Le Mans – Satisfactory qualifying for Toyota

Thanks to a lap completed in 3'27"191, Nicolas lapierre est parvenu à installer sa Toyota TS030 en quatrième position devant l’Audi n°4. Cependant, la n°7 n’a pas pu défendre ses chances jusqu’au bout de la nuit puisqu’elle a été touchée par un problème au niveau d’un software de son système hybride. Le deuxième prototype japonais termine la séance qualificative en sixième position après avoir connu des essais libres difficiles. Victime d’un problème moteur au bout de cinq tours, Anthony Davidson a du s’arrêter sur le bord de la piste. Les mécaniciens ont ensuite travaillé d’arrache-pied pour changer le moteur de la n°8 avant les qualifications.

« First of all, it?s good to be back competing. This is what we've been dreaming of for months and finally here we are. In terms of performance, we seem to be at a reasonable level and this matches our expectations after the Test Day, explains Yoshiaki Kinoshita, President of Team Toyota Racing. Unfortunately, we missed the free practice session with the No. 8 following an engine failure, which we encountered for the first time. The engines have regularly completed more than the Le Mans distance without having any problems on the dyno and on track, so this appears to be an isolated case. At the end of this qualification, we had a minor problem with the software in our hybrid system: this interrupted Alex?s relay, which was frustrating. Therefore, we still have work for tomorrow: our objective will be to improve our competitiveness and our reliability. »

Discover in your AUTOhebdo magazine, currently on newsstands or available here in digital version, an interview with Alexander Wurz, driver of the No. 030 Toyota TS7 Hybrid. The official program of 24 Hours of Le Mans is also available here in digital version or in print version.