Hartley chases world title,
Depending on their aerodynamic configuration, Toyota’s and or Porsche’s Le Mans prototypes may crack the 300km/ h barrier.
“We think Toyota are going to be very strong here and we’re expecting they will be hard to beat. It’s a great race and I have always loved racing in Japan and the crowds are great.
“There are no major changes to the car as far as I’m aware of, maybe just a few small things in the background,” said Hartley.
“It’s a unique circuit with a massively long straight that would suggest you’d have to be low drag.
“You still need high downforce in the middle sector and especially the last sector where there’s off camber interconnecting corners where there are quite a few line choices especially in the rain. And it looks like it could rain. It’s a complicated track to get right.
“We’ve got a few of the New Zealand support crew coming out to see me and Earl race this weekend which is also great,” he said.
Hartley’s teammate Bamber has mixed memories about the Fuji track.
In 2014, he won both the Carrera Cup Asia races. However, during the 2015 WEC race he was taken out by an Audi.
He also thinks the team will face a tough weekend with strong competition from Toyota and a lot depends on the balancing act between high and low downforce. Fresh from receiving a late call- up to race at the Bathurst 1000, Kiwi Andre Heimgartner has been drafted by Craft Bamboo Racing to race in this week’s Blancpain GT Series Asia finale. The race is at the Zhejiang International Circuit and Heimgartner should be in good form having won the Carrera Cup Australia round last weekend. There are still 17 teams in with a mathematical chance of winning the Carter’s Tyres SI Endurance Series at Timaru International Motor Raceway this weekend. Dwayne and Matt Carter have a slender lead over Angus and George McFarlane with the rest of field breathing down their respective necks. Andrew Hawkeswood and co- driver Jeff Cress are keen to build on their points lead at the penultimate round of the Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship at Rally Waitomo this weekend. The pair have a seven- point lead over Matt Summerfield with Ben Hunt a further 11 points back. Portland International Raceway is back on the IndyCar Series schedule in 2018. The September 2 race on the 1.967- mile permanent road course will be IndyCar’s first trip to the Oregon track since races were held from 1984- 2007 under CART and Champ Car sanction. There were no other major changes on the 17- race schedule as IndyCar sought stability in assembling its 2018 calendar. Yet another Toyota Racing Series champion sits on the cusp of a potential Formula One career. Englishman Lando Norris won the 2016 title in style picking up the New Zealand Grand Prix along the way. The 17- year- old has been targeted by McLaren to fill the shoes of Jensen Button as their reserve driver for 2018. If Norris wins the European Formula 3 title, which looks likely a he has a 72- point lead, he’ll have enough points to get a superlicence. He also broke Lewis Hamilton’s record as the youngest driver to win the world karting title at just 14.