There is partial satisfaction at Toyota Gazoo Racing for the return to success in the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of a truly interesting 6h of Imola which rewarded the efforts of Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries and Mike Conway.
On Ferrari's home turf the GR010 Hybrids set out with the hope of putting at least one car on the podium, given that the 499Ps dominated the scene from the first Free Practice.
But a sensational mistake on the Maranello wall, which left its three Hypercars on the track for too long with the rain now heavy on the track, while the others had already stopped to change tyres, opened the door to a return to success for Japanese people.
At the end of the event the smiles on TGR were clearly visible, even if David Floury wanted to calm the enthusiasm straight away, highlighting that it was a somewhat fortunate moment.
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
“We won without being the fastest, so we can say that it was more of a discussion about the tires and the team's operations”, explains the Technical Director to Motorsport.com and to the other journalists present in Imola, when by now the evening had fallen and the cold was becoming bitter on the Santerno.
“In general, I am convinced that we were more or less equal with the Porsches, while the Ferraris proved to be decidedly stronger in everything. Apart from the strategy…”, he sketches with a mocking smile, which however then leaves room for honest analysis.
“I don't think we should get too excited about this success, given that the race was decided on a tire strategy and not on pure pace. If we look at this aspect, Ferrari was 4 tenths faster than us. And this is not something we can be happy about.”
“But as far as we are concerned we are not managing anything in view of Le Mans, the commitment is at its maximum in all the races and we will continue to be the same at Spa too.”
Podium: #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries
Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
The Ferraris dominated the first part, then the incident relegated them to the margins of the Top5, while the GR010s tried to defend themselves as best they could, suffering from top speeds.
“When it started to rain we didn't want to take any risks and immediately returned to put on wet tyres. Previously we had managed to manage the tires well, but Ferrari had also been very good from this point of view”.
“Honestly, though, doing three stints on the same tires was risky and that's why we changed them on one side at a certain point, to avoid taking any risks.”
“We struggled at the start against the BMW, which had a higher top speed. Here it is difficult to overtake, we tried, but there was also the risk of making stupid mistakes. When you want to win the championship you have to be consistent in every race “.
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries
Photo by: Paolo Belletti
Toyota found itself in the lead fighting against the Porsches and Kévin Estre's #6 in the final gave rise to a great fight with Kobayashi, who, despite being aware of having the 5″ margin that would have been inflicted on the 963 for a penalty imposed on her previously, she did her duty by resisting the French's assaults.
“Before starting the final stint we were a bit worried and wondering how we were going to manage the fuel to avoid having to do a quick refuel before the checkered flag, but Kamui was perfect, he did a fantastic job saving energy and managing to stay ahead brilliantly.”
“We knew that Porsche would have to serve the penalty, but the goal was to stay in front and keep fighting, we didn't want to win by taking advantage of their penalty.”
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck de Vries
However, Kobayashi did not hide his joy at a result that was decidedly unexpected before the start.
“It was a very tough race and to win here is absolutely phenomenal. Our car wasn't the fastest this week, but the team worked very well,” emphasizes the driver/team principal.
“Mike and Nyck did a fantastic job before I took the lead. There was a lot of pressure at the start of my stint; I was leading on slick tires in the rain. We made the right choice to change tires and create a gap, then we maintained a good pace with the wet ones.”
“We weren't sure if the fuel was enough to get to the end, so we started saving energy and I gave everything, it was very tough. The team made a big effort in terms of strategy and that gave us the chance to fight for the victory. I thank everyone for their fantastic work.”
#WEC #Toyota #joy #Ferrari #stronger #Almost.
