Round6

6 HOURS OF CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS

Austin (USA)

Course: Circuit of
The Americas

Practice

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing STAYS COOL IN TEXAS HEAT

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing completed a useful opening day in Austin, Texas with the first practice sessions for the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas, the sixth round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

At the end of three hours of practice, the #5 of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima was the fastest TS050 HYBRID in fifth, just 0.899secs behind the fastest lap of the day.

The #6 crew of Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, who are second in the drivers’ World Championship following their podium in Mexico two weeks ago, were sixth.

Today’s two 90-minute practice sessions allowed Anthony to return to the cockpit of the #5 TS050 HYBRID after missing the Mexico event to recover from bruised ribs. He reported no significant issues and will continue to participate in Austin.

Both TS050 HYBRIDs are again in ultra-high-downforce aerodynamic trim, as at the Nürburgring and Mexico City. But the 5.513km Circuit of the Americas has different characteristics so the team used practice to fine-tune the cars for race performance.

That meant adjustments to the aerodynamic and mechanical set-ups as well as work on the various hybrid control settings to extract the most efficient performance from the 1,000hp powertrain.

Heat is a significant factor in Austin and has an impact on several aspects of the car. Tyre performance and durability were analysed along with the various cooling solutions for driver and car, with air temperatures hitting 34°C for first practice.

Even for the second practice session, which took place entirely in darkness, the temperatures dropped only slightly as the intensive race preparation work continued in tough conditions for drivers and crew.

By the time the chequered flag waved at 9.30pm local time, the two TS050 HYBRIDs had completed 143 laps, 788km to generate a lot of useful data which will guide the engineers as they seek the optimal set-up.

Friday sees a final 60-minute practice session before the grid for Saturday’s race is decided in qualifying.

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

Free practice 1: 6th (1min 49.361secs), 35 laps
Free practice 2: 5th (1min 48.134secs), 41 laps

Anthony Davidson

“It was great to be back in the car again. I am feeling better all the time the more laps I do and I will be okay to drive for the rest of the week, no problem. We had a successful night session, adjusting the balance of the car which improved since first practice. I look forward to tomorrow when we can continue working on the car to see how far we can go with it.”

Sébastien Buemi

“It was a positive day for us. I didn’t do so many laps in the night session, when the car was pretty good. We need to keep pushing to find more time but we are in a decent position. My best lap was eight tenths behind but I lost a bit of time so I think for the race we are looking okay and that is the main point.”

Kazuki Nakajima

“I had quite a long run in the night session and that went well. We have some areas to improve but at the end of the day we feel like we have a reasonable car. We did some changes to the balance during the session and Séb put in a quick lap at the end which is positive for the race. Let’s see what we can do.”

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

Free practice 1: 5th (1min 49.709secs), 29 laps
Free practice 2: 6th (1min 49.369secs), 38 laps

Stéphane Sarrazin

“It was really hot out there! Actually when you drive it is acceptable but when you are stopped in the pits with no air flow it is incredibly hot. It was an interesting day on a busy track with a lot of traffic but I didn’t take any risks. We spent the day working on set-up for the race to have a quick car on Saturday. We will see how much more performance we can find tomorrow.”

Mike Conway

“This evening we all did some night running and we gave Kamui some more time in the car. We were constantly working to improve the balance and I think we did that. Car #5 looked quite good at the end so it will be interesting to see what they have found. The car feels strong and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow and in the race.”

Kamui Kobayashi

“My first time in Austin in an LMP1 car started quite smoothly, without any trouble. We focused on setting up the car; it went okay but we still have work to do on the balance for the race. The gap to the front is relatively close and we are usually much stronger in race pace, so we will see on Saturday exactly where we are.”

Free practice 1 results

Pos N° Cat Driver Car T Laps Total Time Gap Gap Prev. Best lap Best time Best speed
1 8 LMP1 Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS Audi R18 M 31 - - 29 1:48.453 183.1
2 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 36 +0.047 +0.047 31 1:48.500 183.0
3 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 32 +0.436 +0.389 17 1:48.889 182.4
4 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 37 +0.795 +0.359 32 1:49.248 181.8
5 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 35 +0.908 +0.113 34 1:49.361 181.6
6 5 LMP1 Anthony DAVIDSON, Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 29 +1.256 +0.348 17 1:49.709 181.0
7 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 25 +6.026 +4.770 18 1:54.479 173.5
8 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, CLM P1/01 - AER D 26 +7.664 +1.638 25 1:56.117 171.0
9 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, René RAST, Alex BRUNDLE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 35 +8.547 +0.883 12 1:57.000 169.7
10 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Nelson PANCIATICI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 34 +9.160 +0.613 14 1:57.613 168.8
11 44 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Roberto MERHI Oreca 05 - Nissan D 37 +9.194 +0.034 6 1:57.647 168.8
12 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 37 +9.546 +0.352 12 1:57.999 168.3
13 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 31 +10.300 +0.754 5 1:58.753 167.2
14 42 LMP2 Nick LEVENTIS, Lewis WILLIAMSON, Jonny KANE Gibson 015S - Nissan D 35 +10.358 +0.058 13 1:58.811 167.1
15 30 LMP2 Scott SHARP, Ed BROWN, Johannes VAN OVERBEEK LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 34 +10.567 +0.209 6 1:59.020 166.8
16 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 32 +11.442 +0.875 32 1:59.895 165.6
17 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAITAR BR01 - Nissan D 31 +11.498 +0.056 11 1:59.951 165.5
18 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, BR01 - Nissan D 25 +11.674 +0.176 11 2:00.127 165.3
19 66 LMGTE Pro Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA, Ford GT M 30 +17.004 +5.330 28 2:05.457 158.3
20 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 35 +17.107 +0.103 20 2:05.560 158.2
21 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 31 +17.370 +0.263 19 2:05.823 157.8
22 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 26 +18.181 +0.811 17 2:06.634 156.8
23 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 30 +18.446 +0.265 17 2:06.899 156.5
24 67 LMGTE Pro Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL Ford GT M 7 +18.771 +0.325 3 2:07.224 156.1
25 50 LMGTE Am Lars VILJOEN, Pierre RAGUES, Ricky TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 M 26 +18.959 +0.188 9 2:07.412 155.9
26 97 LMGTE Pro Darren TURNER, Fernando REES, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 13 +19.065 +0.106 8 2:07.518 155.7
27 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Kevin ESTRE Porsche 911 RSR M 37 +19.390 +0.325 6 2:07.843 155.3
28 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 30 +19.921 +0.531 6 2:08.374 154.7
29 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 28 +20.183 +0.262 10 2:08.636 154.4
30 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 27 +20.611 +0.428 23 2:09.064 153.9
31 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 33 +20.660 +0.049 31 2:09.113 153.8

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 8 LMP1 Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS Audi R18 M 45 - - 7 1:47.235 185.2
2 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 23 +0.095 +0.095 2 1:47.330 185.0
3 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 43 +0.724 +0.629 2 1:47.959 183.9
4 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 42 +0.895 +0.171 7 1:48.130 183.6
5 5 LMP1 Anthony DAVIDSON, Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 41 +0.899 +0.004 40 1:48.134 183.6
6 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 38 +2.134 +1.235 21 1:49.369 181.6
7 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, CLM P1/01 - AER D 29 +7.126 +4.992 7 1:54.361 173.6
8 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 39 +7.402 +0.276 13 1:54.637 173.2
9 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 30 +9.083 +1.681 8 1:56.318 170.7
10 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 35 +9.299 +0.216 7 1:56.534 170.4
11 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, René RAST, Alex BRUNDLE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 39 +9.758 +0.459 11 1:56.993 169.7
12 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Nelson PANCIATICI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 32 +10.396 +0.638 18 1:57.631 168.8
13 42 LMP2 Nick LEVENTIS, Lewis WILLIAMSON, Jonny KANE Gibson 015S - Nissan D 41 +10.624 +0.228 6 1:57.859 168.5
14 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 33 +10.785 +0.161 16 1:58.020 168.3
15 44 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Roberto MERHI Oreca 05 - Nissan D 36 +10.859 +0.074 15 1:58.094 168.2
16 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAITAR BR01 - Nissan D 28 +11.007 +0.148 11 1:58.242 167.9
17 30 LMP2 Scott SHARP, Ed BROWN, Johannes VAN OVERBEEK LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan M 30 +11.520 +0.513 9 1:58.755 167.2
18 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, BR01 - Nissan D 32 +11.623 +0.103 18 1:58.858 167.1
19 66 LMGTE Pro Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA, Ford GT M 26 +17.479 +5.856 17 2:04.714 159.2
20 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 40 +18.261 +0.782 11 2:05.496 158.2
21 67 LMGTE Pro Marino FRANCHITTI, Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL Ford GT M 39 +18.395 +0.134 13 2:05.630 158.1
22 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 35 +18.476 +0.081 29 2:05.711 158.0
23 97 LMGTE Pro Darren TURNER, Fernando REES, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 15 +18.566 +0.090 12 2:05.801 157.8
24 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 M 33 +18.857 +0.291 3 2:06.092 157.5
25 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 37 +18.901 +0.044 18 2:06.136 157.4
26 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 37 +19.210 +0.309 16 2:06.445 157.0
27 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 36 +20.504 +1.294 34 2:07.739 155.5
28 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 34 +20.569 +0.065 21 2:07.804 155.4
29 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Kevin ESTRE Porsche 911 RSR M 35 +20.596 +0.027 28 2:07.831 155.3
30 50 LMGTE Am Lars VILJOEN, Pierre RAGUES, Ricky TAYLOR Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 M 35 +20.981 +0.385 21 2:08.216 154.9
31 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 36 +21.740 +0.759 8 2:08.975 154.0

GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO