Round5

6 Hours of Mexico

MEXICO CITY (MX)

Course: Autódromo
Hermanos
Rodríguez

Practice

CHALLENGING OPENING DAY FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing experienced a difficult day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez as practice began for the 6 Hours of Mexico, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

An accident for the #6 TS050 HYBRID of Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi during the morning test caused monocoque damage which prevented any further running. Stéphane was unhurt and the car will be ready in time for third practice and qualifying.

Additionally, car #5 found itself reduced to just two drivers following Anthony Davidson’s withdrawal from the Mexico event.

Anthony is recovering from bruised ribs sustained during a test at Magny-Cours last month. He drove several laps during the morning test to evaluate his recovery but a joint decision was made that he will take no further part in the event.

That will ensure he is fully recovered in time for the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas on 17 September when high temperatures make it essential for each car to have its full complement of three drivers.

The day was already scheduled to be a busy one, with a test in the morning to give teams more time to acclimatise to the 4.304km track, which is new to the WEC calendar.

With the #6 pit crew working hard to change the monocoque following Stéphane’s accident, Sébastien and Kazuki took on the burden of a busy test programme during the remaining two free practice sessions.

As well as the normal challenges of adapting a car to a new circuit, Mexico City places additional demands on the team due to the thin air at high altitude which affects downforce levels and cooling to the brakes and powertrain components.

The TS050 HYBRIDs are fitted with extra cooling solutions for this race and these options were evaluated during the three sessions today, along with aerodynamic, mechanical and powertrain settings.

Track conditions evolved throughout the day. The morning session cleaned away dust and dirt so the cars benefited from increasing grip levels, which continued through first practice. Rain just before second practice washed the circuit clean and presented slightly different track conditions again for the drivers.

At the end of four-and-a-half hours of track action, the #5 TS050 HYBRID was fifth fastest having completed a total of 113 laps, 486km.

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

Collective test: 6th (1min 31.159secs), 27 laps
Free practice 1: 5th (1min 27.901secs), 41 laps
Free practice 2: 5th (1min 26.714secs), 45 laps

Anthony Davidson

“It is disappointing to come all the way here and then not be able to race but it’s the right decision. I wasn’t comfortable in the car this morning and there is no point to take any risks, especially with Austin coming up. It’s not a problem to race here with two drivers but it would be impossible in Austin due to the high temperatures. So I’ll be a frustrated spectator for the rest of the week but I know Séb and Kazuki will do a good job.”

Sébastien Buemi

“Today was a mixed one for the team. Obviously not good for car #6 and unfortunate that Anthony can’t participate. But the good thing was that Kazuki and I could complete a lot of laps. I’m quite happy with how it went. The track improved a lot throughout the day; we had a lot of sliding at the start then the grip picked up. It is a new track for everyone so we had to learn a lot in a short amount of time. In the end we looked okay so we’ll see what we can do from here.”

Kazuki Nakajima

“It was a long day with three sessions from morning to evening. We tested many different things on the car and it was getting more and more comfortable to drive. Now we need to analyse everything from today and maximize the car performance. I’ve enjoyed experiencing this track for the first time; it is a fun circuit to drive because the walls are so close and it’s quite a twisty lay-out. The section from turn seven to 11 is challenging as well.”

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

Collective test: 5th (1min 30.790secs), 19 laps

Stéphane Sarrazin

“Unfortunately I had an incident in the last corner. I was in fifth gear and I lost the car over the kerbs; I made a mistake. Today it was important for us to learn the track so it was not the time for that to happen, but it actually never is. Huge thanks to the mechanics who had to do this big job to get the car ready again for tomorrow. We will do our best from here and we will push to score good points.”

Mike Conway

“Today didn’t go to plan for us. The track is pretty cool though. It was really dirty to start with but it’s quite a good lay-out and a lot tighter than you think; the acceleration time between the corners is short. That also means it’s tricky with traffic and hard to get a clear lap. My initial impressions are good but getting a clear lap could be hard so that will be a challenge in qualifying.”

Kamui Kobayashi

“It was a very short day for us in car #6; I only did a handful of laps. Obviously it’s not ideal because this is a new circuit but that’s the situation and we have to make the best from it. Third practice will be important for us to learn the circuit and get the right set-up, but the other car did plenty of laps so that will help, I’m sure. We are staying positive and will fight for a good race.”

Free practice 1 results

Pos N° Cat Driver Car T Laps Total Time Gap Gap Prev. Best lap Best time Best speed
1 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 47 - - 7 1:26.705 178.7
2 8 LMP1 Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS Audi R18 M 49 +0.194 +0.194 12 1:26.899 178.3
3 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 52 +0.243 +0.049 39 1:26.948 178.2
4 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 52 +0.500 +0.257 6 1:27.205 177.7
5 5 LMP1 Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA, Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 41 +1.196 +0.696 16 1:27.901 176.3
6 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 39 +5.737 +4.541 3 1:32.442 167.6
7 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, Pierre KAFFER CLM P1/01 - AER D 32 +6.448 +0.711 25 1:33.153 166.3
8 44 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Alfonso Diaz GUERRA Oreca 05 - Nissan D 10 +10.050 +3.602 8 1:36.755 160.1
9 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 44 +10.175 +0.125 31 1:36.880 159.9
10 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, René RAST, Alex BRUNDLE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 45 +10.437 +0.262 4 1:37.142 159.5
11 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 41 +10.594 +0.157 37 1:37.299 159.2
12 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAITAR BR01 - Nissan D 43 +10.857 +0.263 5 1:37.562 158.8
13 41 LMP2 Roberto GONZALEZ, Bruno JUNQUEIRA, Luis DIAZ Gibson 015S - Nissan D 41 +11.069 +0.212 13 1:37.774 158.5
14 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Nelson PANCIATICI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 45 +11.116 +0.047 22 1:37.821 158.4
15 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 38 +11.155 +0.039 24 1:37.860 158.3
16 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, BR01 - Nissan D 36 +11.376 +0.221 35 1:38.081 158.0
17 30 LMP2 Scott SHARP, Ed BROWN, Johannes VAN OVERBEEK LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 42 +11.951 +0.575 5 1:38.656 157.1
18 42 LMP2 Nick LEVENTIS, Lewis WILLIAMSON, Jonny KANE Gibson 015S - Nissan D 40 +11.963 +0.012 27 1:38.668 157.0
19 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 42 +13.980 +2.017 38 1:40.685 153.9
20 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 43 +14.750 +0.770 13 1:41.455 152.7
21 97 LMGTE Pro Richie STANAWAY, Darren TURNER, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 48 +15.251 +0.501 45 1:41.956 152.0
22 66 LMGTE Pro Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA, Ford GT M 44 +15.383 +0.132 21 1:42.088 151.8
23 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 43 +15.390 +0.007 9 1:42.095 151.8
24 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 46 +15.463 +0.073 10 1:42.168 151.7
25 67 LMGTE Pro Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL Ford GT M 43 +15.607 +0.144 20 1:42.312 151.4
26 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 42 +16.322 +0.715 9 1:43.027 150.4
27 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Patrick LONG Porsche 911 RSR M 42 +16.489 +0.167 32 1:43.194 150.1
28 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 M 43 +16.520 +0.031 10 1:43.225 150.1
29 50 LMGTE Am Yutaka YAMAGISHI, Pierre RAGUES, Ricky TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 M 42 +16.554 +0.034 28 1:43.259 150.1
30 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 44 +16.616 +0.062 28 1:43.321 150.0
31 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 41 +17.154 +0.538 4 1:43.859 149.2
32 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 0 0

GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO

Free practice 2 results

Pos N° Cat Driver Car T Laps Total Time Gap Gap Prev. Best lap Best time Best speed
1 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 51 - - 5 1:25.810 180.6
2 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 55 +0.248 +0.248 14 1:26.058 180.0
3 8 LMP1 Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS Audi R18 M 55 +0.710 +0.462 37 1:26.520 179.1
4 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 45 +0.878 +0.168 41 1:26.688 178.7
5 5 LMP1 Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA, Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 45 +0.904 +0.026 42 1:26.714 178.7
6 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 38 +5.187 +4.283 35 1:30.997 170.3
7 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, Pierre KAFFER CLM P1/01 - AER D 36 +5.911 +0.724 32 1:31.721 168.9
8 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 46 +9.697 +3.786 13 1:35.507 162.2
9 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, René RAST, Alex BRUNDLE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 43 +9.720 +0.023 37 1:35.530 162.2
10 44 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Alfonso Diaz GUERRA Oreca 05 - Nissan D 40 +10.469 +0.749 31 1:36.279 160.9
11 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Nelson PANCIATICI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 36 +10.645 +0.176 4 1:36.455 160.6
12 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 42 +10.734 +0.089 9 1:36.544 160.5
13 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 43 +11.098 +0.364 16 1:36.908 159.9
14 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAITAR BR01 - Nissan D 39 +11.171 +0.073 26 1:36.981 159.8
15 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, BR01 - Nissan D 43 +11.224 +0.053 17 1:37.034 159.7
16 42 LMP2 Nick LEVENTIS, Lewis WILLIAMSON, Jonny KANE Gibson 015S - Nissan D 46 +11.414 +0.190 23 1:37.224 159.4
17 41 LMP2 Roberto GONZALEZ, Bruno JUNQUEIRA, Luis DIAZ Gibson 015S - Nissan D 44 +11.724 +0.310 11 1:37.534 158.9
18 30 LMP2 Scott SHARP, Ed BROWN, Johannes VAN OVERBEEK LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 46 +12.171 +0.447 29 1:37.981 158.1
19 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 37 +14.667 +2.496 9 1:40.477 154.2
20 97 LMGTE Pro Richie STANAWAY, Darren TURNER, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 37 +14.739 +0.072 24 1:40.549 154.1
21 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 45 +14.744 +0.005 34 1:40.554 154.1
22 66 LMGTE Pro Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA, Ford GT M 37 +15.717 +0.973 29 1:41.527 152.6
23 67 LMGTE Pro Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL Ford GT M 43 +15.754 +0.037 25 1:41.564 152.6
24 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 41 +15.778 +0.024 16 1:41.588 152.5
25 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 37 +15.807 +0.029 33 1:41.617 152.5
26 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 38 +16.511 +0.704 29 1:42.321 151.4
27 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Patrick LONG Porsche 911 RSR M 47 +16.752 +0.241 41 1:42.562 151.1
28 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 M 45 +16.901 +0.149 8 1:42.711 150.9
29 50 LMGTE Am Yutaka YAMAGISHI, Pierre RAGUES, Ricky TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 M 39 +17.150 +0.249 15 1:42.960 150.5
30 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 45 +17.363 +0.213 40 1:43.173 150.2
31 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 41 +17.585 +0.222 38 1:43.395 149.9
32 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 0 0

GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO