Alonso streak ended in Japan

Joas van Wingerden Sunday 14 October 2018 14:16

Fernando Alonso's streak of World Endurance Championship success was snapped on Sunday as his #8 Toyota car was beaten to victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji by the sister #7 machine. Alonso's car had crossed the line first at the first three races of the season, but Kamui Kobayashi was the home-crowd hero on this occasion.

Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima remain top of the drivers' championship, having followed their Toyota team-mates home in second.

Article continues under video

The #8 Toyota won at Spa-Francorchamps and Le Mans, but had victory at Silverstone scratched due to a technical infraction.

The #7 team of Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez had pole position taken away from them on Saturday for speeding in the pit-lane.

???????? at @FIAWEC #6hFuji. A perfect end to our home race and a well-deserved win ???????? for @Mikeconway26, @kamui_kobayashi and @pechito37. We really enjoyed that.#TOYOTA #TS050 #PushingTheLimitsForBetter pic.twitter.com/BdL0921sJd — TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC (@Toyota_Hybrid) October 14, 2018

However, Toyota is in a class of its own this year and, having started eighth, the #7 car was in second after just two laps and on the tail of Alonso & co.

The #7 team made the most of pit-stop confusion to take the lead and held onto P1 until the end, with Alonso encountering handling difficulties on his run in the fourth hour.

Kobayashi passed the chequered flag first after 230 laps, securing his and Conway's first WEC wins since 2016 and Lopez's first in the series.

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