Kevin Estre: “We are not on the defensive” at Fuji

Porsche dominated Free Practice 1 of the 6 Hours of Fuji with the No. 6 car of Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor, which leads the FIA ​​Drivers' Championship WEC.

« It was good, but the times were achieved quite early in the session, analyzed Kevin Estre after EL1. It's hard to say what the others are doing on the tyres or the fuel. It's encouraging. We expected to be good here, but maybe not to be faster than the others. We'll see in qualifying and in the race. The feeling in the car is good. »

After a weekend in Austin where the German manufacturer achieved its worst result of the year (6th), the Stuttgart prototype is back on a circuit that suits it. Last year, this same Porsche No. 6 led half of the race before being overtaken and distanced by the Toyota in the second part of the race.

« It's probably the best circuit, after Qatar, for us this season, Judge Estre. Last year we had a good package, but as soon as the Toyotas came through they opened up a significant gap. There was a lack of it, but this is where we were closest, where we had the best feeling with the car. This year we were the fastest in Qatar (victory of the No. 6 and Porsche triple. Ed.), but then we were the second or third force on the grid. In terms of the championship, at some point we will have to finish ahead of the others. It would be good if it were here. »

The Frenchman compares the Japanese track to that of Losail due to its lack of bumps. There are no bumps, no big rumble strips and a combination of corners that suits us well. It is on circuits with these characteristics that Toyota and Ferrari make the biggest gap and have a better car than us. »

With two races remaining, this weekend at Fuji and on November 2 with the 8 Hours of Bahrain, the 2024 WEC season is entering its final sprint. Three crews can hope to clinch the world title among the drivers. Behind the trio of the Porsche n°6, Kamui Kobayashi et Mike conway (Toyota No. 7), as well as Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen (Ferrari No. 50) are tied with 12 points behind.

« We are in a good position, it is better to be hunted than the hunter, according to Kevin Estre. We have made fewer mistakes than the others during this season. We must continue to respond, but we must be better in terms of performance than in the last races. We are in a good state of mind, we will have to do exemplary races to win this championship. »

This will be done through " take a lot of points " in Fuji, but there is no question of the Frenchman playing defensively this weekend." We are still in an offensive mode, assures the Lyonnais. In Bahrain, the points will be multiplied by 1,5 (38 points for the winners. Editor’s note). Fuji suits us better than Bahrain. We must not take all the risks. We must attack, try to win this race, without doing anything and losing big points. We must always think. Some can afford to go all-in, not us. We are not on the defensive, we are on the attack. We will see then how we attack Bahrain. »

Free practice for the 6 Hours of Fuji begins at 8:30 a.m. (French time).

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