Toyota teammates praise “shining star” Kobayashi after Fuji win

It was left to Kobayashi at the end of the race to manage the lead gap to Loic Duval’s chasing Audi on worn tyres, as Toyota gambled on not changing rubber at the final stop to gain track position.

Having had a gap of 13 seconds when he left the pits, Kobayashi did just enough to seal Toyota’s first WEC win since 2014 by a margin of just 1.4s over the #8 Audi crew.

Conway, who was at the wheel of the #6 car for the second and third stints, said Kobayashi’s final stint made him the “shining star” of the weekend.

“It was really close, there wasn’t a tenth within the top three on lap times,” said Conway.

“Just got to say a huge thank you to the team, and obviously my teammates. Kamui was the real shining star of the weekend, doing a double stint on the tyres.

“We were just going for the win. If we changed tyres, we might have been fighting for third.

“The last stint was an unknown with a double, when you’ve already done so many laps before. But Kamui did a good job.

“Good stint by Stephane as well, really good team effort. Amazing to be sitting here having won the race. Couldn’t have asked for more.”

Sarrazin echoed Conway’s comments, while adding that the characteristics of the Fuji circuit were instrumental in Toyota being able to challenge for the win.

“We expected to be good here, but to win is a step,” said Sarrazin. “My teammates did an amazing job.

“Kamui was just flying, [the way] he worked with the tyres in a double stint – incredible.

“We have less high-speed corners here, which are a bit tough for us. We are good on braking, good in slow corners, and we have very good acceleration.

“The pace was good, it’s very positive for the next races. We will give our best.”