Nyck de Vries feared that his Toyota #7 was "out of contention" for victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours "many times" before securing an emotional first win.
The Dutchman claimed overall honours alongside his 2021-winning team-mates, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway, defeating the #20 BMW and the sister #8 Toyota, which was brought home by Sebastien Buemi.
It was an intense battle at the front throughout the iconic event at the Circuit de la Sarthe, with both Toyotas having started towards the rear of the Hypercar field.
However, clever strategy and strong race pace saw both cars charge towards the front, although the #7 encountered problems early on.
A puncture was the first setback, before a sensor fault robbed the #7 of straight-line speed for the majority of the race.
It left de Vries and the team concerned that they would not have the performance required to challenge for victory.
"Frankly speaking, I thought we were out of contention many times," de Vries explained.
"I mean, we had an earlier puncture, we had a sensor issue that cost us a lot of straight-line speed, so we were afraid of not really having the speed and the pace.
"But it just shows that Le Mans never ends, until it's over.
"It is a collective achievement, and we've been working together for two-and-a-half years now, and the dynamics between us are great.
"Everyone is complimentary to each other, so it's just pure joy."
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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