Nicolas Lapierre, Stéphane Richelmi and Gustavo Menezes finished third at the 6 Hours of Fuji to claim their sixth consecutive podium of the season!The no.36 Signatech-Alpine will have a chance to secure the FIA World Endurance Championship LMP2 title at the next round, held in Shanghai (6 November).​Despite clashing with another competitor in the early stages of the race, the no.35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine made it to the end, finishing in ninth place.

After devoting free practice to improving the balance of the Alpine A460s at the Fuji Speedway, Gustavo Menezes and Nicolas Lapierre qualified second in the no.36 Signatech-Alpine, missing out on pole position by just two tenths. David Cheng and Ho-Pin Tung set the eleventh fastest time in the no.35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine.

The competitors were greeted with fine weather on Sunday morning as the race began at 11am local time. The race began at a hectic pace, with a series of close fights throughout the field. In the no.35, Ho-Pin Tung suffered at the hands of an overzealous rival who sent him into a spin, thus spoiling his excellent start.

From that point onwards, the Baxi DC Racing Alpine's race was compromised. After a double stint, Ho-Pin handed over driving duties to Paul-Loup Chatin. On his return to the team, the Frenchman produced a solid performance, setting very good lap times and gaining five places!

Meanwhile, Nicolas Lapierre was battling hard with the leaders. Aiming to make one fewer pit stop, the team went for a different strategy in the early stages of the race as Stéphane Richelmi took over from Nicolas at the end of the first stint. This approach enabled the no.36 car to remain in contention for the win, briefly leading the race as rival cars pitted.

Then Gustavo Menezes got behind the wheel for his double stint. Like his team-mates, he defended his place in the field for all his worth and provided television viewers with some of the day's most spectacular on-track action! Hitting the brakes as late as possible at the end of the Fuji Speedway's long home straight, he was forced wide by the no.44 Manor and leapt back onto the track across a rumble strip!

Nicolas Lapierre remained in the top three until the chequered flag, ready to seize any opportunities provided by the no.26 G-Drive or the no.43 RGR. In the end, third place in the LMP2 category was an excellent result for the Signatech-Alpine crew, who only lost three points to their direct rivals in the championship.

The no.35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine showed very strong pace in the closing stages to finish in ninth place. Following David Cheng's stint, Ho-Pin Tung took over for the final few laps. He proved to be quicker than the leading cars, who were nonetheless fighting it out for victory!

Signatech-Alpine still leads the overall standings with 171 points, a healthy 35 points clear of second place. Baxi DC Racing Alpine is ninth with 24 points.

The next round of the FIA WEC will be held on 6 November in Shanghai.

Bernard Ollivier, Alpine Deputy Managing Director: "We have had the pleasure of meeting several car collectors who might be described as Alpine fanatics during this trip. Jean Rédélé never sold his cars in Japan and yet there are now over six hundred here, including some exceptional models such as an M63 and an A441! We were therefore particularly pleased to announce that our production model, which will unveiled early in 2017, will be sold in Japan. As far as the race is concerned, I think we have to admit that we weren't the best this weekend. You have to start from scratch on each circuit. We adopted a defensive position, and our strategy ended up paying off as we managed to make one fewer pit stop. We are still ideally-placed in the championship standings and we hope to secure the titles at the next round in Shanghai."

Philippe Sinault, Signatech-Alpine Team Principal: "We managed to do the main thing this weekend, when we were a little bit slower than our rivals. Fine-tuning of the set-up took longer than usual and we didn't get things totally right until qualifying. In the race, we knew that we had to opt for a different strategy in order to have a chance of finishing on the podium. By opting to make one fewer pit stop, the drivers had to constantly save fuel and look after the tyres. And the fact there was no safety car period in six hours of racing didn't make our job any easier! With forty minutes to go, we were in the top three, but we asked Nicolas Lapierre to save fuel so the car could make it to the end of the race. I'm pleased with the work of the six drivers, especially Paul-Loup Chatin who eased back into the team almost as if he'd never been away. With a number of new drivers from single-seater racing trying their hand in LMP2 at the end of the season, the competition is tougher than ever and that made the Silver drivers' job even more difficult. Over the course of a season, sometimes you have to accept you've met your match and get as many points as you can. That's precisely what we have done here."

Ho-Pin Tung: “I made a good start, as I gained two places straight away. And then I was hit by the Manor on the second lap. That threw the car into a spin so I had to rejoin at the back of the field. But the car was good and I managed to recover quickly. On my second stint, I struggled with tyre degradation. We had the potential to finish in a better position. If we manage to fully exploit our potential in Shanghai, I think we can secure a very good result there."

Paul-Loup Chatin: "I was very pleased to compete for Alpine again. Since I already know how the team works and their methods, it was easy to fit back in and I could concentrate on getting to grips with car and the tyres. I'm happy with this first weekend with David and Ho-Pin. We were able to communicate well with each other and we improved together. In the race, my aim was to get my bearings again and avoid making any mistakes. I think I had two solid stints. I was fairly conservative with the tyres so I didn't suffer the same degradation as my team-mate."

David Cheng: "Although the final result wasn't what we were hoping for, I think we had a good race and were competitive. This weekend, there were some new leading drivers and the competition was stronger than at previous races. After Ho-Pin's misfortune, we knew it would be impossible to make up all the time lost. It's difficult, but that's how it is in the World Championship. I'm now really looking forward to the 6 Hours of Shanghai!"

Nicolas Lapierre: "It's always a good sign when you're not entirely happy with third place! At the start of the race, it was a very fairly-contested and exciting battle with the other contenders for the title. Our job was difficult, because we're slightly harder on the tyres than our rivals. This was accentuated by our strategy, which was geared towards making one fewer pit stop. It wasn't easy behind the wheel, but that's what we needed to do in order to score heavily today. We achieved our goal."

Stéphane Richelmi: "We can be fairly pleased, especially as G-Drive's win cost RGR important points for the championship! I had never raced here before, but it wasn't especially difficult because we had done a lot of work on the simulator. The race was decided largely by who managed tyre wear most effectively. My second stint was tough, because I was forced off the racing line by one of the GTs. My tyres became dirty as a result and I struggled to find the same balance after that."

Gustavo Menezes: "Third place – well, it could have been better, but it could also have a lot worse! The weekend was tough going, because we were slightly behind in terms of performance in free practice. With plenty of hard work, we managed to improve over the course of the sessions. So from that point of view, it was great to qualify on the front row and finish on the podium. We've got to keep it up now to win the title in Shanghai. Furthermore, I'm very proud to have been chosen by the WEC to take part in a rookie test in LMP1H after the Bahrain race. I also owe this opportunity to Alpine!"

LMP2 STANDINGS FOR THE 6 HOURS OF FUJI1. G-Drive Racing no.26 223 laps2. RGR Sport by Morand no.43 +1.3983. Signatech-Alpine no.36 +27.6234. Extreme Speed Motorsports no.30 +51.3165. Extreme Speed Motorsports no.31 + 1 lap6. Strakka Racing no.42 +1 lap7. Manor no.44 +1 lap8. SMP Racing no.27 +1 lap9. Baxi DC Racing Alpine no.35 +2 laps10. SMP Racing no. 37 +3 laps11. Manor no.45 +33 laps

FIA LMP2 ENDURANCE TROPHY (UNOFFICIAL)1. Signatech-Alpine no.36 171 pts2. RGR Sport by Morand no.43 136 pts3. G-Drive Racing no.26 114 pts4. Extreme Speed Motorsports no.31 94 pts5. Strakka Racing no.42 66 pts6. SMP Racing no.37 59 pts7. Extreme Speed Motorsports no.30 50 pts= SMP Racing no.27 50 pts9. Baxi DC Racing Alpine no.35 24 pts10. Manor no.44 24 pts