Hisatake Murata watched as Toyota Gazoo Racing claimed a one-two finish in the rain and fog-affected Six Hours of Fuji, which was called early after the fog became too thick for safe racing.
The #8 Toyota of Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson took the race honours for their third victory of the season, while Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López finished second in the sister #7 Toyota, with the team taking their second one-two finish of 2017 in tricky conditions.
Murata, the Team President of Toyota, felt the fans at Fuji Speedway gave the team extra motivation to succeed at their home event, and with just two rounds of the season remaining in China and Bahrain, he hopes Toyota can take the fight to the Porsche LMP Team, especially as they remain in contention for both championships.
“It is fantastic to stand in the centre of the podium again for our third win of the season,” said Murata. “We have fought very hard to achieve this, and it is even more special here at our home race.
“Thank you to everyone who came to Fuji Speedway today to support us, despite the bad weather. They really give us extra motivation and I am pleased we could show them an exciting fight with Porsche.
“Our drivers and car performed very strongly today in the wet conditions. Our target now is to fight hard with Porsche in the final two races and create an exciting end to the season for the fans.”
