TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the 6 Hours of Monza from pole position after an incredibly close qualifying session for the fifth round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest ever Hypercar lap of the legendary Italian circuit, 1min 35.358secs, to take pole by just 0.017secs in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Mike Conway and José María López.
Brendon Hartley completed a successful afternoon for the team by earning third place, only 0.102secs from pole, in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa.
“It was a very tight session with all the Hypercars and, considering that, we can be somewhat happy with third,” said Hartley. “The car obviously had the pace for pole, as Kamui showed. He did a good lap and put it all together so congratulations to him. It’s also helpful for the World Championship that he took the point away from our rivals.
“My lap was a bit compromised because I had another car in front of me on my fastest lap and I lost a bit as when I got too close. But a tenth of a second from pole is nothing and I’m sure everyone out there has a story how they lost a little time here or there. To get both cars into the top three is fantastic and a strong team effort.”
Pole position, the team’s third of the season, earned a bonus point in the World Championship which extends its advantage over Ferrari to 19 points with three races remaining.
Another hot summer afternoon saw track temperatures reach 50°C, creating a challenge for drivers and the tyres. Both GR010 HYBRIDs chose the medium compound for qualifying, the softest of the two Michelin options available at Monza.
After a lap to warm the tyres, Kamui and Brendon were immediately in the fight at the top of the timing sheets, taking the provisional front row spots with their first flying laps.
On his second attempt, Kamui lost a fraction of a second at the first chicane but improved his time thanks to a committed drive over the remainder of the lap, which set a new Hypercar benchmark at Monza. That improvement proved crucial when the #50 Ferrari set its best lap a few seconds later and moved into second.
Despite traffic, Brendon also improved on his next run to take second place for the World Championship-leading #8, missing the front row by only 0.085secs. Although both cars attempted further timed laps, the optimum tyre grip had faded and none of the leaders could find further improvements.
With the top seven Hypercars covered by less than half a second in qualifying and more hot temperatures forecast, Sunday’s race promises to be a challenging and exciting contest from the moment the green flags wave at 12.30 CEST.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the 6 Hours of Monza from pole position after an incredibly close qualifying session for the fifth round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest ever Hypercar lap of the legendary Italian circuit, 1min 35.358secs, to take pole by just 0.017secs in the #7 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Mike Conway and José María López.
Brendon Hartley completed a successful afternoon for the team by earning third place, only 0.102secs from pole, in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he drives alongside Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa.
Pole position, the team’s third of the season, earned a bonus point in the World Championship which extends its advantage over Ferrari to 19 points with three races remaining.
Another hot summer afternoon saw track temperatures reach 50°C, creating a challenge for drivers and the tyres. Both GR010 HYBRIDs chose the medium compound for qualifying, the softest of the two Michelin options available at Monza.
After a lap to warm the tyres, Kamui and Brendon were immediately in the fight at the top of the timing sheets, taking the provisional front row spots with their first flying laps.
On his second attempt, Kamui lost a fraction of a second at the first chicane but improved his time thanks to a committed drive over the remainder of the lap, which set a new Hypercar benchmark at Monza. That improvement proved crucial when the #50 Ferrari set its best lap a few seconds later and moved into second.
Despite traffic, Brendon also improved on his next run to take second place for the World Championship-leading #8, missing the front row by only 0.085secs. Although both cars attempted further timed laps, the optimum tyre grip had faded and none of the leaders could find further improvements.
With the top seven Hypercars covered by less than half a second in qualifying and more hot temperatures forecast, Sunday’s race promises to be a challenging and exciting contest from the moment the green flags wave at 12.30 CEST.
6 Hours of Monza – Free Practice 3
1st #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Di Resta/Jensen/Vergne) 1min 35.878secs 10 laps
2nd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.045secs 35 laps
3rd #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Duval/Menezes/Müller) +0.227secs 31 laps
4th #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +0.316secs 33 laps
5th #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn/Westbrook) +0.571secs 23 laps
6th #38 Hertz Team JOTA (Da Costa/Stevens/Ye) +0.637secs 30 laps
8th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.524secs 30 laps
11th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.925secs 33 laps
6 Hours of Monza – Qualifying
1st #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 1min 35.358secs
2nd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.017secs
3rd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.102secs
4th #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies (Di Resta/Jensen/Vergne) +0.304secs
5th #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn/Westbrook) +0.362secs
6th #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +0.413secs
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