Kamui Kobayashi leads Toyota to victory in 6 Hours of Monza as Corvette Racing secure GTE-Am title

After 200 laps, Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 7 Toyota crossed the line first to emerge victorious at the 6 Hours of Monza on Sunday, as Corvette Racing secured the GTE-Am title with two races remaining.

It was redemption for Toyota after they retired from Le Mans which forced Mike Conway to concede his team’s chances of winning the World Endurance Championship (WEC).

And it denied Ferrari a victory on home soil as Kobyashi held off the challenge from the No. 50 Ferrari 499P, piloted by Antonio Fuoco, by 16.520 seconds.

There was delight for Peugeot as it took its first ever podium after the No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 of Jean-Eric Vergne, Paul di Resta and Mikkel Jensen secured third place.

Fourth place was enough for the No. 33 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R of Nicky Catsburg, Ben Keating and Nico Varrone to clinch the championship.

“After a tough Le Mans, it was important to bounce back,” said Kobayashi.

“Yeah, the team did a great job. So, really happy. I’m very proud of these guys, very proud of the team. It’s our third win of the year.”

Conway admitted it was a nail-biting finish as he said: “I mean, with this split strategy, Ferrari taking the times earlier and then a half set at the end, yeah, we were losing time. But the guys did a mega pit-stop, it was really finished. So, all credit to those guys.

“Kamui put in a really solid last stint too. A big thanks to the crew, my team-mates, as always, solid. It’s nice to beat Ferrari on their home ground.”

Toyota had started the race from pole position after shading the qualifying session for the fifth round but Conway was overtaken by Peugeot’s Mikkel Jensen by the end of the first hour.

By halfway, Toyoya led again – until a safety car in the fifth hour brought Ferrari’s Antonio Fuoco back into contention. Toyota responded with a fuel-only penultimate stop as Kobayashi set the fastest lap of the race as he secured victory.

Kobayashi subsequently managed to keep Fuoco’s No. 50 Ferrari at bay, setting the fastest lap of the race en route to victory.

It was a memorable day for Corvette Racing even if they could only manage fourth in class.

Keating, Varrone and Catsburg failed to score a podium for the first time this season, but their haul of 174 points can’t be caught by the rest of the GTE-Am field.