6 HOURS OF CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS

SECOND ROW FRUSTRATION FOR TOYOTA GAZOO Racing

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas from the second row after an extremely frustrating qualifying session for the sixth round of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin and Kazuki Nakajima, in the #8 TS050 HYBRID, were the lead Toyota in third place, with a gap of 1.659secs to the pole position #1 Porsche.

Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López will start from fourth in the #7 car, with the team determined to deliver a more competitive performance in Saturday's six-hour race.

On a sunny day, with air temperatures of 33°C, Kamui and Sébastien were at the wheel of their respective cars at the start of the 20-minute qualifying, aiming to challenge for Toyota's fourth pole of the season.

After both cars waited in the pits at the beginning to ensure a clear track and favourable conditions, the Porsches had already set the target time and unfortunately neither TS050 HYBRID could challenge.

Kamui earned provisional third place with his one and only lap while Sébastien completed two timed efforts, improving on his second run despite losing time when he ran wide in turn 11.

In the closing minutes, Mike took over the #7 but his flying lap was badly compromised by traffic in the final sector, with no time for another attempt. Kazuki completed the job for the #8 with a clean lap, with both cars using one set of tyres for the whole session.

The team will now work hard to prepare a strategy for the race, when high temperatures are expected to provide a tough challenge particularly for tyre performance, with 2017 regulations forcing teams to use the same set of rubber for two stints.