24 Hours of Le Mans 2021 - Toyota #7 triumph with Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez victorious

ByEurosport

Updated 22/08/2021 at 17:54 GMT

Mike Conway gave the verdict on Sunday morning: "So far so good on our side but there's still a long way to go." That came with Toyota #7 in the lead at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, even in spite of a hairy moment when Kamui Kobayashi slid off, and the team proceeded to hold on to eventually clinch a quite brilliant victory on Sunday afternoon.

'What a moment!' - Toyota #7's Kobayashi, Conway and Lopez are victorious

Despite a scary moment when Kamui Kobayashi slid off the track, the Toyota #7 team secured a stunning win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Sunday afternoon.

For the Toyota trio of Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez, it was a very emotional and memorable triumph at the famous and iconic race.

The #8 had initially led the way before its stablemate #7 slowly began to stretch a lead over the rest of the pack. The eventual victory was a redemption of sorts after many near misses at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Le Mans 24hr

Highlights: Toyota #7 triumph at Le Mans with Kobayashi, Conway and Lopez victorious

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22/08/2021 at 23:07

The #7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid driven by Conway, Kobayashi and Lopez finished ahead of the #8 sister car with Sebastien Buemi enduring some wretched luck.

There was a worrying moment for the victorious team when Kobayashi slid off the track on Sunday morning, but the #7 team recovered in hugely impressive fashion to take a fine win.

Emotional scenes as victorious Kobayashi is greeted by Toyota #7 team

There was early drama in the opening stages of the race when Toyota #8 and Buemi spun out in one of the very first corners, sending the rider well down the pack.

Buemi also had to deal with contact from an LMP2 rider which caused him an early pit stop in what was far from a smooth race for Toyota despite the results.

24 Hours of Le Mans 2021 - As it happened: Kobayashi, Conway and Lopez win for Toyota #7

Earlier, there had been more disruption as Marcos Gomes crashed into the hoardings at speed, and marshals and stewards had to work together while the safety car was out.

The Alpine A480-Gibson was the main contender for third place, and André Negrão, Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere and the French car held on to finish third on the podium.

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In the LMP2, Team WRT suffered a crazy turn of luck on the final lap. The team secured victory on its debut with one entry, but the #41 car of Robert Kubica, Louis Deletraz and Ye Yifei stopped in shocking fashion at the death.

'That's horrific!' - Team WRT suffer nightmare on final lap at Le Mans

Despite having spent almost 19 hours right up in the running, it could not quite complete what would have been a memorable one-two for the Belgian outfit.

In the GTE Pro, the #51 car driven by James Calado, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Come Ledogar secured a fine win, while in the GTE Am class, the AF Corse Ferrari trio of Francois Perrodo, Alessio Rovera and Niklas Nielsen took top spot.