PODIUM FINISH FOR THE BEND TEAM WRT AT FUJI IN EVENTFUL 6-HOUR RACE
September 28th, 2025
PODIUM FINISH FOR THE BEND TEAM WRT AT FUJI IN EVENTFUL 6-HOUR RACE
The FIA World Endurance Championship travelled to Asia this weekend for the 6 Hours of Fuji, the penultimate round of the FIA WEC 2025 season. The 100th race in the history of the championship delivered one of the most dramatic and entertaining rounds of the 2025 season with three safety car interventions, five ‘Full Course Yellow’ periods, and multiple incidents. BMW M Team WRT entered its usual four-car line-up across Hypercar and LMGT3 categories and came away with a podium finish in the LMGT3 class, thanks to the The Bend Team WRT #31 entry of Timur Boguslavskiy, Augusto Farfus and Yasser Shahin.
RACE HIGHLIGHTS
- Through strong pace and a well-calculated fuel strategy for the #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Yasser Shahin, Augusto Farfus and Timur Boguslavskiy. The car climbed into P3 with less than an hour to go, holding off pressure from competition to add a second WEC podium to their tally, the fourth one for Team WRT in the 2025 LMGT3 class.
- The Skechers-branded #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO delivered once again a strong and consistent race. Starting from P11 in class, the fan-favourite crew fought through traffic to climb up the order, eventually crossing the line in fourth place, just shy of the podium, and was greeted by a sea of VR46 yellow in the grandstands and paddock.
- It was a challenging outing for BMW M Team WRT in the Hypercar category, unable to fight for ultimate top positions in an ultra-competitive field. The #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns and René Rast, delivered a clean and consistent run to finish in the points. The car struggled for outright pace throughout the weekend, although Sheldon’s P5 Hyperpole result against the odds stood out. The #15 sister car, driven by Dries Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen, and Raffaele Marciello, was unlucky from the start, as it was hit by a competitor in the first corner, damaging the rear wing with repairs required during a FCY period. The car was later involved in an incident, that is still under investigation, making contact with the barriers and retiring from the race.
LOOKING AHEAD
After five consecutive race weekends across Europe, the United States, and Japan, Team WRT will finally enjoy a well-deserved weekend break. This intense international stint saw the Belgian squad collect victories, podiums, and titles across multiple platforms (GT World Challenge – a race win, podiums in all three classes and Overall Sprint Cup titles, IGTC race win in Suzuka and two LMGT3 podiums in WEC).
Racing will resume on October 12th with the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup finale in Barcelona. The team shall arrive at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya leading the Overall Team Championship (Sprint and Endurance), while Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde sit second in the Overall Driver standings, just five points behind the leaders. Team WRT is also in contention for the Endurance Cup Team and Driver titles, currently third in both classifications.
