 success, and Rigon's first LMGTE Am category win since 2013.
The title winning No.33 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Ben Keating, Nicolas Varrone and Nicky Catsburg placed second after eventful race.
Ben Keating collided with Thomas Flohr in the early stages and received a 10-second penalty for the altercation.
But strong fuel saving work by Keating and rapid pace of Varrone and Catsburg ensured they took the runners-up position.
This came after the Kessel Racing Ferrari driven by Ritomo Miyata, Takeshi Kimura and Scott Huffaker was penalized post-race for a late full course yellow infraction, which demoted them to third place.
GTE Am was another thriller, with twists and turns all the way to the end. The No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari of Davide Rigon, Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr took their first win of the season, finishing 19 seconds clear of the #57 Kessel Racing Ferrari that made it a 1-2 for the Italian manufacturer with its best finish of the season.
“Fuji brings us a lot of luck (after the #54 crew won Am previously in 2017). There was a big scare when I was hit by the Corvette, but my past rally experience allowed me to miss the wall. If we are put down, we fight harder and that’s the spirit of the team,” said a delighted Thomas Flohr.
The result would change after the flag, though, as the No. 57 Ferrari received a post-race 10-second time penalty because Ritomo Miyata “didn’t reduce speed to 80 kph within the required time under FCY” during the race.
This promoted the No. 33 Corvette Racing C8.R to second place, adding to what was a rollercoaster race for Ben Keating, Nico Varrone and Nicky Catsburg.
Had the No. 33 not ended up serving two costly penalties, one for the aforementioned contact with the winning No. 54 Ferrari into Turn 10 and another for forcing the GR Racing Porsche off track, Corvette would surely have scored its fourth win of the season. The fuel-saving strategy the team attempted to employ was simply staggering, Ben Keating in the opening stints of the race tasked with trying to limit the car to four pit stops.
“I am a right-foot braker,” Keating said to WEC TV after his stint. “Because I only use my right foot on the pedals, I use a lot less fuel. Turn 1 is downhill, Turn 3 is downhill, and you can save without losing much lap time. They gave me a target to hit.”
But his swipe on Thomas Flohr, which sent the Swiss off track and onto the grass, would force the team in for both a door change at a regular stop and a 30-second stop and hold.
After the penalties were served, Nico Varrone fought hard to claw back the lost time and put the car back into contention before Catsburg’s stint. The second penalty put the final nail in the coffin though, dropping the car to third late in the race, with a margin to the cars ahead that Catsburg was unable to make up before the end of the race.
The penalty for Kessel dropped its Ferrari to fourth. Further back the No. 85 Iron Dames Porsche, which was in the mix throughout, ended up finishing fourth, ahead of the Project 1 AO 911 RSR 19. The best of the Aston Martins, the No. 98 Northwest AMR Vantage, ended up seventh, behind the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Porsche.
