Yahoo Autos Kobayashi takes Monza WEC pole for Toyota
Toyota Gazoo Racing claimed its third pole position of the FIA WEC season at Monza this afternoon, ahead of tomorrow’s six-hour race on Ferrari’s home soil.
Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest time for the No. 7 GR010 HYBRID team, which is looking to bounce back this weekend after a hugely disappointing DNF at Le Mans. His best time was a 1m35.358s, set with six minutes remaining in the 15-minute Hypercar session, to put the No. 7 crew on pole for a second time this season.
“The lap times were very close — I am pretty happy,” said Kobayashi. “It’s been very difficult to know now who will be strong so far this weekend, so it’s good to start on the pole.
“It was challenging for everyone, but I think we have a great car for this weekend. It will be hotter tomorrow, so it will be a big challenge for tire degradation. We need to find a solution.”
Ferrari AF Corse came achingly close to securing the dream spot on the grid for its home race. The No. 50 499P of Antonio Fuoco instead ended up on the front row but second with a 1m35.375s. The Italian’s time was just 0.017s off Kobayashi’s flyer.
Toyota’s sister car was fast, too; Brendon Hartley slotted in third with a 1m35.460s in the No. 8.
Peugeot’s No. 93 9X8 will start alongside the No. 8 GR010 on the second row of the grid. The French team has emerged as a surprise contender here, building on its impressive showing in the first half of the Le Mans 24 Hours last month. Jean-Eric Vergne set the French manufacturer’s best lap, a 1:35.662 to come just three-tenths off pole.
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“We are improving our lap times,” said Jean-Marc Finot, senior VP of Stellantis Motorsport. “Yesterday, we worked on long runs to evaluate the consistency of the tires. This morning we did high-speed runs for qualifying. We can see the work that has been done since the beginning of the season.
“We were 2.4 seconds off pole at Spa, and here we are just three-tenths, so it’s a huge step. With nine cars within a second, it will be a big dog fight tomorrow.”
The first of the LMDh teams was Cadillac Racing, its No. 2 V-Series.R set to start fifth after a 1m35.720s from Alex Lynn.
“I think overall it was a decent qualifying for the No. 2 Cadillac, P5 and only three-tenths away from pole position,” said Lynn. “Again, another strong showing by the Cadillac V-Series.R, so from our side we’re happy. We know our strength lies in our race pace, so we’re excited to go racing tomorrow.”
Further down the order, Proton Competition’ new Porsche 963 will start 12th on the grid after Harry Tincknell’s efforts. The team will be satisfied to have come within 1.4s of the No. 7 Toyota in its first qualifying session with the car.
Another career highlight for Robert Kubica: A WEC pole in LMP2. Motorsport Images
