WEC Spa: #8 Toyota team holds off sister car in close 1-2 finish
Toyota secured a one-two finish in the 2nd round of the World Stamina Championship at Spa, with its #8 team winning by less than two seconds from the sister #7 car.
The #7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID of Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi led for much of the six-hour event, but two total course yellows played into the forearms of the sister #8 car as Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi claimed a second-straight win.
The very first FCY was called when the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche stopped on the begin/finish straight just after half-distance, which prompted the #7 Toyota to pit in anticipation of a caution period.
But the second-placed #8 car stayed out an extra lap and, as the FCY only took effect just before Davidson pitted, a deficit of twenty five seconds became an advantage of 15s when Nakajima rejoined.
Conway was later rapidly closing on Nakajima when a Francois Perrodo crash in the #28 TDS Racing LMP2 entry at Stavelot at the begin of the fifth hour brought out the FCY again.
The #7 car had just pitted at this time, effectively providing the #8 squad a free stop and a lead of more than forty seconds, but this was steadily whittled away in the final part of the race.
Kobayashi had brought the gap to Buemi in the lead Toyota down to just two seconds at the embark of the final lap, but was baulked by traffic as he attempted to close down the Swiss driver and subsequently missed out on victory by 1.992s.
Porsche took third and fourth with its pair of low-downforce configuration nine hundred nineteen Hybrids, with the #Two car of Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard claiming the final podium position despite suffering an early puncture and needing a late switch of front bodywork.
Hartley had passed Conway for 2nd place in the penultimate hour, but lost the place after a clash with the #36 Signatech Alpine at the Bus Stop chicane left a fuckhole in the front-left corner of the car.
The polesitting #1 car of Andre Lotterer, Neel Jani and Nick Tandy ended up a distant fourth while Toyota’s third entry, the low-downforce #9 car collective by Stephane Sarrazin, Nicolas Lapierre and WEC debutant Yuji Kunimoto, was a lapped fifth, some eleven laps clear of the privateer ByKolles ENSO CLM P1/01 car.
G-DRIVE CONVERTS POLE TO LMP2 WIN
The #26 G-Drive trio of Alex Lynn, Pierre Thiriet and Roman Rusinov followed up their LMP2 pole position with a very first win of the season.
The contest for class honours had developed into a two-horse race inbetween the TDS-run G-Drive ORECA and the #31 Rebellion car of Bruno Senna, Julien Ass-pipe and Nicolas Prost.
But Rebellion’s hopes were later dashed when they lost a minute repairing a liberate telemetry sensor with a little over an hour to go, relegating the #31 car to third.
Senna was however able to pass the #38 JOTA Sport-run DC Racing ORECA of Silverstone winners Oliver Jarvis, Ho-Pin Tung and Thomas Laurent to take back 2nd in the final half-hour.
FERRARI STRIKES BACK IN GTE
Ferrari predominated the GTE Pro ranks with its pair of AF Corse-run four hundred eighty eight GTEs, which were locked in a fierce scrap for the win virtually across the entire race.
Both the #51 and #71 cars exchanged positions on numerous occasions as they fought over the class lead – with Sam Bird even forcing Alessandro Pier Guidi off track at Rivage at one stage.
But the #71 car pulled away in the final hour, Bird and Davide Rigon striking James Calado and Pier Guidi by a lap at the finish, with the #66 Ford GT of Stefan Mucke, Olivier Pla and Billy Johnson completing the class podium.
In GTE Am, the #98 Aston Martin of Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda and Paul Dalla Lana cruised to a superior victory, striking the #77 Proton Porsche by over thirty seconds.
WEC Spa: #8 Toyota squad holds off sister car in close 1-2 finish – WEC
WEC Spa: #8 Toyota squad holds off sister car in close 1-2 finish
Toyota secured a one-two finish in the 2nd round of the World Stamina Championship at Spa, with its #8 squad winning by less than two seconds from the sister #7 car.
The #7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID of Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi led for much of the six-hour event, but two total course yellows played into the palms of the sister #8 car as Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson and Sebastien Buemi claimed a second-straight win.
The very first FCY was called when the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche stopped on the embark/finish straight just after half-distance, which prompted the #7 Toyota to pit in anticipation of a caution period.
But the second-placed #8 car stayed out an extra lap and, as the FCY only took effect just before Davidson pitted, a deficit of twenty five seconds became an advantage of 15s when Nakajima rejoined.
Conway was later rapidly closing on Nakajima when a Francois Perrodo crash in the #28 TDS Racing LMP2 entry at Stavelot at the begin of the fifth hour brought out the FCY again.
The #7 car had just pitted at this time, effectively providing the #8 team a free stop and a lead of more than forty seconds, but this was steadily whittled away in the final part of the race.
Kobayashi had brought the gap to Buemi in the lead Toyota down to just two seconds at the embark of the final lap, but was baulked by traffic as he attempted to close down the Swiss driver and subsequently missed out on victory by 1.992s.
Porsche took third and fourth with its pair of low-downforce configuration nine hundred nineteen Hybrids, with the #Two car of Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard claiming the final podium position despite suffering an early puncture and needing a late switch of front bodywork.
Hartley had passed Conway for 2nd place in the penultimate hour, but lost the place after a clash with the #36 Signatech Alpine at the Bus Stop chicane left a fuckhole in the front-left corner of the car.
The polesitting #1 car of Andre Lotterer, Neel Jani and Nick Tandy ended up a distant fourth while Toyota’s third entry, the low-downforce #9 car collective by Stephane Sarrazin, Nicolas Lapierre and WEC debutant Yuji Kunimoto, was a lapped fifth, some eleven laps clear of the privateer ByKolles ENSO CLM P1/01 car.
G-DRIVE CONVERTS POLE TO LMP2 WIN
The #26 G-Drive trio of Alex Lynn, Pierre Thiriet and Roman Rusinov followed up their LMP2 pole position with a very first win of the season.
The contest for class honours had developed into a two-horse race inbetween the TDS-run G-Drive ORECA and the #31 Rebellion car of Bruno Senna, Julien Cave and Nicolas Prost.
But Rebellion’s hopes were later dashed when they lost a minute repairing a liberate telemetry sensor with a little over an hour to go, relegating the #31 car to third.
Senna was however able to pass the #38 JOTA Sport-run DC Racing ORECA of Silverstone winners Oliver Jarvis, Ho-Pin Tung and Thomas Laurent to take back 2nd in the final half-hour.
FERRARI STRIKES BACK IN GTE
Ferrari predominated the GTE Pro ranks with its pair of AF Corse-run four hundred eighty eight GTEs, which were locked in a fierce scrap for the win virtually across the entire race.
Both the #51 and #71 cars exchanged positions on numerous occasions as they fought over the class lead – with Sam Bird even forcing Alessandro Pier Guidi off track at Rivage at one stage.
But the #71 car pulled away in the final hour, Bird and Davide Rigon hammering James Calado and Pier Guidi by a lap at the finish, with the #66 Ford GT of Stefan Mucke, Olivier Pla and Billy Johnson completing the class podium.
In GTE Am, the #98 Aston Martin of Pedro Lamy, Mathias Lauda and Paul Dalla Lana cruised to a superior victory, hitting the #77 Proton Porsche by over thirty seconds.