The 6 Hours of Fuji ended with disappointment for the McLaren LMGT3 after a strong week of running in Japan, with P8 for EDGE pilot James Cottingham.
The #59 opted for an alternative strategy to the sister car with Bronze driver Cottingham handing over to Nicolas Costa after his first stint in an attempt to optimise performance in cockpit temperatures verging on 50°C. Together, Costa and Gregoire Saucy built up a healthy gap, handing the McLaren back to Cottingham in the fourth hour who maintained P4 in a competitive field of Gold and Platinum drivers.
With less than two hours on the clock, a Safety Car snatched away the time advantage– however, Costa and Saucy held onto P1 until the final stages when cars with fresh rubber came hunting. Without new tyres to counterattack, the #59 lost ground rapidly in the final half hour, ultimately crossing the line P8.
James Cottingham: “I was really pleased with the start and my first stint. I got into a good rhythm and felt like I had great pace. I did my best to try and maintain P2, only losing one place to P3 right at the end of my first stint … the heat was getting the better of me and I was making mistakes, so it seemed to be the right thing to do to take a break. When I got out of the car, I was very relieved for that. In my second stint, I did my best to hold position in a field of Pros. We had a FCY infringement which was a lesson learnt. We drove a great race between the three of us … we just lost out on tyre strategy at the end, down to luck and the way the FCY and Safety Car unfolded. Once again as a team – the #59 car, United Autosports and McLaren – we’ve shown that we are competitive, leading a large part of the race. It’s such a shame we came away with nothing. But it puts us in good stead for the final race in Bahrain where hopefully we can put it right and finally get on that podium.”
The season finale of the FIA World Endurance Championship is the 8 Hours of Bahrain on 2nd November 2024