What the Drivers' said after the 6 Hours of Fuji

Kamui Kobayashi – Toyota Gazoo Racing

“It is great and it is perfect. We did a great job after a difficult start but to win our home race with these great supporters and in front of important people and the Toyota boss makes me very happy.

“It has been hard through the year and really at Le Mans we were competitive. We have come back and I really appreciate all the support.”

Stephane Sarrazin – Toyota Gazoo Racing

“It’s amazing, after Le Mans it’s our most important race and we did it! My teammates did an amazing job, we had a very good car this weekend. The team has worked so hard this year to get a win.

“In the driver room in the final stint was incredible we were shouting and screaming, running up and down the pit wall telling the team to tell Kamui that he was doing a good job. We were trying to help him over the radio, he did such a good job at the end to hold off Duval.

“It felt like he did the race with one set of tyres!” added Sarrazin. “He did a double stint at the end with those tyres and was still flying, they didn’t even degrade much, he was incredible.”

Loic Duval – Audi Sport Team Joest

“The race was really close and really tight. We were pushing as hard as possible and we really enjoyed it. But I have to say it is really painful to finish second as we pushed as hard as we could and we made no mistakes ourselves or in strategy.

“I think we had the quickest package once again but it was not enough today.”

Timo Bernhard – Porsche Team

“The race was a pleasure to drive. For sure P3 is a good result but the whole race we were kind of in a position where we could strike back and a couple of times we were ahead of the No.6 Toyota and getting close to the Audi but it was always a bit tricky to read the race because the cars were out of sequence with the pit stops.

“We decided to change tyres and we finished P3 so they are good manufacturers points but we will try and strike back in Shanghai.”

Will Stevens – G-Drive Racing

“It was exciting from the car so I hope it was as exciting from the outside too. We actually struggled a bit today with the balance more than we expected so we weren’t as strong pace wise as we had hoped. The last stint was tough with traffic and we knew it would be extremely close with Bruno coming out of the pits

“If there is a gap I will always go for it. I would have appreciated a tiny bit more room! I don’t know how far away I was but for sure I was as close as I would want to get to it.

“Overall I am really happy for the team. They should have won a lot of races this year, so I feel honoured that the win has come when I am here. Big thanks to G-Drive Racing as they did a very good job all weekend.”

Dominik Kraihamer – Rebellion Racing

“At the start he (Kaffer) was very aggressive maybe too much and we lost some diveplanes from the car, but it was a good battle. He pushed me wide at turn ten but I was able to get him back on the straight so it was a decent first stint.

“We did a good job as a team and unfortunately the Kolles car had to retire. I think that was maybe the most difficult two stints that I have had before. I was struggling a lot and we are happy to just finish the race.”

Harry Tincknell – Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK

“Even though it was a six hour race I knew it was going to be really tight all day. I knew I was really having to fight for a race win and it is probably one of the hardest races I have had to race in to get a victory.

“I knew it was vital to get in to the lead and that is what I did and I managed to hand it over to Andy. I had a little mis-communication with a LMGTE Am car and we had a bit of light contact but luckily we both continued.

“I’m ecstatic to bring home the team’s first WEC win and it is great to share it with this man (Andy Priaulx).”

Paul Dalla Lana – Aston Martin Racing

“We had a good set-up from qualifying and good race pace too. Thankfully we were able to bring it home and stay away from any dramas. Racing here in the sunshine in Japan is a real pleasure. We have been close before so it is nice to enjoy it here on the top step. The team were fantastic all weekend and we are very happy.”