Following a close and exciting qualifying session in which the top 5 LMP1 cars – representing three different teams using both Hybrid and Non-Hybrid technology – were separated by just 1.2 seconds, much closer than seen previously, here are the headlines.
The qualifying results are a clear indication that the work being carried out by the regulators on Equivalence of Technology is paying dividends.
In LMGTE Pro, just 0.8 seconds separated the first 9 in class, with four different manufacturers filling the first four places.
• No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing car driven by Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway takes pole position for 6 Hours of Shanghai
• Anglo/Japanese pair set average lap time of 1m42.931s to claim second pole position of the season
• Kobayashi sets fastest lap in No.7 Toyota TS050 HYBRID on a 1m42.708s
• No.8 car driven by Fernando Alonso and Kazuki Nakajima makes it another Toyota 1-2
• Rebellion Racing will start third as No.3 Rebellion R13-Gibson of André Lotterer and Bruno Senna set average of 1m43.218s
• Rebellion close to Toyota as they sit just 0.592s from pole and 0.1s off No.8 Toyota
• SMP Racing place fourth with Stéphane Sarrazin and Egor Orudzhev averaging 1m43.870s in No.17 BR Engineering BR1-AER
• No.3 Rebellion places fifth ahead of No.10 DragonSpeed entry
• Just 1.2 seconds separate the top five!
