TOYOTA GAZOO Racing will start the sixth round of the 2019-2020 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) from second and third on the grid after a solid qualifying session for the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps today.
The #8 TS050 HYBRID of Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley took a front row position, claiming second place, with an average time over two laps 0.840secs behind the #1 Rebellion in pole position.
“We knew on paper that we had the pace for second place due to the success handicap because Rebellion had the edge,” commented Hartley. “We elected to use just one set of tyres which was a strategic move for the race. Kazuki did a very good lap, quite close to the Rebellion, but without the second set of tyres we accepted second. We didn’t want to compromise our race in any way; we go for the big points tomorrow.”
World Championship leaders Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and José María López are third on the grid in the #7 TS050 HYBRID, which has the most success handicap of all cars this week, after a clean session, 1.493secs down on the pole position time.
Qualifing represented the final action on a long day of preparation for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, with two practice sessions taking place earlier in the day as a result of the modified timetable, and it took place on a warm evening, with air temperatures milder than those experienced earlier in the week.
Using the low-downforce aerodynamic kit which will also be utilised at Le Mans next month, Mike and Kazuki were straight into action when qualifying began. Kazuki’s first lap almost put him on provisional pole, but he was just 0.004secs shy of the #1 Rebellion, which improved on its second flying lap.
With the focus firmly on the race, neither TS050 HYBRID took new tyres at the driver change, effectively stepping out of the fight for pole position in order to increase the opportunities over Saturday’s six-hour contest. Just like their team-mates, Kamui and Brendon were evenly matched and completed a trouble-free session.
With Spa expected to live up to its reputation for unpredictable weather during the race, the team will be ready for all conditions with the target of winning in Belgium for the fourth consecutive year as preparations for the Le Mans 24 Hours intensifies.
Qualifying results (average lap time):
1st #1 Rebellion (Senna/Menezes/Nato) 1min 59.577secs
2nd #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.840secs
3rd #7 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +1.493secs
4th #4 Bykolles (Dillmann/Spengler/Webb) +2.330secs
5th #22 United Autosports (Hanson/Albuquerque/ Di Resta) +2.571secs
6th #38 JOTA (Gonzalez/Da Costa/Davidson) +4.120secs
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