Proton Competition's strongest starting position of the FIA WEC season did not convert into a podium at Fuji, but the #77 Ford Mustang LMGT3 still left Japan with points after finishing ninth.
Eric Powell, Ben Tuck and Sebastian Priaulx had been fastest across all three practice sessions. When qualifying was cancelled because of the weather, those practice times set the grid and gave the #77 Proton its first pole position of the season.
Powell made a clean start and kept the car in the lead group through the opening phase. Around the halfway point, the #77 was running second and remained in position to challenge for Proton's first podium of the season.
The final half of the race became less predictable. Rain reached the circuit and multiple Safety Car periods repeatedly compressed the field. Tuck and Priaulx shared the remaining driving, with Priaulx still in the podium fight when the race returned to green for the closing run.
The order changed again in the final phase and the #77 ultimately finished ninth. The result was short of the position Proton had occupied for much of the race, but it still added championship points after a weekend in which the Mustang had shown front-running pace.
The #88 sister car had no similar opportunity. Stefano Gattuso, Giammarco Levorato and Logan Sargeant were involved in contact during the opening laps. Proton reported significant damage and the car retired early.
Fuji therefore ended with a split result for Proton: proof of one-lap and stint pace for the #77, but no podium to show for a weekend that started from the front of the LMGT3 grid.
