16.10.2016 - 09h55

Toyota win epic 6 Hours of Fuji

The No.6 Toyota Gazoo Racing trio of Kamui Kobayashi, Stephane Sarrazin and Mike Conway won a highly memorable 6 Hours of Fuji this afternoon after a gripping contest throughout the entire duration of the race.

The fight for victory came down to a last hour battle between all three LMP1 manufacturers. It was a tense ending to the race but Kamui Kobayashi’s Toyota TS 050 HYBRID just had enough to hold off the No.8 Audi Sport Team Joest driven by Loic Duval.

Reigning champions, Mark Webber, Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley completed the podium in third position.

In the LMP2 class G-Drive Racing finally took the maximum points for the first time this season after shaking off their poor luck when in winning positions earlier this year. Alex Brundle, Will Stevens and Roman Rusinov drove impeccable stints to lead home the RGR Sport Ligier-Nissan.

Rebellion Racing took the 2016 LMP1 Privateers title as Dominik Kraihamer, Matteo Tuscher and Alexandre Imperatori took their fifth category win of the season.

Ford took a deserved 1-2 in the LMGTE Pro class, racing from lights to flag at the front of the category. Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx took the victory after the sister car lost time through a spin suffered by Olivier Pla in the fifth hour.

Aston Martin Racing took a straightforward win in the LMGTE Am class as Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda and Pedro Lamy dominated the race.

The Headlines from the 6 Hours of Fuji

No.6 Toyota Gazoo Racing takes famous victory after sensational 6 Hours of Fuji to delight 53,200 home fans
Kamui Kobayashi, Stephane Sarrazin and Mike Conway seal home win and first ever for the Toyota TS 050 HYBRID LMP1 car
Thrilling fight comes down to last hour as Toyota opt to not take new Michelin rubber and gain track position
Loic Duval takes new rubber at final stop but No.8 Audi unable to catch Kobayashi’s Toyota despite best efforts
Mark Webber takes No.1 Porsche 919 Hybrid to chequered flag and third position after being in contention throughout the race for the victory
Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi fourth after relatively quiet race
Title leading Porche 919 Hybrid struggles for pace and sees title lead diminished
Rebellion Racing claim LMP1 Privateer class victory and take 2016 title

Sensational finish to LMP2 race sees G-Drive Racing take first 2016 victory after Will Stevens makes daring move on Bruno Senna’s RGR Sport Ligier with 30-mins remaining
British driver has to relinquish position after having being adjudged to have used pit exit to overtake Senna. He then re-takes lead with another sensational move with just five minutes remaining
Signatech Alpine finish third place to keep healthy points advantage in title quest
No.67 Ford GT of Harry Tincknell and Andy Priaulx seal first ever WEC win for Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT. No.66 car of Pla and Mucke make it a 1-2
AF Corse Ferrari take third and fourth with No.51 car of Bruni/Calado heading home Bird/Rigon car
No.98 Aston Martin of Paul Dalla Lana, Mathias Lauda and Pedro Lamy take dominant LMGTE Am class victory after leading entire race.
Second is No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Francois Perrodo, Emmanuel Collard and Rui Aguas as they extend title advantage

Special points of interest after one of the most exciting WEC races ever :

Closest ever winning margin in a WEC event
First completely ‘green’ WEC race since Spa 2015
Closest ever gap between three manufacturers finishing 1-2-3
Most laps ever completed at Fuji Speedway in a WEC race and only five laps from all-time record at Interlagos 2014
First win for Toyota TS 050 HYBRID design
First WEC wins for Kamui Kobayashi and Andy Priaulx
No.6 crew move to second in Drivers standings

For the provisional race result please click HERE