6 hours of Spa-Francorchamps
Course:CIRCUIT DE SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
SPA SPEED BUT NO POLE FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing set the fastest lap but missed out on pole position during an incident-packed qualifying for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the second round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
A red flag, traffic and other dramas entertained the fans during the 25-minute session, in which Stéphane Sarrazin recorded the quickest time. However, with the starting grid determined by the average of two drivers' best laps, the #9 TS050 HYBRID crew of Stéphane, Nicolas Lapierre and Yuji Kunimoto will start third.
In the #7 TS050 HYBRID, Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi earned another front-row start and they will line up in second, alongside the pole position-winning Porsche #1. World Championship leaders Sébastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima, in the #8 TS050 HYBRID, start from fourth after a qualifying session which saw the first two rows of the grid separated by less than a second.
The drama started almost immediately when all cars, including Mike, Kazuki and Stéphane, were forced to abort their first flying laps due to a red flag, caused by an accident for an LMP2 car. When the action resumed, Stéphane delivered a very quick lap to take provisional pole position.
After the driver changes, Kamui showed potential to put the #7 car into top spot but, with only a few metres to go on his first flying lap, the #4 ByKolles spun directly ahead. Kamui reacted well to avoid an impact but his lap time was ruined and, with used tyres, he was not able to take pole position with his next lap.
Nicolas took the wheel of the #9 targeting pole, but a track limits violation and time lost in traffic meant he earned third place at the chequered flag. Sébastien finished the session for the #8, and the Silverstone race winners complete an all-Toyota second row in fourth.
Despite a disappointing result today, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing is optimistic all three cars can compete for victory in Saturday's race on a track where the team has finished on the podium twice before in WEC.
QUALIFYING RESULTS - LMP
| Pos | N° | Cat | Team/Car | Driver | Driver 1 | Driver 2 | Average | Gap | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Neel JANI André LOTTERER Nick TANDY | 1:53.756 | 1:54.439 | 1'54.097 | - | M |
| 2 | 7 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Mike CONWAY Kamui KOBAYASHI | 1:53.911 | 1:55.476 | 1'54.693 | +0.596 | M |
| 3 | 9 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Stéphane SARRAZIN Yuji KUNIMOTO Nicolas LAPIERRE | 1:53.658 | 1:55.745 | 1'54.701 | +0.604 | M |
| 4 | 8 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Sébastien BUEMI Anthony DAVIDSON Kazuki NAKAJIMA | 1:54.617 | 1:55.197 | 1'54.907 | +0.810 | M |
| 5 | 2 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Timo BERNHARD Earl BAMBER Brendon HARTLEY | 1:55.704 | 1:55.177 | 1'55.440 | +1.343 | M |
| 6 | 26 | LMP2 | G-Drive Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Roman RUSINOV Pierre THIRIET Alex LYNN | 2:01.253 | 2:03.949 | 2'02.601 | +8.504 | D |
| 7 | 36 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Romain DUMAS Gustavo MENEZES Matthew RAO | 2:01.143 | 2:04.105 | 2'02.624 | +8.527 | D |
| 8 | 35 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Pierre RAGUES André NEGRÃO Nelson PANCIATICI | 2:01.843 | 2:03.416 | 2'02.629 | +8.532 | D |
| 9 | 24 | LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Tor GRAVES Jonathan HIRSCHI Jean-Eric VERGNE | 2:00.945 | 2:04.319 | 2'02.632 | +8.535 | D |
| 10 | 13 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Mathias BECHE David HEINEMEIER HANSSON Nelson PIQUET JR | 2:02.943 | 2:04.295 | 2'03.619 | +9.522 | D |
| 11 | 4 | LMP1 | Bykolles Racing Team Enso CLM P1/01 - Nismo | Oliver WEBB Dominik KRAIHAMER James ROSSITER | 2:03.024 | 2:04.630 | 2'03.827 | +9.730 | M |
| 12 | 34 | LMP2 | Tockwith Motorsports Ligier JSP217 - Gibson | Nigel MOORE Philip HANSON Karun CHANDHOK | 2:04.301 | 2:04.051 | 2'04.176 | +10.079 | D |
| 13 | 28 | LMP2 | TDS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | François PERRODO Ben HANLEY Emmanuel COLLARD | 2:01.317 | 2:08.799 | 2'05.058 | +10.961 | D |
| 14 | 37 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | David CHENG Alex BRUNDLE Tristan GOMMENDY | 2:03.232 | 2:07.610 | 2'05.421 | +11.324 | D |
| 15 | 31 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Julien CANAL Nicolas PROST Bruno SENNA | 2:08.276 | 2:02.953 | 2'05.614 | +11.517 | D |
| 16 | 38 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Ho-Pin TUNG Oliver JARVIS Thomas LAURENT | 2:19.912 | 2:08.529 | 2'14.220 | +20.123 | D |
GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO
QUALIFYING RESULTS - LMGTE
| Pos | N° | Cat | Team/Car | Driver | Driver 1 | Driver 2 | Average | Gap | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | Davide RIGON Sam BIRD | 2:14.938 | 2:15.096 | 2'15.017 | - | M |
| 2 | 66 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Stefan MÜCKE Olivier PLA Billy JOHNSON | 2:15.402 | 2:15.435 | 2'15.418 | +0.401 | M |
| 3 | 67 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Andy PRIAULX Harry TINCKNELL Luis Felipe DERANI | 2:15.368 | 2:15.762 | 2'15.565 | +0.548 | M |
| 4 | 51 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | James CALADO Alessandro PIER GUIDI | 2:16.020 | 2:15.511 | 2'15.765 | +0.748 | M |
| 5 | 91 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Richard LIETZ Frédéric MAKOWIECKI | 2:16.899 | 2:16.826 | 2'16.862 | +1.845 | M |
| 6 | 92 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Michael CHRISTENSEN Kevin ESTRE | 2:17.185 | 2:16.835 | 2'17.010 | +1.993 | M |
| 7 | 95 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin VANTAGE | Nicki THIIM Marco SØRENSEN Richie STANAWAY | 2:17.213 | 2:17.100 | 2'17.156 | +2.139 | D |
| 8 | 97 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin VANTAGE | Darren TURNER Jonathan ADAM Daniel SERRA | 2:17.693 | 2:17.587 | 2'17.640 | +2.623 | D |
| 9 | 98 | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Paul DALLA LANA Pedro LAMY Mathias LAUDA | 2:16.217 | 2:21.101 | 2'18.659 | +3.642 | D |
| 10 | 77 | LMGTE Am | Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Christian RIED Matteo CAIROLI Marvin DIENST | 2:16.323 | 2:21.807 | 2'19.065 | +4.048 | D |
| 11 | 54 | LMGTE Am | Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE | Thomas FLOHR Francesco CASTELLACCI Miguel MOLINA | 2:17.474 | 2:21.842 | 2'19.658 | +4.641 | M |
| 12 | 61 | LMGTE Am | Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GTE | Weng Sun MOK Keita SAWA Matt GRIFFIN | 2:18.028 | 2:23.802 | 2'20.915 | +5.898 | M |
| 13 | 86 | LMGTE Am | Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Michael WAINWRIGHT Benjamin BARKER Nick FOSTER | 2:18.557 | 2:25.683 | 2'22.120 | +7.103 | D |
GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO
Free practice 3 results
| Pos | N° | Cat | Team/Car | Driver | Best time | Gap | Laps | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Sébastien BUEMI Anthony DAVIDSON Kazuki NAKAJIMA | 1:55.233 | - | 2/27 | M |
| 2 | 7 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Mike CONWAY Kamui KOBAYASHI | 1:55.238 | +0.005 | 2/27 | M |
| 3 | 9 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Stéphane SARRAZIN Yuji KUNIMOTO Nicolas LAPIERRE | 1:55.448 | +0.215 | 12/28 | M |
| 4 | 1 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Neel JANI André LOTTERER Nick TANDY | 1:56.404 | +1.171 | 4/24 | M |
| 5 | 2 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Timo BERNHARD Earl BAMBER Brendon HARTLEY | 1:58.096 | +2.863 | 10/24 | M |
| 6 | 26 | LMP2 | G-Drive Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Roman RUSINOV Pierre THIRIET Alex LYNN | 2:01.708 | +6.475 | 10/25 | D |
| 7 | 13 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Mathias BECHE David HEINEMEIER HANSSON Nelson PIQUET JR | 2:01.970 | +6.737 | 2/22 | D |
| 8 | 38 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Ho-Pin TUNG Oliver JARVIS Thomas LAURENT | 2:03.287 | +8.054 | 7/23 | D |
| 9 | 35 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Pierre RAGUES André NEGRÃO Nelson PANCIATICI | 2:03.335 | +8.102 | 6/24 | D |
| 10 | 31 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Julien CANAL Nicolas PROST Bruno SENNA | 2:03.354 | +8.121 | 7/19 | D |
| 11 | 24 | LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Tor GRAVES Jonathan HIRSCHI Jean-Eric VERGNE | 2:03.690 | +8.457 | 17/22 | D |
| 12 | 4 | LMP1 | Bykolles Racing Team Enso CLM P1/01 - Nismo | Oliver WEBB Dominik KRAIHAMER James ROSSITER | 2:03.886 | +8.653 | 16/20 | M |
| 13 | 37 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | David CHENG Alex BRUNDLE Tristan GOMMENDY | 2:04.263 | +9.030 | 13/23 | D |
| 14 | 36 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Romain DUMAS Gustavo MENEZES Matthew RAO | 2:04.270 | +9.037 | 13/25 | D |
| 15 | 34 | LMP2 | Tockwith Motorsports Ligier JSP217 - Gibson | Nigel MOORE Philip HANSON Karun CHANDHOK | 2:04.396 | +9.163 | 9/23 | D |
| 16 | 25 | LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Roberto GONZALEZ Simon TRUMMER Vitaly PETROV | 2:04.834 | +9.601 | 23/23 | D |
| 17 | 28 | LMP2 | TDS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | François PERRODO Ben HANLEY Emmanuel COLLARD | 2:05.236 | +10.003 | 4/26 | D |
| 18 | 51 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | James CALADO Alessandro PIER GUIDI | 2:14.904 | +19.671 | 20/23 | M |
| 19 | 71 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | Davide RIGON Sam BIRD | 2:15.100 | +19.867 | 13/21 | M |
| 20 | 67 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Andy PRIAULX Harry TINCKNELL Luis Felipe DERANI | 2:15.745 | +20.512 | 21/21 | M |
| 21 | 77 | LMGTE Am | Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Christian RIED Matteo CAIROLI Marvin DIENST | 2:15.893 | +20.660 | 6/22 | D |
| 22 | 66 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Stefan MÜCKE Olivier PLA Billy JOHNSON | 2:15.981 | +20.748 | 5/22 | M |
| 23 | 91 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Richard LIETZ Frédéric MAKOWIECKI | 2:16.123 | +20.890 | 3/25 | M |
| 24 | 97 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin VANTAGE | Darren TURNER Jonathan ADAM Daniel SERRA | 2:16.142 | +20.909 | 2/22 | D |
| 25 | 92 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Michael CHRISTENSEN Kevin ESTRE | 2:16.329 | +21.096 | 3/25 | M |
| 26 | 98 | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Paul DALLA LANA Pedro LAMY Mathias LAUDA | 2:16.603 | +21.370 | 5/20 | D |
| 27 | 61 | LMGTE Am | Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GTE | Weng Sun MOK Keita SAWA Matt GRIFFIN | 2:17.146 | +21.913 | 9/23 | M |
| 28 | 95 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin VANTAGE | Nicki THIIM Marco SØRENSEN Richie STANAWAY | 2:18.166 | +22.933 | 6/25 | D |
| 29 | 54 | LMGTE Am | Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE | Thomas FLOHR Francesco CASTELLACCI Miguel MOLINA | 2:18.461 | +23.228 | 14/22 | M |
| 30 | 86 | LMGTE Am | Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Michael WAINWRIGHT Benjamin BARKER Nicholas FOSTER | 2:19.186 | +23.953 | 22/22 | D |
GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO
TS050 HYBRID #7 (Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi)
Free practice 3: 2nd (1min 55.238secs). 27 laps
Qualifying: 2nd (1min 54.693secs average)
Mike Conway (TS050 HYBRID #7)
“It's good to start from the front row again. I was generally happy with my lap but at the end a Porsche went off and I lost a little time. We definitely had a shot at the pole but Kamui had traffic on all of his laps. I think we have a good race car and we can expect another close battle with Porsche.”
Kamui Kobayashi (TS050 HYBRID #7)
“My first flying lap was good enough to get pole position I think because it was similar to Mike's lap. But someone spun right in front of me. It's a pity but starting second is okay and the car felt pretty strong. We didn't get the luck today but the target is still to win the race tomorrow.”
TS050 HYBRID #8 (Sébastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson, Kazuki Nakajima)
Free practice 3: 1st (1min 55.233secs). 27 laps
Qualifying: 4th (1min 54.907secs average)
Sébastien Buemi (TS050 HYBRID #8)
“I did what I could but to be honest we cannot be satisfied with our qualifying. The car felt okay but I'm not happy with the lap times so we will try to improve for the race. I am happy for car #9 to set the fastest lap, they have done a great job this week and Stéphane's lap was brilliant.”
Kazuki Nakajima (TS050 HYBRID #8)
“It was a difficult qualifying for our car. We just didn't quite have the speed so it wasn't what we hoped for. We need to see what we can do for the race. Starting from fourth we still have plenty of chance for the race if we can find some improvements.“
TS050 HYBRID #9 (Stéphane Sarrazin, Yuji Kunimoto, Nicolas Lapierre)
Free practice 3: 3rd (1min 55.448secs). 28 laps
Qualifying: 3rd (1min 54.701secs average)
Stéphane Sarrazin (TS050 HYBRID #9)
“We had an amazing car today, it was really flying and I am sure we will have a good car also for the race. I haven't done a qualifying session since last year so I put myself under a bit of pressure. I did my maximum and it was a quick lap; I really enjoyed it.”
Nicolas Lapierre (TS050 HYBRID #9)
“It was a messy qualifying for me which is a pity because Stéphane did a fantastic lap. We had a good strategy at the beginning but I had some traffic and it wasn't a great qualifying. In the end we are third which is not bad and we learned a bit for the race, so we are looking forward to that now.“