A strong race result could secure the manufacturers’ World Championship for TOYOTA RACING with one race still to go, and qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya laid the foundations for its challenge in Sunday’s race.
Ryō Hirakawa earned second place in the #8 TR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley, just 0.170secs away from the pole-sitting Genesis. The #8 crew currently lead the drivers’ standings and could seal the title on Sunday if results go their way.
The #7 TR010 HYBRID crew of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries are also in the drivers’ title battle, just 10 points behind their team-mates. They will start from ninth on the grid.
Qualifying took place in warm, dry conditions in contrast to the weather forecast for Sunday, when rain is predicted. Nyck and Ryō were at the wheel for the first 12-minute session, aiming to progress to Hyperpole. On medium Michelin tyres, Nyck set one flying lap time and progressed in eighth place while Ryō improved on his second lap, ending the session in second.
In Hyperpole, the fastest 10 Hypercars battled for the top grid positions, again on medium tyres, and both TR010 HYBRIDs set their best laps on their first efforts. Ryō was again among the fastest on track and scored the team’s second front-row start of the season. Meanwhile, Nyck missed out on the top six by just over a tenth of a second.
That qualifying performance gives TOYOTA RACING the platform to challenge at the front and take important steps towards both World Championships when the 6 Hours of Barcelona begins at midday local time on Sunday.
Quotes:
Nyck de Vries (Driver, car #7): “It was a positive day for the team. Ryō did a great job qualifying on the front row of the grid. It was a little bit more challenging for our car. Still, it’s a good basis and tomorrow there is the potential for rain, so a lot of things can happen. We'll do our best, try to execute a clean race and gain some positions.”
Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “The car was really fast today, the team did a great job. Potentially I could have been even faster but there were double yellow flags on my second push lap in Hyperpole. That was a pity, but being on the front row is good and I’m happy with the result. From there we can have a nice race tomorrow, hopefully.”
6 Hours of Barcelona – Hyperpole
1st #17 Genesis Magma Racing 1min 30.166secs
2nd #8 TOYOTA RACING +0.170secs
3rd #19 Genesis Magma Racing +0.324secs
4th #35 Alpine Endurance Team +0.556secs
5th #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota +0.618secs
6th #83 AF Corse +0.638secs ...
9th #7 TOYOTA RACING +0.787secs ...
