Toyota takes 6 Hours of Spa as rain wreaks chaos

Share

Kamui Kobayashi, José-María López and Mike Conway took victory in the round two of the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship, TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa after a dramatic and rain-affected test of endurance this afternoon

Red flags, safety cars and full course yellows punctuated the race, but it was the No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar that emerged with maxim points.

#7 TOYOTA GAZOO RACING – Toyota GR010 – Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez,TOTAL ENERGIES 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Free Practice 2, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium

AF Corse claimed the spoils in the LMGTE Pro category after a clever strategy saw James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi emerging victorious. In the thrilling finale Calado just held off the Porsche of Michael Christensen, eclipsing the Dane by 0.523s.

WRT took a brilliant LMP2 victory on home soil as Robin Frijns, Sean Gelael and Rene Rast came out on top of the ultra-competitive field.

In LMGTE Am Harry Tincknell, Christian Reid and Sebastien Priaulx took the victory for the No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche squad after epic final 10-minutes of racing.

The Headlines from the TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps:

Hypercar

No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar of Kamui Kobayashi, José-María López and Mike Conway takes their first-ever win at Spa to break the No.8 domination since 2018 Lopez takes the chequered flag in race of wild weather and several stoppages ahead of No.36 Alpine ELF Team trio of Andre Negrao, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere

Glickenhaus take third place but rue communications error on tyre call at mid-distance

No.8 Toyota retires early with suspected Hybrid problem

LMGTE Pro

James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi take the first victory of the season for AF Corse as they come through after the sister car of Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco lead the mid-phase of the race Fuoco fended off Christensen in the final hour, but Christensen makes it through at La Source to then apply pressure on Calado

Corvette Racing’s Tommy Milner and Nick Tandy take fourth position after fighting back from losing out in the first red flag period when they were trapped in pits Gianmaria “Gimmi”  Bruni and Richard Lietz complete LMGTE Pro in No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 after losing out on the opening lap due to contact with No.92 sister car

LMP2

WRT claims splendid home LMP2 win as Rene Rast takes chequered flag but foundations for win are set by early stints by Sean Gelael and exceptional efforts by Robin Frijns in worst of the weather conditions Sensational last hour sees frenetic battle for podium positions as Ferdinand Habsburg driven Realteam WRT entry fights with United Autosports USA car of Phil Hanson

Habsburg secures second place after excellent final hour fights

Taking third place is the No.38 JOTA car of Will Stevens, Antonio Felix da Costa and Roberto Gonzalez

The battle ends in contact at La Source and Bus Stop chicane. Hanson drops back into the clutches of Team Penske’s Felipe Nasr Hanson though fights back but eventually finishes fifth after re-engaging in the fight with Nasr who claims fourth in the final thrilling laps

LMGTE Am

Harry Tincknell, Christian Reid and Sebastien Priaulx take LMGTE Am victory for the No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche squad

Tincknell holds off charging TF Sport Aston Martin of Marco Sorensen in the final laps

Third position is the Northwest AMR entry as Nicki Thiim engages in battle with former LMGTE Pro teammate Sorensen