Hertz Team JOTA has become the FIA Hypercar Team World Cup Champions for the second consecutive season, taking a 1-2 among the privateers in the penultimate round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship at Fuji Speedway after a great recovery drive from both #12 and #38 crews.
 
Situated at the foot of the iconic Mount Fuji, overnight rain ahead of the race washed away any rubber put down around the circuit with a diverse range of corners and straights, further increasing those opportunities to move up the pack.
 
Qualifying proved tricky for the team, with both cars towards the back of the order. Will Stevens (GBR) and Phil Hanson (GBR) started cars #12 and #38 respectively, and both made moves early on from 16th and 17th in the Hypercar field.  

Will lost out early on having to avoid a multi-car collision, but worked his way back up the order into the top 10, including with a great move on the lead privateer entry of from Proton Competition. Phil’s pace was also strong, keeping him close to the sister JOTA Porsche 963 throughout.
 
A Virtual Safety Car 90 minutes into the race put some cars on a slightly different strategy. Battles with Alpine, Peugeot and Ferrari followed as Callum Ilott (GBR) and Jenson Button (GBR) took the wheel of the #12 and #38 entries respectively as both cars sat solidly in the top 10 as the race approached the halfway point. 

This carried on through the middle third of the race, with Callum in a battle over fourth and Jenson running seventh until a second Virtual Safety Car, this time with fewer than two hours remaining, put the majority on the field back onto the same strategy.  

Norman Nato (FRA) and Oliver Rasmussen (DEN) took the wheel of the #12 and #38 respectively for a 90-minute run to the flag. 

Nato comments “Starting in P16, after a bit of a chaos early on, and to recover to fifth and sixth in a weekend where we were not so strong, especially on one lap with both cars, is quite a strong recovery from the team. We didn’t score in the last two races, so we take it as quite a good day.” 

Oliver benefitted from a collision between the two cars in front to gain a couple of places, while Norman remained in a battle with the #8 Toyota and the #50 Ferrari, with the sister Hertz Team JOTA car not far behind.
 
With a 1-2 finish in the FIA Hypercar Team World Cup, Hertz Team JOTA clinched the title for the #12 crew. Second place also moved car #38 closer to the two key contenders ahead of the final round of the season – the 8 Hours of Bahrain, on 2 November. 

Button adds ”A faultless race by Hertz Team JOTA. I think we should be happy with fifth and sixth in terms of how we executed the race. We were not unlucky like we have been in many races this year but the thing that hurts the most is the out and out pace just isn’t there for us. So, we are a little bit disappointed but there is loads of information to look at to try and improve for the final race in Bahrain.”