The #35 crew began the 6 Hours of Fuji from ninth on the 18-strong Hypercar grid, and initially fell down the field after picking up penalties for contact and a pit-stop infringement. The trio gained a crucial break shortly after the race entered its second half, however, when they benefitted from the fortuitous timing of a safety car intervention.

That elevated Milesi up the order into second, with the Frenchman subsequently settling into a three-way fight for supremacy with Peugeot’s Mikkel Jensen – the #93 9X8 Hypercar the Dane shares with Jean-Éric Vergne and Paul di Resta a long-time leader in Japan – and defending world champion Kévin Estre in the #6 Porsche.

With an hour remaining, Alpine Endurance Team rolled the dice. As the top three came into the pits to make their final stops, the French manufacturer elected to save time by changing only the left-hand side tyres on the #35 car, whereas Peugeot and Porsche replaced the full set.

That promoted Milesi to the lead, and the Frenchman produced a flawless performance to keep his pursuers comfortably at bay and take the chequered flag 7.682 seconds ahead of Jensen – to the clear delight of his team-mates and crew.

“This means everything,” confessed an emotional Habsburg. “Holding this trophy has been in my dreams for quite some time. It’s the coolest thing to win a race with two of your best friends in the paddock. Charles and Paul-Loup are not only some of the best drivers, but also the best people I know. They have motivated me so much through my own mistakes and moments when I was not doing so well. It’s because of them really that we were able to win together as a team.”

The result represented Alpine’s third overall triumph in FIA WEC, and impressively, the #35 car is the only one in the 2025 Hypercar field not to include a top-level Platinum-graded driver. It also means that for the first time in the championship’s history, four different marques have won in succession – Ferrari at Le Mans, Cadillac in São Paulo, Porsche at COTA and now Alpine at Fuji.

Corvette claims glory after late drama in LMGT3

For the second race in a row, VISTA AF Corse took the chequered flag first in the LMGT3 category – and for the second race in a row, another crew stood atop the rostrum, as TF Sport’s #81 Corvette benefitted from a post-race penalty for the Ferrari to usurp the win.

>>> Race result <<<