How the slowest Toyota got the victory it deserved
Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Jose Maria Lopez reckoned they didn’t have much chance of finally breaking their Spa hoodoo ahead of the resumption of the World Endurance Championship in Belgium. And with good reason, given the three and a half seconds of success handicaps their Toyota TS050 HYBRID was running. But it was they who came out on top in a race largely held in wet conditions to extend their championship lead.
The solo Rebellion, carrying a 1.58s penalty, was the clear favourite even before it claimed pole position, and if the Swiss entrant somehow contrived not to win the Spa 6 Hours, then surely it was going to be the second Toyota that picked up the pieces. That was the obvious conclusion to reach given that Sebastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley were running a 3.08s handicap to the eventual winners’ 3.52s.
The logic was turned on its head over the course
