Vandoorne to Sub for Injured Mueller at Fuji

Peugeot has drafted in reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne to replace the injured Nico Mueller in the lineup for the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8 at the 6 Hours of Fuji.

Mueller revealed in a statement on social media that he is in the process of recovering from a collarbone injury and will step aside for the sixth round of the championship at Fuji Speedway.

“During [the] summer break, I sustained an injury on my left collarbone,” he wrote.

“It’s been perfectly treated by specialists and I am already fully in the phase of rehabilitation.

“In consultation with the doctors & my team Peugeot TotalEnergies – in order to allow optimal healing – I decided to refrain from participating in the next WEC round in Fuji.

“Even though I am very disappointed by having to sit out the one race, I am fully committed to be back stronger than ever.”

In his place, Vandoorne joins Gustavo Menezes and Loic Duval aboard the No. 94 car for the six-hour race at Fuji Speedway, which will be his first race appearance with the French manufacturer.

It marks the Belgian’s return to the WEC grid for the first time since 2022 when he embarked on a full LMP2 campaign with JOTA.

His last outing in a top-class prototype in sports car racing came when he joined Meyer Shank Racing at that year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, although he took part in two WEC races as part of the SMP Racing LMP1 program in 2019.

“Unfortunately, Nico won’t be able to race for this round and we wish him a speedy recovery,” said Peugeot technical director Olivier Jansonnie.

“Stoffel Vandoorne has all our trust, and we know that he will be able to step in quickly and give his maximum.

“We are entering the last part of the season and our aim will be to be 100 percent reliable for the last two races and fight at the front with both our Peugeot 9X8.

“We will get ready as best as we can for these two races, trying to be consistent in our performance and race results.”

Hanley Replaces Blomqvist at United Autosports

In LMP2, Ben Hanley will join United Autosports in place of Tom Blomqvist.

Shown in an updated entry list for the event, the British driver appears alongside Josh Pierson and Oliver Jarvis aboard the No. 23 Oreca 07 Gibson.

Hanley previously raced with the Anglo-American squad for the Portimao and Monza rounds this season, replacing Filipe Albuquerque aboard the No. 22 car due to clashing IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship commitments for the Portuguese driver.

Blomqvist was confirmed on Monday to join Meyer Shank Racing for the final two rounds of the NTT IndyCar Series, of which the finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca clashes with WEC’s visit to Fuji.

The British driver recently signed and announced a multi-year deal with MSR to race in IndyCar starting next year.

Elsewhere on the 36-car entry list, Andrea Caldarelli replaces Mirko Bortolotti aboard the No. 63 Prema Oreca due to Bortolotti’s clashing DTM commitments.