ByKolles LMP1 car was missing over 100bhp in Fuji WEC race

The solo ENSO CLM P1/01 shared by Tom Dillmann, Oliver Webb and James Rossiter finished fifth in Japan - 11 laps down on the winning Toyota and seven behind the third-placed Rebellion that topped the privateers.

Dillmann, who had skipped the previous round at Silverstone, said this lack of competitiveness was down to a loss of turbo pressure on one side of the Nissan twin-turbo engine that robbed the car of a significant amount of power.

"After 10 minutes we lost pressure on one side, on one turbo," Dillmann told Autosport.

"Nissan gave us an estimation, we lost 100 or 150bhp. We were down 30km/h [19mph] on the straight.

"Changing it would have taken too long, we would have lost too much, so we decided to keep going and try to survive like this.

"It was tough. We were barely faster than the GTs at the end of the straight, and to pass the LMP2s was really difficult.

"The car has made a big step compared to last time I drove, it's just a shame what happened.

"Without that issue I think we would have finished one or two laps down on the Rebellion."

Super GT and Super Formula regular Rossiter made his first appearance for ByKolles since last year's Spa race at Fuji.

"There are obviously a lot of areas to improve," he told Autosport.

"There are a lot of things we need to do at the rear of the car to improve the balance and how we use the tyres, and then on top of that there's downforce and efficiency."

Rossiter added that he had been invited to stay on for the next WEC round at Shanghai but was "not sure" yet if he would.

Dillmann said he would be in the Shanghai line-up and was confident of a more competitive showing there based on Fuji.

"This weekend was the first time we could run in all the free practice sessions without trouble," he said.

"At Spa and Le Mans we had many problems, we were always going into the race not ready and the balance of the car was good in the race.

"With the same kind of weekend [as Fuji] with no issues, we can fight for P4 or P5, and if there are more issues [for others] then who knows - maybe we can be there for the podium."