The World Endurance Championship (WEC) Round 7, the 6 Hours of Fuji, took place at the Fuji Speedway from 14th through 16th October. The #98 Aston Martin Racing won the LMGTE-Am Class.

The current WEC started in 2012 as a new series including the 24 Hours of Le Mans and became a World's top endurance motor racing series. The WEC features 9 races across the world and Fuji is the 7th Round. The competing cars are divided into four categories: LMP1, LMP2 LMGTE-Pro and LMGTE-Am. Drivers are also classified into 4 levels according to their experiences and achievement in motorsport and each class has specific requirements on driver lineups. World Championship Titles are awarded for drivers as well as for manufacturers in all categories, and Class Championship Titles are also awarded in each class. Every year, World's leading automobile manufacturers and prestigious racing teams as well as top amateurs compete at the same time in hot battles.

Aston Martin Racing participated in LMGTE-Pro and LMGTE-Am, 2 cars (Car Number 95 and 97) and 1 car (Car Number 98) respectively. Osato Research Institute has been an official partner of AMR since 2005, supporting the team by providing FPP to the drivers and pit crews for their health maintenance. ORI president Mr. Hayashi and his colleagues gathered at Fuji this year again.

In the qualifying session on 15th, the Car Number 98 joined the leading group from the beginning and took the Pole position.
Under the clear sky on 16th, fans were making a long line to get drivers' autographs at the Pit Walk in the morning. Then, 'Grid-Walk' was held just before the final race, where we could walk through the cars aligned on the grid.
The race started at 11 a.m. and the Car Number 98 kept the lead at the opening lap. Gradually increasing its lead, it left 2nd place more than a lap behind in 3 hours. It achieved two consecutive Pole-to-Wins at the 6th Round in Austin and this 7th Round.

Meanwhile, the Car Number 95 and 97 finished in 5th and 6th place respectively in LMGTE-Pro Class. They are still leading the Championship. The result at the 7th Round saw Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen to take the lead in the standings of Team and Drivers Titles in LMGTE-Pro Class with a 10-point advantage.
The weather was great during the 3-day event and a total of 53,200 of racing fans fully enjoyed the best endurance race series in the world.
With two rounds remaining, the next WEC will be in Shanghai.

Aston's Emblems in thanks for over 10-year partnership

Darren Turner gives a set of emblems 'Wings of Aston Martin' to Mr. Hayashi, ORI President, in appreciation of partnership over 10 years.

Each Wings was designed exclusively for each 9 circuits, from the first Round in Silverstone to the last Round in Bahrain. So, there are 9 different designs.

WEC　2016

Round 1．4/15～17　　6 Hours of Silverstone (UK)

Round 2．5/5～7　　　6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps （Belgium）

Round 3．6/15～19　　24 Hours of Le Mans （France）

Round 4．7/22～24　　6 Hours of Nurburgring　（Germany）

Round 5．9/1～3　　　6 Hours of Mexico　（Mexico）

Round 6．9/15～17　　6 Hours of Circuit of The Americas　（USA）

Round 7．10/14～16　6 Hours of Fuji　（Japan）

Round 8．11/4～6　　 6 Hours of Shanghai　（China）

Round 9．11/17～19　6 Hours of Bahrain　（Bahrain）

The Aston emblem for Fuji In 2016, the color varies at each circuit.	Pure blue sky and Mt. Fuji in the morning of the qualifying day
Making adjustments on the machines at the pit	Darren Turner's helmet
Three Astons lining up along the pit lane before the qualifying session	Beautiful Sunset on the qualifying day
Members of ORI participating the race	Fans gathering for the Pit Walk in the early morning
Drivers welcome fans with great smiles at the autograph session	Together with drivers of Car Number 98/span>
Machines lined up at the grid	Grid-Walk Starts
Snap shot with Bibendum again	Showing Japanese culture at the Grid-Walk with Japanese drums and "Yosakoi" dance performance
Final race started at 11a.m.	Car Number 97
Pit-in	Only few seconds between the top two/span>
Sun starts to set at the end of the race	Watching over the race from the pit
Successful finish of the 6-hour long race	Car Number 98, the Winner
Award Ceremony	Mechanics beneath the podium giving applause to the drivers