Cologne, Germany,
06
May
2016
|
08:00
Europe/Amsterdam

COMPETITIVE QUALIFYING FOR TOYOTA GAZOO RACING

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the second round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship from third and fifth on the grid after a positive qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium today.

The all-new TS050 HYBRID, which features a 2.4litre turbo-charged engine and powerful 8MJ hybrid system, showed some of its potential with an improved performance in qualifying for the WEC 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

On a sunny afternoon, with air temperatures reaching 22°C, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kamui Kobayashi took the #6 TS050 HYBRID, which they share with Mike Conway, to third on the grid, behind the two Porsches.

Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima, who drive the #5 alongside Sébastien Buemi, clocked an average lap time just 0.052secs slower than their sister car but will start from fifth place after a closely-fought session.

However, the team’s focus all weekend has been on race pace rather than qualifying performance and, following encouraging practice results, it expects to fight for another podium finish to preserve its lead in the manufacturers’ World Championship.

TS050 HYBRID #5 (Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima)

Free practice 3: 5th (1min 59.440secs), 27 laps

Qualifying: 5th (1min 57.750secs average)

Anthony Davidson: “I didn’t extract the best out of the tyres on my qualifying lap. It was my first flying lap on new tyres this week and the grip surprised me. It was good to be fighting with the Audis, but Porsche were out of reach in qualifying trim. I think tomorrow we can be closer and I hope we will be in the fight.”

Kazuki Nakajima: “The car was strong and the lap time was very close to third position. We have made a real improvement in terms of car set-up and I am happy with that; it was very nice to drive. We need to look at the little details where we can find more lap time for tomorrow. I hope to have a clean race so we can show what we can do.”

TS050 HYBRID #6 (Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi)

Free practice 3: 3rd (1min 58.327secs), 26 laps

Qualifying: 3rd (1min 57.698secs average)

Stéphane Sarrazin: “I am really happy with our qualifying performance. We showed the TS050 is a big step forward compared to last year and we expect to be challenging tomorrow. This team does not give up and we have found some positive improvements. We have good tyre management which is a positive point so I’m looking forward to the race.”

Kamui Kobayashi: “That was my first qualifying session in LMP1 and it went well. I think we have made a strong start to our Spa race weekend but race day is the important one. Actually, I feel more confident of our race pace than our qualifying performance. I have been happy throughout the week with the car balance; I think we will have an interesting race.”

Free practice 3 results:

1st #1 Porsche (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley) 1min 56.465secs 27 laps

2nd #2 Porsche (Dumas/Jani/ Lieb) +1.698secs 23 laps

3rd #6 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.862secs 26 laps

4th #7 Audi (Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer) +2.511secs21 laps

5th #5 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +2.975secs 27 laps

6th #8 Audi (di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis) +3.830secs 20 laps

Qualifying results:

1st #1 Porsche (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley) 1min 55.793secs

2nd #2 Porsche (Dumas/Jani/ Lieb) +0.797secs

3rd #6 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.905secs

4th #8 Audi (di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis)+1.923secs

5th #5 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.957secs

6th #7 Audi (Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer) +2.122secs

A German translation of this press release is available on www.toyotahybridracing.com. High-resolution copyright-free photos are available for editorial use at www.toyota-motorsport-photos.com.

About TOYOTA GAZOO Racing in the World Endurance Championship:

TOYOTA first competed in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 1983, marking the start of a long period of participation in endurance racing. Since 1985, TOYOTA cars have raced in 17 Le Mans 24 Hours races, achieving a best result of second place on four occasions (1992, 1994, 1999 and 2013). TOYOTA entered the revived WEC in 2012, combining the expertise from TOYOTA Higashi-Fuji Technical Centre, where the hybrid powertrain is developed, with TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH’s support and facilities for chassis development. The multi-national team is based in Cologne, Germany and includes engineers from TOYOTA’s motorsport and hybrid department, who deliver technology and know-how back into road car development. Since 2012, TOYOTA has earned 10 pole positions and won 10 races, finishing on the podium a total of 25 times. In 2014, the team won the drivers’ and manufacturers’ World Championships with the TS040 HYBRID while a year later TOYOTA celebrated 30 years since its first Le Mans entry. TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH combines its role in the WEC project with its other activities, such as the supply of a World Rally Championship engine for TOYOTA’s return to the category in 2017, as well as its engineering services business and customer motorsport activities.

www.toyota-motorsport.com / www.facebook.com/toyotamotorsport / @Toyota_Hybrid