Alonso admits Le Mans win founded in fortune
His team were second for much of the race.
Fernando Alonso admitted that luck played the major part in his #8 Toyota crew taking back-to-back Le Mans 24 Hours victories. The sister Toyota car had led much of the race, only for a puncture in the closing stages to allow #8 in for a victory which also came with WEC title glory.
Alonso, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima would have been crowned world champions with a second-place finish in Le Mans.
But they took the race win along with the title, as the #7 car piloted by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Jose Maria Lopez was punctured with under two hours left on the clock.
Alonso secured his third world title as a result, something he took great pride in, 13 years after his last championship in Formula 1 with Renault.
🏁🏆 That’s a back to back win for Toyota! Le Mans has chosen the Japanese brand again this year. Congratulations to @Sebastien_buemi, @alo_oficial and @kazuki_info on making history at La Sarthe Circuit!#WEC #LEMANS24 #SuperFinale @Toyota_Hybrid pic.twitter.com/sZKXTpPctc
— WEC 🇫🇷 (@FIAWEC) June 16, 2019
"It is amazing to win Le Mans for the second time but the win came really unexpectedly," Alonso said.
"We did not have the pace to win this race against car #7 on track. Today luck was a big factor and this is part of motorsport.
"I feel for my team-mates who are actually more than team-mates, they are friends. They would have deserved the victory, but the race chose us to win it.
"Our main goal was to win the World Championship and we are very proud that we have achieved this."
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