Kamui Kobayashi held his nerve under pressure from Kevin Estre over the final hour to claim victory in the Six Hours of Imola for the number seven Toyota.
In a tense end to an eventful second round of the World Endurance Championship season, Kobayashi kept the number six Porsche Penske at bay to take the first win of the season for Toyota and team mates Nyck de Vries and Mike Conway.
The number six Porsche of Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor pressed Toyota hard in the closing laps. But they needed to pass Kobayashi and pull out a five second margin to overcome a late time penalty for overtaking under Safety Car conditions.
Estre was unable to make a move on the Toyota, dropped back as they encountered a string of lapped cars around the narrow Imola circuit, and had to settle for second. Matt Campbell brought the number five Porsche Penske on the podium in third.
Home favourites Ferrari locked out the first three positions on the grid but failed to get a single car home in the podium places. The number 50 car of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen started from pole position and led early but the team lost out when rain arrived with just over two hours remaining.
Ferrari kept their trio of cars on slicks longer than many of their rivals, which saw them drop out of contention for victory. The number 50 499P ultimately finished in fourth, capitalising on a late mistake by Brendon Hartley in the number eight Toyota he shared with Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa.
The number 20 BMW and the remaining Ferraris filled the next three places, the number 51 factory 499P ahead of the number 83 car. In their first race with their revised 9X8 and its new rear wing, Peugeot managed only ninth with the number 93 car while the number two Cadillac completed the top ten.
The number six Porsche Penske team lead the championship following their second place and their victory in the opening race in Qatar. The third round of the championship – the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – will take place on Saturday 11th May.
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WEC Six Hours of Imola race results
| Pos | No. | Class | Team | Car | Drivers | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Hypercar | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR010 | Mike Conway/Kamui Kobayashi/Nyck de Vries | 205 |
| 2 | 6 | Hypercar | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Porsche 963 | Kevin Estre/Andre Lotterer/Laurens Vanthoor | 205 |
| 3 | 5 | Hypercar | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Porsche 963 | Matt Campbell/Michael Christensen/Frederic Makowiecki | 205 |
| 4 | 50 | Hypercar | Ferrari AF Corse | Ferrari 499P | Antonio… |
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