Round8

6 Hours of Shanghai

SHANGHAI (CN)

Course: Shanghai International Circuit

Shanghai International Circuit
TS050 HYBRID #5
Qualifying

FRONT ROW IN CHINA FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing earned a front-row starting position for the 6 Hours of Shanghai after an incredibly close qualifying session for the penultimate round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season.

The #5 TS050 HYBRID of Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima qualified second, just 0.060secs behind the pole position-winning Porsche #1 in a session which saw the top six separated by only 0.589secs.

Stéphane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi were also in the fight for pole, and the one point which goes with it. The #6 crew, second in the drivers' World Championship, will start Sunday's race from fourth.

Qualifying was exciting from the beginning, when Sébastien and Mike took the wheel of their respective cars for a single flying lap each, establishing TOYOTA as a pole position contender.

When Kazuki and Stéphane took over, it became clear that track conditions were improving throughout the session. The team took the opportunity to allow Sébastien and Mike to return to their cars and try to improve their best lap times.

With the grid decided by the average of each driver's fastest lap and the gap between the cars so small, pole position was up for grabs right until the last minutes of the session.

Sébastien set the fastest lap for a TS050 HYBRID and came within a whisker of top spot, with the 0.060secs gap the equivalent of only around three metres distance on the 5.451km Shanghai International Circuit.

Mike encountered traffic at the start of his final lap and could not improve, ending up 0.348secs away from pole, although a second-row start keeps the #6 in the hunt for victory; the car won from that same grid position last month at Fuji Speedway.

The #6 crew are fighting for the drivers' title and will start ahead of the championship leaders, with the Porsche #2 qualifying sixth.

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

Free practice 3: 6th (1min 45.663secs). 26 laps
Qualifying: 2nd (1min 44.522secs average)

Sébastien Buemi

“It is great to be so competitive today, especially as qualifying is not normally our strong point. It's a little bit a pity that I got caught behind an LMP2 car at the last corner; maybe without that we could have been on pole. But overall today's performance is really good for the team. Now we look forward to the race and I am feeling optimistic; we hope to fight for the victory.”

Kazuki Nakajima

“We had quite a difficult time in free practice but, working together with the sister car, we improved the set-up and I was happy with the car in qualifying. Race balance is of course different to qualifying so we will work hard to extract the best performance on Sunday. I am quite hopeful for the race as we are on a similar pace to the others. The key will be consistency.”

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

Free practice 3: 2nd (1min 44.819secs). 27 laps
Qualifying: 4th (1min 44.810secs average)

Stéphane Sarrazin

“Our position could have been better; I think our car performance deserved more than fourth place. Mike had some traffic and could have gone quicker in his last lap. But the most important thing is that we are quick because when we are fast in qualifying we are usually really competitive in the race. That is the target because we want to challenge for the win here.”

Mike Conway

“It looked like the track was getting quicker during the session so I went out at the end to try to improve. But I had some traffic in turns one and two which really messed things up so I'm a bit disappointed not to get more out of it. The great lap from the sister car at the end shows that we could have a strong race tomorrow. It looks like it will be another exciting day.”

  • TS050 HYBRID #5
  • Kazuki Nakajima
  • TS050 HYBRID in pitlane
  • TS050 HYBRID #6
  • Stéphane Sarrazin
  • TS050 HYBRID in pitlane

QUALIFYING RESULTS - LMP

Pos N° Cat Driver Car T Driver 1 Driver 2 Laps Average Gap
1 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 1:44.618 1:44.307 2 1'44.462
2 5 LMP1 Anthony DAVIDSON, Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 1:44.368 1:44.677 2 1'44.522 +0.060
3 8 LMP1 Lucas DI GRASSI, Loïc DUVAL, Oliver JARVIS Audi R18 M 1:44.420 1:44.800 2 1'44.610 +0.148
4 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 1:44.983 1:44.638 2 1'44.810 +0.348
5 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 1:45.209 1:44.528 2 1'44.868 +0.406
6 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 1:44.596 1:45.507 2 1'45.051 +0.589
7 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 1:50.115 1:49.542 2 1'49.828 +5.366
8 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, Pierre KAFFER CLM P1/01 - AER D 1:51.335 1:51.235 2 1'51.285 +6.823
9 44 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Alex LYNN Oreca 05 - Nissan D 1:54.676 1:53.775 2 1'54.225 +9.763
10 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 1:53.880 1:54.884 2 1'54.382 +9.920
11 30 LMP2 Antonio GIOVINAZZI, Tom BLOMQVIST, Sean GELAEL LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 1:55.010 1:53.786 2 1'54.398 +9.936
12 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, Will STEVENS, Alex BRUNDLE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 1:54.174 1:55.345 2 1'54.759 +10.297
13 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 1:56.059 1:53.632 2 1'54.845 +10.383
14 45 LMP2 Tor GRAVES, Roberto GONZALEZ, Mathias BECHE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 1:54.001 1:55.797 2 1'54.899 +10.437
15 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, Mikhail ALESHIN BR01 - Nissan D 1:56.314 1:55.194 2 1'55.754 +11.292
16 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAITAR BR01 - Nissan D 1:57.026 1:55.832 2 1'56.429 +11.967
17 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 1:54.773 1:58.105 2 1'56.439 +11.977
18 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Paul Loup CHATIN Alpine A460 - Nissan D 1:58.800 1:55.422 2 1'57.111 +12.649

GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO

QUALIFYING RESULTS - LMGTE

Pos N° Cat Driver Car T Driver 1 Driver 2 Laps Average Gap
1 67 LMGTE Pro Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL, Ford GT M 2:01.543 2:01.240 2 2'01.391
2 66 LMGTE Pro Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA, Ford GT M 2:01.725 2:01.332 2 2'01.528 +0.137
3 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 2:02.226 2:01.854 2 2'02.040 +0.649
4 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 2:02.313 2:02.318 2 2'02.315 +0.924
5 97 LMGTE Pro Richie STANAWAY, Darren TURNER, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 2:02.446 2:02.418 2 2'02.432 +1.041
6 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 2:02.403 2:03.329 2 2'02.866 +1.475
7 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 2:03.191 2:04.343 2 2'03.767 +2.376
8 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 M 2:04.030 2:05.965 2 2'04.997 +3.606
9 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 2:04.348 2:06.321 2 2'05.334 +3.943
10 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Patrick LONG Porsche 911 RSR M 2:04.491 2:06.442 2 2'05.466 +4.075
11 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 2:06.188 2:06.500 2 2'06.344 +4.953
12 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 2:04.849 2:10.576 2 2'07.712 +6.321
13 50 LMGTE Am Pierre RAGUES, Ricky TAYLOR, Romain BRANDELA Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 M 2:06.115 2:09.600 2 2'07.857 +6.466

GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO

Free practice 3 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 29 - - 2 1:44.505 187.8
2 6 LMP1 Stéphane SARRAZIN, Mike CONWAY, Kamui KOBAYASHI Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 27 +0.314 +0.314 2 1:44.819 187.2
3 2 LMP1 Romain DUMAS, Neel JANI, Marc LIEB Porsche 919 Hybrid M 26 +0.408 +0.094 2 1:44.913 187.0
4 7 LMP1 Marcel FÄSSLER, André LOTTERER, Benoît TRÉLUYER Audi R18 M 29 +0.474 +0.066 2 1:44.979 186.9
5 1 LMP1 Timo BERNHARD, Mark WEBBER, Brendon HARTLEY Porsche 919 Hybrid M 32 +0.913 +0.439 2 1:45.418 186.2
6 5 LMP1 Anthony DAVIDSON, Sébastien BUEMI, Kazuki NAKAJIMA Toyota TS050 - Hybrid M 26 +1.158 +0.245 7 1:45.663 185.7
7 13 LMP1 Mathéo TUSCHER, Dominik KRAIHAMER, Alexandre IMPERATORI Rebellion R-One - AER D 22 +6.243 +5.085 3 1:50.748 177.2
8 4 LMP1 Simon TRUMMER, Oliver WEBB, Pierre KAFFER CLM P1/01 - AER D 17 +7.097 +0.854 7 1:51.602 175.8
9 36 LMP2 Gustavo MENEZES, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Stéphane RICHELMI Alpine A460 - Nissan D 29 +9.850 +2.753 2 1:54.355 171.6
10 30 LMP2 Antonio GIOVINAZZI, Tom BLOMQVIST, Sean GELAEL LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 27 +9.855 +0.005 9 1:54.360 171.6
11 43 LMP2 Ricardo GONZALEZ, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Bruno SENNA LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 22 +10.967 +1.112 13 1:55.472 169.9
12 35 LMP2 David CHENG, Ho-Pin TUNG, Paul Loup CHATIN Alpine A460 - Nissan D 27 +11.054 +0.087 3 1:55.559 169.8
13 26 LMP2 Roman RUSINOV, Will STEVENS, Alex BRUNDLE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 26 +11.099 +0.045 6 1:55.604 169.7
14 31 LMP2 Ryan DALZIEL, Luis Felipe DERANI, Christopher CUMMING LIGIER JS P2 - Nissan D 25 +11.360 +0.261 6 1:55.865 169.4
15 27 LMP2 Nicolas MINASSIAN, Maurizio MEDIANI, Mikhail ALESHIN BR01 - Nissan D 25 +11.541 +0.181 6 1:56.046 169.1
16 44 LMP2 Matthew RAO, Richard BRADLEY, Alex LYNN Oreca 05 - Nissan D 26 +12.110 +0.569 6 1:56.615 168.3
17 37 LMP2 Vitaly PETROV, Kirill LADYGIN, Victor SHAITAR BR01 - Nissan D 24 +12.198 +0.088 6 1:56.703 168.1
18 45 LMP2 Tor GRAVES, Roberto GONZALEZ, Mathias BECHE Oreca 05 - Nissan D 25 +12.237 +0.039 9 1:56.742 168.1
19 66 LMGTE Pro Stefan MÜCKE, Olivier PLA, Ford GT M 24 +16.824 +4.587 21 2:01.329 161.7
20 97 LMGTE Pro Richie STANAWAY, Darren TURNER, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 25 +17.539 +0.715 12 2:02.044 160.8
21 95 LMGTE Pro Nicki THIIM, Marco SØRENSEN, Aston Martin Vantage V8 D 22 +17.888 +0.349 10 2:02.393 160.3
22 67 LMGTE Pro Andy PRIAULX, Harry TINCKNELL, Ford GT M 27 +18.000 +0.112 13 2:02.505 160.2
23 71 LMGTE Pro Davide RIGON, Sam BIRD, Ferrari 488 GTE M 25 +18.223 +0.223 16 2:02.728 159.9
24 51 LMGTE Pro Gianmaria BRUNI, James CALADO, Ferrari 488 GTE M 24 +18.542 +0.319 20 2:03.047 159.5
25 98 LMGTE Am Paul DALLA LANA, Pedro LAMY, Mathias LAUDA Aston Martin Vantage V8 M 22 +19.340 +0.798 9 2:03.845 158.5
26 77 LMGTE Pro Richard LIETZ, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Porsche 911 RSR (2016) M 24 +19.395 +0.055 7 2:03.900 158.4
27 83 LMGTE Am François PERRODO, Emmanuel COLLARD, Rui AGUAS Ferrari F458 Italia M 26 +19.674 +0.279 6 2:04.179 158.0
28 50 LMGTE Am Pierre RAGUES, Ricky TAYLOR, Romain BRANDELA Chevrolet Corvette C7-Z06 M 24 +19.821 +0.147 6 2:04.326 157.8
29 88 LMGTE Am Khaled AL QUBAISI, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON, Patrick LONG Porsche 911 RSR M 11 +20.502 +0.681 8 2:05.007 157.0
30 86 LMGTE Am Michael WAINWRIGHT, Adam CARROLL, Ben BARKER Porsche 911 RSR M 25 +20.719 +0.217 6 2:05.224 156.7
31 78 LMGTE Am Christian RIED, Wolf HENZLER, Joël CAMATHIAS Porsche 911 RSR M 19 +21.853 +1.134 14 2:06.358 155.3

GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO