Kubica: Fuji Win Puts WRT in “Good Shape” for LMP2 Title

Photo: Rui Andrade Twitter

Team WRT’s run in Sunday’s 6 Hours of Fuji has put them in “good shape” to win the LMP2 world title according to Robert Kubica, who along with co-drivers Louis Deletraz and Rui Andrade extended their lead in the championship with their second class victory of the season.

The No. 41 trio took top category honors in Japanese round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, overcoming contact from the No. 23 United Autosports Oreca 07 Gibson in the opening hour, which resulted in a ten-second penalty handed to Josh Pierson.

While relegated to sixth, Deletraz and Kubica, on alternating stints, made up significant ground through the middle portions of the race to get back in contention and into the lead by the fourth hour.

“Before managing to get the lead, I think the crucial hours were after Rui when I took over,” Kubica said.

“We managed to bring the car from eight seconds from the lead from 52 being behind. It was a crucial 90 minutes behind the wheel.

“The degradation was high. We managed to take care of the tires very well. We had been fast in the first stint but especially the second one.

“Then of course we were back in the game.

“Louis did a good job. We were, I think, saving fuel more than United so knew we had an advantage even when we were behind them around the pit stop area we knew we could make it work our way, so there was no big panic, it was a lot of management.

“The last one and a half hours, I got the car in P1, then we got undercutted by the 23 but it was a big gamble because they were missing, I think, two or three laps.

“So I knew they had to fuel save a lot. I managed to overtake them and pull away a 20-second gap and bring it home.”

Deletraz admitted they weren’t necessarily looking to go for the win, given the championship scenario that saw the team enter the weekend with a ten-point advantage over Inter Europol Competition’s Albert Costa, Fabio Scherer and Jakub Smiechowski.

“The strategy today for the championship was to be clean, score as much points as we can and if we can win, we would take it, but it was obviously not the plan,” Deletraz said.

“We’re very happy it happened.”

Victory for WRT, and a ninth place class finish for Inter Europol, has swung the points tables in the Belgian team’s favor, with Kubica, Deletraz and Andrade now holding a 33-point lead over the Polish team heading into November’s season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain.

It means the No. 41 crew will only need an eighth place class finish or better to be crowned champions.

“Of course this puts us in a very good place for the championship,” Kubica said. “Inter Europol, which was close to us, didn’t score a lot of points.

“[The No. 22 United car] finished behind us. Of course we would have preferred to have our sister car in P2 but they lost the position on the last lap.

“This brings us in good shape, good points before Bahrain and we have to execute another clean weekend and bring it home hopefully.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John