What the drivers said after the 6 Hours of Fuji (+ video highlights)
Quotes from some of the winning drivers...
Kamui Kobayashi: Toyota Gazoo Racing, No.7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID
“We had to start from P8 and we were quite disappointed and we had to take some risks with the strategy that is why we didn’t take the extreme wet tyre, and with the two formation laps we were struggling to warm them up.
“After the second lap, or something like that, we only had the same speed as the privateers so we decided to change at the same time as No.8 (to extreme wets) and straight away our lap times were quite good.
“I think we were then a bit late on the inter tyre so we decided to jump on to dry tyres and we gained a lot of positions and gap during the safety car. In the end we could keep the margin to car eight.
“We obviously had a tough start [in practice] at the start of the week but I think the team did a good job in preparing the car for the race and we all did a great job.”
Kevin Estre: Porsche GT Team – No.92 Porsche 911 RSR
“It has been tough at ‘normal’ WEC races since last year. Sometimes we had a good car but somehow luck was not on our side and this time we started from the back as we had a bad quali.
“The first stint didn’t feel good and I think we were on different tyres to the others. It was a proper rollercoaster and after that first stint we made a good call for the second stint under the Safety Car and then the car was improving over every stint.
“The team made a mega move on strategy and we made all the right calls. We won a lot on strategy today because the pace of the cars in the class was quite close.
“We are really proud to be part of this No.92 crew because we have been on the podium for every WEC race, so it is quite awesome.”
Jazeman Jaafar – Jackie Chan DC Racing – No.37 ORECA-Gibson
“It was a hard battle because of the tricky conditions in the beginning and I was battling with (Anthony) Davidson in the first three laps before I could pull out a gap.
“I then started to overheat my inters and I fell back as the track got drier. We pitted early to go to slicks and then capitalised on our lead. The performance of the car was great and we were chipping away in practice and qualifying and into the race.
“To battle for the championship is what we really want and it looks very tight at the top.”
Patrick Lindsay – Team Project 1 – No.56 Porsche 911 RSR
“It’s just an honour to be here when I see these guys winning in a Porsche. To be here in Fuji and feel the atmosphere and see the fans is incredible. I’ve soaked it all up and it has been really enjoyable.
“Actually the week didn’t start off so well with a few technical issues and honestly at the start of the race Egidio drove fantastically but we had a number board that started peeling off and we had to take care of that.
“We were also, I think, the only Am car that didn’t pit under Safety Car so we were kind of sitting at the back of the field wondering how we were going to get through. But we put our heads down and focused on running our race and before we knew it we looked up and we were up there. There is no one better than Jörg to take it to the finish.”