6 Hours of Nürburgring
Course:NÜRBURGRING
GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing NETS NÜRBURGRING POLE
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the 6 Hours of Nürburgring from pole position after an impressive performance in qualifying for the fourth round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Kamui Kobayashi and José María López took top spot by 0.154secs from the #2 Porsche for a third pole position in four races for the #7 TS050 HYBRID they share with Mike Conway.
Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima suffered misfortune on their way to fourth place in the #8 TS050 HYBRID while team-mate Sébastien Buemi watched from the garage.
The Nürburgring has not been a happy hunting ground for Toyota, with fifth place its best result in the Eifel, but a strong qualifying raises hopes of a best-ever result.
José María took part in his first WEC qualifying and immediately put the #7 in first place while Kazuki did well to avoid a swerving LMP2 car on his opening lap. That incident, which saw the LMP2 driver called to the stewards for dangerous driving, ruined Kazuki's first flying lap and compromised the qualifying session for the #8.
Kamui, who set a record-beating pole time at Le Mans last month, completed the job for the #7 with another quick time, beating the 2016 pole position average by 1.326secs, while Anthony encountered traffic at the beginning of his lap and took fourth.
The point earned for pole reduces Toyota's gap to Porsche to 23.5 points while the #8 crew stay 17 behind the Porsche #2 line-up in the drivers' standings. The target for Sunday's race remains to fight for victory and move closer to the lead of both championships.
QUALIFYING RESULTS - LMP
| Pos | N° | Cat | Team/Car | Driver | Driver 1 | Driver 2 | Average | Gap | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Mike CONWAY Kamui KOBAYASHI Jose Maria LOPEZ | 1:38.083 | 1:38.153 | 1'38.118 | - | M |
| 2 | 2 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Timo BERNHARD Earl BAMBER Brendon HARTLEY | 1:38.292 | 1:38.252 | 1'38.272 | +0.154 | M |
| 3 | 1 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Neel JANI André LOTTERER Nicholas TANDY | 1:38.671 | 1:37.886 | 1'38.278 | +0.160 | M |
| 4 | 8 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Sébastien BUEMI Anthony DAVIDSON Kazuki NAKAJIMA | 1:38.951 | 1:38.455 | 1'38.703 | +0.585 | M |
| 5 | 26 | LMP2 | G-Drive Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Roman RUSINOV Pierre THIRIET Ben HANLEY | 1:44.331 | 1:45.671 | 1'45.001 | +6.883 | D |
| 6 | 38 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Ho-Pin TUNG Oliver JARVIS Thomas LAURENT | 1:44.959 | 1:45.436 | 1'45.197 | +7.079 | D |
| 7 | 31 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Bruno SENNA Julien CANAL Filipe ALBUQUERQUE | 1:45.041 | 1:46.257 | 1'45.649 | +7.531 | D |
| 8 | 13 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Mathias BECHE David HEINEMEIER HANSSON Luis Felipe DERANI | 1:44.945 | 1:46.436 | 1'45.690 | +7.572 | D |
| 9 | 35 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Pierre RAGUES André NEGRÃO Nelson PANCIATICI | 1:46.069 | 1:45.485 | 1'45.777 | +7.659 | D |
| 10 | 25 | LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Ricardo GONZALEZ Simon TRUMMER Vitaly PETROV | 1:45.118 | 1:46.604 | 1'45.861 | +7.743 | D |
| 11 | 36 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Nicolas LAPIERRE Gustavo MENEZES Matthew RAO | 1:46.465 | 1:45.416 | 1'45.940 | +7.822 | D |
| 12 | 37 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | David CHENG Alex BRUNDLE Tristan GOMMENDY | 1:47.325 | 1:46.055 | 1'46.690 | +8.572 | D |
| 13 | 28 | LMP2 | TDS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | François PERRODO Matthieu VAXIVIERE Emmanuel COLLARD | 1:45.266 | 1:48.163 | 1'46.714 | +8.596 | D |
| 14 | 24 | LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Tor GRAVES Jonathan HIRSCHI Roberto MERHI | 1:46.174 | 1:48.477 | 1'47.325 | +9.207 | D |
| 15 | 4 | LMP1 | Bykolles Racing Team ENSO CLM P1/01 - Nismo | Oliver WEBB Dominik KRAIHAMER Marco BONANOMI | 1:47.340 | 1:47.630 | 1'47.485 | +9.367 | M |
| 16 | 34 | LMP2 | TOCKWITH MOTORSPORTS LIGIER JSP217 - GIBSON | Nigel MOORE Philip HANSON | 1:48.623 | 1:47.585 | 1'48.104 | +9.986 | 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 | 92 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Michael CHRISTENSEN Kevin ESTRE | 1:53.779 | 1:54.235 | 1'54.007 | - | M |
| 2 | 95 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin VANTAGE | Nicki THIIM Marco SØRENSEN | 1:54.221 | 1:54.484 | 1'54.352 | +0.345 | D |
| 3 | 91 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Richard LIETZ Frédéric MAKOWIECKI | 1:54.340 | 1:54.696 | 1'54.518 | +0.511 | M |
| 4 | 66 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Stefan MÜCKE Olivier PLA | 1:54.484 | 1:54.904 | 1'54.694 | +0.687 | M |
| 5 | 71 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | Davide RIGON Toni VILANDER | 1:54.204 | 1:55.311 | 1'54.757 | +0.750 | M |
| 6 | 67 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Andy PRIAULX Harry TINCKNELL | 1:54.870 | 1:54.744 | 1'54.807 | +0.800 | M |
| 7 | 51 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | James CALADO Alessandro PIER GUIDI | 1:55.270 | 1:54.805 | 1'55.037 | +1.030 | M |
| 8 | 97 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin VANTAGE | Darren TURNER Jonathan ADAM Daniel SERRA | 1:54.834 | 1:55.930 | 1'55.382 | +1.375 | D |
| 9 | 98 | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Paul DALLA LANA Pedro LAMY Mathias LAUDA | 1:55.686 | 1:57.756 | 1'56.721 | +2.714 | D |
| 10 | 77 | LMGTE Am | Dempsey - Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Christian RIED Matteo CAIROLI Marvin DIENST | 1:55.760 | 1:58.498 | 1'57.129 | +3.122 | D |
| 11 | 54 | LMGTE Am | Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE | Thomas FLOHR Francesco CASTELLACCI Miguel MOLINA | 1:56.190 | 1:59.726 | 1'57.958 | +3.951 | M |
| 12 | 86 | LMGTE Am | Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Michael WAINWRIGHT Benjamin BARKER Nick FOSTER | 1:59.797 | 1:56.258 | 1'58.027 | +4.020 | D |
| 13 | 61 | LMGTE Am | Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GTE | Weng Sun MOK Matthew GRIFFIN Keita SAWA | 1:56.131 | 2:00.539 | 1'58.335 | +4.328 | M |
GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO
Free practice 3 results
| Pos | N° | Cat | Team/Car | Driver | Best time | Gap | Laps | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Mike CONWAY Kamui KOBAYASHI Jose Maria LOPEZ | 1:38.969 | - | 2/26 | M |
| 2 | 8 | LMP1-H | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota TS050 HYBRID | Sébastien BUEMI Anthony DAVIDSON Kazuki NAKAJIMA | 1:39.396 | +0.427 | 2/29 | M |
| 3 | 2 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Timo BERNHARD Earl BAMBER Brendon HARTLEY | 1:40.635 | +1.666 | 15/32 | M |
| 4 | 1 | LMP1-H | Porsche LMP Team Porsche 919 Hybrid | Neel JANI André LOTTERER Nick TANDY | 1:40.767 | +1.798 | 15/27 | M |
| 5 | 31 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Julien CANAL Bruno SENNA Filipe ALBUQUERQUE | 1:46.017 | +7.048 | 20/27 | D |
| 6 | 35 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Pierre RAGUES André NEGRÃO Nelson PANCIATICI | 1:46.221 | +7.252 | 8/27 | D |
| 7 | 38 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Ho-Pin TUNG Oliver JARVIS Thomas LAURENT | 1:46.341 | +7.372 | 11/30 | D |
| 8 | 25 | LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Roberto GONZALEZ Simon TRUMMER Vitaly PETROV | 1:46.385 | +7.416 | 28/30 | D |
| 9 | 13 | LMP2 | Vaillante Rebellion Oreca 07 - Gibson | Mathias BECHE David HEINEMEIER HANSSON Luis Felipe DERANI | 1:46.739 | +7.770 | 16/27 | D |
| 10 | 28 | LMP2 | TDS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | François PERRODO Matthieu VAXIVIERE Emmanuel COLLARD | 1:46.753 | +7.784 | 21/30 | D |
| 11 | 36 | LMP2 | Signatech Alpine Matmut Alpine A470 - Gibson | Nicolas LAPIERRE Gustavo MENEZES Matthew RAO | 1:46.868 | +7.899 | 4/27 | D |
| 12 | 37 | LMP2 | Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | David CHENG Alex BRUNDLE Tristan GOMMENDY | 1:47.015 | +8.046 | 19/28 | D |
| 13 | 26 | LMP2 | G-Drive Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Roman RUSINOV Pierre THIRIET Ben HANLEY | 1:47.506 | +8.537 | 16/31 | D |
| 14 | 24 | LMP2 | CEFC Manor TRS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson | Tor GRAVES Jonathan HIRSCHI Roberto MERHI | 1:47.706 | +8.737 | 4/27 | D |
| 15 | 4 | LMP1 | Bykolles Racing Team Enso CLM P1/01 - Nismo | Oliver WEBB Dominik KRAIHAMER Marco BONANOMI | 1:47.750 | +8.781 | 15/18 | M |
| 16 | 34 | LMP2 | Tockwith Motorsports Ligier JSP217 - Gibson | Nigel MOORE Philip HANSON | 1:49.585 | +10.616 | 7/25 | D |
| 17 | 66 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Stefan MÜCKE Olivier PLA | 1:54.875 | +15.906 | 15/25 | M |
| 18 | 71 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | Davide RIGON Toni VILANDER | 1:55.221 | +16.252 | 12/24 | M |
| 19 | 51 | LMGTE Pro | AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE | James CALADO Alessandro PIER GUIDI | 1:55.326 | +16.357 | 24/25 | M |
| 20 | 67 | LMGTE Pro | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford GT | Andy PRIAULX Harry TINCKNELL | 1:55.439 | +16.470 | 12/18 | M |
| 21 | 91 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Richard LIETZ Frédéric MAKOWIECKI | 1:55.673 | +16.704 | 14/21 | M |
| 22 | 92 | LMGTE Pro | Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR | Michael CHRISTENSEN Kevin ESTRE | 1:56.066 | +17.097 | 2/31 | M |
| 23 | 77 | LMGTE Am | Dempsey - Proton Racing Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Christian RIED Matteo CAIROLI Marvin DIENST | 1:56.882 | +17.913 | 5/24 | D |
| 24 | 54 | LMGTE Am | Spirit of Race Ferrari 488 GTE | Thomas FLOHR Francesco CASTELLACCI Miguel MOLINA | 1:57.108 | +18.139 | 6/28 | M |
| 25 | 98 | LMGTE Am | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Paul DALLA LANA Pedro LAMY Mathias LAUDA | 1:57.123 | +18.154 | 11/21 | D |
| 26 | 95 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage | Nicki THIIM Marco SØRENSEN | 1:57.208 | +18.239 | 6/18 | D |
| 27 | 97 | LMGTE Pro | Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage | Darren TURNER Jonathan ADAM Daniel SERRA | 1:57.280 | +18.311 | 14/26 | D |
| 28 | 86 | LMGTE Am | Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911 RSR (991) | Michael WAINWRIGHT Benjamin BARKER Nicholas FOSTER | 1:57.379 | +18.410 | 9/24 | D |
| 29 | 61 | LMGTE Am | Clearwater Racing Ferrari 488 GTE | Weng Sun MOK Keita SAWA Matt GRIFFIN | 1:58.274 | +19.305 | 25/26 | M |
GET THE COMPLETE RACE RESULTS AND CHRONO
TS050 HYBRID #7 (Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, José María López)
Free practice 3: 1st (1min 38.969secs), 26 laps
Qualifying: 1st (1min 38.118secs average)
Kamui Kobayashi (TS050 HYBRID #7)
“We will enjoy this moment; qualifying is only a small part of the weekend but it's nice to be on pole and earn another point for the team. We made continuous improvements during practice after we struggled a bit on Friday. José did a really good lap today and everyone did a great job; this is the result of our team work. Now our focus is on the race.”
José María López (TS050 HYBRID #7)
“We needed to catch up a bit after Friday so everyone pushed really hard to improve the set-up and be competitive in qualifying. In final practice we saw the potential and the team did really well to put it together, including a fantastic lap from Kamui. I'm really happy with my first WEC qualifying and pole position so now I can't wait for the race.”
TS050 HYBRID #8 (Sébastien Buemi, Anthony Davidson, Kazuki Nakajima)
Free practice 3: 2nd (1min 39.396secs), 29 laps
Qualifying: 4th (1min 38.703secs average)
Anthony Davidson (TS050 HYBRID #8)
“It was a frustrating qualifying; I wish I could turn back time because the car felt really good but unfortunately going into turn one an LMP2 came out of the pits and blocked me. I couldn't do anything about that. Maybe my lap wasn't good enough for pole but it would have been quicker. I think we have a good race car for tomorrow so I'm looking forward to it.”
Kazuki Nakajima (TS050 HYBRID #8)
“It was obviously a difficult qualifying but I am happy that I could keep the car in one piece; it could have been a big crash due to the incident with the LMP2. The sister car did a great job and was really quick so congratulations to them. It shows our car is quite strong here so I hope we can be competitive in the race and score good points for the championship.”