Toyota expected tough qualifying

More than a month after the dramatic outcome of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota hopes to bounce back in Germany. The Japanese team did not shine in qualifying but expected these performances today.

Published on 23/07/2016 à 18:18

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The mixed conditions this Saturday on the Nürburgring route did not benefit the Toyota TS050Hybrid during the qualifying session. The Japanese LM P1 prototypes were behind, more than 1″1 behind the two Audi R18 e-tron quattros, dominating this Saturday with the No. 7 of the Lotterer – Fässler pair ahead of the No. 8 of di Grassi – Duval –Jarvis.

A level of performance which did not surprise the Toyota clan, which nevertheless hoped for a smaller gap. “It was a very strange qualification because of the weather, highlights Buemi. It is obvious that we compromised our qualifying performance in terms of set-up and tires because we focus on racing. This partly explains the gap, but it's still a bit disappointing. »

“It wasn’t easy in these conditions, but we knew that qualifying is not a strong point for us, adds Kamui Kobayashi. We focused on the race from a set-up point of view so the third row is all we could do today. I think the race should be a different story and we expect to be stronger. »

The Japanese will want to achieve a first podium in Germany, having taken 4th and 5th places in 2015, for the first time as part of the World Championship.Endurance.