Intense competition within the 18-strong Hypercar field around the demanding 4.563km Fuji Speedway made for a tough challenge and an exciting afternoon. Although the team could not repeat last year’s front-row start, it is determined to deliver a performance for its enthusiastic Japanese fans to celebrate.

Ryo Hirakawa was the highest-placed TOYOTA GAZOO Racing driver in eighth in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley. Nyck de Vries missed out on Hyperpole by a tiny margin and finished 14th in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi.

Ryo was at the wheel for his third consecutive qualifying session, having successfully reached Hyperpole in both São Paulo and Austin, while Nyck took over for the first time since Le Mans in June. They lined up on new medium tyres for the 12-minute session and set their fastest times on their first flying laps. Ryo’s strong effort put the #8 safely through in fifth. Nyck was only a fraction further back, but the close competition saw him miss the top 10 by just 0.103secs. He attempted two further flying laps but, on worn tyres, both were marginally slower.

In the 10-minute Hyperpole session, Ryo again recorded his quickest time on his first flying lap, although he appeared likely to improve before encountering traffic. That left the #8 in eighth place for a fourth-row starting position.

The 6 Hours of Fuji – the seventh of eight rounds this season and the 100th WEC race since the series returned in 2012 – starts at 11am (4am CEST) on Sunday. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will use all its determination, experience and race craft to challenge for a strong points finish and a first podium of the season.

Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7):

“We knew going into qualifying that it was going to be difficult. We just don’t quite have the pace. I think we had the performance to get into the top 10 but unfortunately, I made a mistake in turn 15, and the tyres only allow one quick flying lap. That ultimately cost us a top 10 position. Nevertheless, we will do our best in the race, and I hope we can count on a lot of support from our Japanese fans. ”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8):

“Obviously it was a challenging qualifying, but we did our best. The gap to pole position is quite big and that was a bit of a surprise. We need to compete with the package we have and do everything to execute a perfect race. I believe we can still get a good result, and I hope to fight for the podium. Anything can happen. We never give up so we will keep pushing. ”