Round1

6 HOURS OF SILVERSTONE

Northamptonshire (UK)

Course:Silverstone Circuit

Practice

SILVERSTONE PREPARATIONS BEGIN

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing put the all-new TS050 HYBRID car through its paces today in the first two practice sessions for the 6 Hours of Silverstone, the opening round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship.

The #5 car of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima set the sixth fastest lap of the day. Kamui Kobayashi is making his TOYOTA debut in WEC this weekend and, alongside his #6 colleagues Stéphane Sarrazin and Mike Conway, was fourth quickest.

The day was overshadowed by sad news from Japan, where earthquakes in the Kumamoto Prefecture caused loss of life and destruction. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing sends its profound sympathy and good wishes to all those affected.

When track action began at lunchtime, the British weather gave all teams an additional challenge. First practice began on a damp track after persistent morning showers, while air temperatures of just 9°C meant the track took time to dry.

After a quiet opening half hour as the conditions slowly improved, a busy schedule of set-up comparisons and tyre analysis began. As well as those standard Friday tasks, today’s sessions provided more valuable running time for the team to further understand and fine-tune the all-new TS050 HYBRID.

Low temperatures continued into second practice but the track remained dry until the final few minutes, allowing both cars to complete a productive 90 minutes’ work.

Despite a 7.5% reduction of fuel energy for 2016, the efficient TOYOTA HYBRID System – Racing powertrain helped the TS050 HYBRIDs to improve on the lap times set at this stage of the event last year.

The fastest lap from a TOYOTA was 1min 41.523, 1.226secs quicker than the team’s best effort on Friday last year. At the end of three hours of practice, the two TS050 HYBRIDs completed a total of 129 laps, 761km.

Tomorrow’s qualifying session is the first truly competitive action of the season and the team is in good spirits, confident it can give itself a strong platform on which to fight to maintain its run of podium finishes at Silverstone.

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

Free practice 1: 3rd (1min 43.765secs), 29 laps
Free practice 2: 6th (1min 42.963secs), 33 laps

Anthony Davidson

“It’s good to be back in the car at Silverstone; it’s a great track and I enjoy every lap that I do around here. Today we had limited running in the dry so we focused on race preparations and maximised the set-up tuning. We got through all specs of tyres and improved our understanding of the car balance. Tonight is going to be a busy one as we work through all the data; there is a lot more to come.”

Sébastien Buemi

“It was a mixed-up day weather-wise like normal here at Silverstone. We couldn’t do so many dry laps but that’s the same for everyone. Like always we will try to analyse the data and prepare the best car for tomorrow. We will change quite a lot for qualifying. We still don’t have a clear idea where we stand compared to the competition as we didn’t focus purely on lap times. Tomorrow evening at this time we will have a better idea.”

Kazuki Nakajima

“Today’s practice went reasonably well despite the weather this morning and we did a lot of work which will help us during the rest of the weekend. It’s always a pleasure to drive an LMP1 car here at Silverstone and I particularly enjoyed my first flying laps here with the TS050 HYBRID. Now we will work hard to find improvements before qualifying.”

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

Free practice 1: 5th (1min 45.936secs), 26 laps
Free practice 2: 4th (1min 41.523secs), 41 laps

Stéphane Sarrazin

“The car looks good and it’s the first race for our TS050 HYBRID so we are excited. It’s great to be back at a race weekend; testing is good but we are all waiting for the first race. We worked quite well today in both sessions although the weather was not so easy and we had to try all the different tyres. We can still improve a lot but we have a good basis.”

Mike Conway

“It was good to get a dry session this afternoon after the rain this morning. We didn’t run low fuel so I think there is more to come from our car in terms of lap times. Porsche looks quick so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in qualifying. I think we are okay but it’s so hard to tell. I’m looking forward to finding out over the weekend.”

Kamui Kobayashi

“It was typical Silverstone weather; it was not a surprise that we had a bit of rain. But it was my first time to drive with the TS050 HYBRID at Silverstone, which is a really fun track, and I enjoyed that. I am happy to be here and I think we are making good progress. We have the potential to improve the car so let’s see tomorrow what we can do.”

Free practice 1 results

Pos N° Cat Driver Car T Laps Total Time Gap Gap Prev. Best lap Best time Best speed
1 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 41 - - 38 1:42.182 207.9
2 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 43 +0.814 +0.814 37 1:42.996 206.3
3 5 LMP1 Anthony DAVIDSON, Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 29 +1.583 +0.769 25 1:43.765 204.7
4 8 LMP1 Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS Audi R18 M 35 +1.735 +0.152 33 1:43.917 204.4
5 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 26 +3.754 +2.019 13 1:45.936 200.5
6 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 27 +4.314 +0.560 15 1:46.496 199.5
7 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, James ROSSITER CLM P1/01 - AER D 31 +6.678 +2.364 31 1:48.860 195.1
8 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, Nathanaël BERTHON, René RAST Oreca 05 - Nissan D 28 +8.246 +1.568 20 1:50.428 192.4
9 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 15 +8.318 +0.072 14 1:50.500 192.2
10 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Nelson PANCIATICI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 35 +9.096 +0.778 32 1:51.278 190.9
11 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 22 +9.243 +0.147 21 1:51.425 190.7
12 45 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Roberto MERHI Oreca 05 - Nissan D 30 +9.610 +0.367 25 1:51.792 190.0
13 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAYTAR BR01 - Nissan D 31 +9.736 +0.126 31 1:51.918 189.8
14 42 LMP2 Nick LEVENTIS, Danny WATTS, Jonny KANE Gibson 015S - Nissan D 36 +9.977 +0.241 29 1:52.159 189.4
15 30 LMP2 Scott SHARP, Ed BROWN, Johannes VAN OVERBEEK LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 25 +10.009 +0.032 20 1:52.191 189.4
16 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 33 +10.469 +0.460 24 1:52.651 188.6
17 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 37 +10.649 +0.180 29 1:52.831 188.3
18 44 LMP2 Tor GRAVES, Will STEVENS, James JAKES Oreca 05 - Nissan D 25 +11.096 +0.447 25 1:53.278 187.5
19 12 LMP1 Nicolas PROST, Nelson PIQUET JR, Nick HEIDFELD Rebellion R-One - AER D 17 +11.353 +0.257 16 1:53.535 187.1
20 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, BR01 - Nissan D 22 +11.890 +0.537 18 1:54.072 186.2
21 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 26 +18.885 +6.995 19 2:01.067 175.5
22 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 28 +20.036 +1.151 28 2:02.218 173.8
23 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 21 +20.196 +0.160 12 2:02.378 173.6
24 66 LMGTE Pro Billy JOHNSON, Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA Ford GT M 26 +20.493 +0.297 21 2:02.675 173.2
25 67 LMGTE Pro Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL Ford GT M 30 +20.705 +0.212 29 2:02.887 172.9
26 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 33 +21.911 +1.206 31 2:04.093 171.2
27 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 32 +21.994 +0.083 24 2:04.176 171.1
28 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Klaus BACHLER Porsche 911 RSR M 22 +22.162 +0.168 9 2:04.344 170.8
29 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 32 +22.440 +0.278 30 2:04.622 170.5
30 50 LMGTE Am Yutaka YAMAGISHI, Pierre RAGUES, Paolo RUBERTI Chevrolet Corvette C7 M 31 +22.928 +0.488 17 2:05.110 169.8
31 97 LMGTE Pro Richie STANAWAY, Fernando REES, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 32 +22.960 +0.032 31 2:05.142 169.8
32 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Darren TURNER Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 33 +23.646 +0.686 23 2:05.828 168.8
33 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 21 +23.777 +0.131 12 2:05.959 168.7

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Free Practice 2 Results

Pos N° Cat Driver Car T Laps Total Time Gap Gap Prev. Best lap Best time Best speed
1 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 35 - - 2 1:39.655 213.2
2 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 21 +1.689 +1.689 2 1:41.344 209.6
3 8 LMP1 Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS Audi R18 M 42 +1.799 +0.110 23 1:41.454 209.4
4 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 41 +1.868 +0.069 14 1:41.523 209.2
5 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 41 +2.023 +0.155 24 1:41.678 208.9
6 5 LMP1 Anthony DAVIDSON, Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 33 +3.308 +1.285 10 1:42.963 206.3
7 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 36 +6.773 +3.465 7 1:46.428 199.6
8 12 LMP1 Nicolas PROST, Nelson PIQUET JR, Nick HEIDFELD Rebellion R-One - AER D 32 +8.030 +1.257 28 1:47.685 197.3
9 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, James ROSSITER CLM P1/01 - AER D 28 +8.935 +0.905 4 1:48.590 195.6
10 42 LMP2 Nick LEVENTIS, Danny WATTS, Jonny KANE Gibson 015S - Nissan D 34 +9.977 +1.042 31 1:49.632 193.8
11 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 35 +10.102 +0.125 8 1:49.757 193.6
12 45 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Roberto MERHI Oreca 05 - Nissan D 29 +10.339 +0.237 24 1:49.994 193.1
13 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 35 +10.371 +0.032 5 1:50.026 193.1
14 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, Nathanaël BERTHON, René RAST Oreca 05 - Nissan D 39 +10.613 +0.242 23 1:50.268 192.7
15 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 32 +11.057 +0.444 24 1:50.712 191.9
16 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAYTAR BR01 - Nissan D 23 +12.291 +1.234 4 1:51.946 189.8
17 30 LMP2 Scott SHARP, Ed BROWN, Johannes VAN OVERBEEK LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 33 +12.427 +0.136 6 1:52.082 189.5
18 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Nelson PANCIATICI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 28 +12.650 +0.223 17 1:52.305 189.2
19 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, BR01 - Nissan D 23 +13.025 +0.375 9 1:52.680 188.5
20 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 35 +20.452 +7.427 20 2:00.107 176.9
21 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 34 +20.651 +0.199 29 2:00.306 176.6
22 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 33 +21.659 +1.008 28 2:01.314 175.1
23 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 33 +22.426 +0.767 8 2:02.081 174.0
24 97 LMGTE Pro Richie STANAWAY, Fernando REES, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 24 +22.870 +0.444 20 2:02.525 173.4
25 66 LMGTE Pro Billy JOHNSON, Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA Ford GT M 33 +23.120 +0.250 10 2:02.775 173.0
26 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 34 +23.133 +0.013 29 2:02.788 173.0
27 50 LMGTE Am Yutaka YAMAGISHI, Pierre RAGUES, Paolo RUBERTI Chevrolet Corvette C7 M 31 +23.256 +0.123 20 2:02.911 172.8
28 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Klaus BACHLER Porsche 911 RSR M 32 +23.350 +0.094 7 2:03.005 172.7
29 67 LMGTE Pro Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL Ford GT M 34 +23.420 +0.070 18 2:03.075 172.6
30 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 34 +23.574 +0.154 28 2:03.229 172.4
31 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Darren TURNER Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 28 +23.598 +0.024 11 2:03.253 172.4
32 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 24 +23.737 +0.139 5 2:03.392 172.2
33 44 LMP2 Tor GRAVES, Will STEVENS, James JAKES Oreca 05 - Nissan D 23 0

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