TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will challenge for another home victory from the front of the grid after a strong performance in a hotly contested qualifying for the 6 Hours of Fuji, the penultimate round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
In his first Hypercar qualifying, Ryo Hirakawa’s blistering lap of 1min 28.942secs earned a front-row start in the #8 GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley, and missed pole position by just 0.041secs in front of the team’s enthusiastic home fans.
Kamui Kobayashi, pole position winner at Fuji Speedway for the last two years, came within 0.164secs of taking a hat-trick. The #7 GR010 HYBRID, which Kamui drives alongside Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries, will start round seven of the season from fourth on the grid.
The team achieve its positive qualifying performance by exploiting its extensive knowledge of Fuji Speedway, including Kamui and Ryo’s long experience of Japanese domestic competition at the track. Drivers, engineers and mechanics now aim to execute a perfect race on Sunday, based on effective strategy and optimum pitstops.
Qualifying day began in bright sunshine with a popular tradition at Fuji Speedway, one of several initiatives which bring Japanese fans closer to the action. The Circuit Safari gave selected spectators a unique opportunity to share the track with Hypercars and LMGT3 machines on board buses just before third practice.
That final hour of practice allowed the team to validate set-up adjustments made overnight and prepare for qualifying. Ryo demonstrated why he was selected for qualifying duties in his 20th race for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing by setting the fastest time in a session that was stopped early due to kerb damage.
Four hours later, the 12-minute qualifying session began in mid-afternoon sunshine. Kamui and Ryo were the first cars on track in front of the flag-waving TOYOTA GAZOO Racing fans. On new medium compound Michelin tyres, both drivers set their fastest times on the first of two flying laps to progress to Hyperpole from fifth and eighth respectively.
The two GR010 HYBRIDs then set the pace from the beginning of Hyperpole. Kamui initially took top spot with his first flying lap but was soon deposed by Ryo on his first attempt, and he headed a provisional TOYOTA GAZOO Racing one-two going into the final moments.
But Ryo was denied pole by just 0.041secs by the #2 Cadillac, while moments later the #15 BMW pushed Kamui down to fourth by another tiny margin, 0.006secs. Despite narrowly missing the extra point for pole, the team is determined to strengthen its challenge for both World Championships in the 6 Hours of Fuji, which begins on Sunday at 11am (4am CEST).
6 Hours of Fuji – Free Practice 3
1st #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing 1min 29.621secs 17 laps
2nd #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn) +0.086secs 18 laps
3rd #50 Ferrari AF Corse (Fuoco/Molina/Nielsen) +0.106secs 21 laps
4th #35 Alpine Endurance Team (Gounon/Habsburg/Milesi) +0.139secs 0 laps
5th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.434secs, 21 laps
6th #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi) +0.501secs, 20 laps
6 Hours of Fuji – Qualifying
1st #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn) 1min 29.090secs
2nd #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +0.166secs
3rd #99 Proton Competition (Tincknell/Jani/Andlauer) +0.309secs
4th #35 Alpine Endurance Team (Gounon/Habsburg/Milesi) +0.312secs
5th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.333secs
6th #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Wittmann) +0.415secs
8th #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.423secs
6 Hours of Fuji – Hyperpole
1st #2 Cadillac Racing (Bamber/Lynn) 1min 28.901secs
2nd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.041secs
3rd #15 BMW M Team WRT (Vanthoor/Marciello/Wittmann) +0.158secs
4th #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.164secs
5th #6 Porsche Penske (Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor) +0.251secs
6th #35 Alpine Endurance Team (Gounon/Habsburg/Milesi) +0.253secs
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