Shanghai – Qualifications: First line 100% non-hybrid

LMP1: Toyota on the Back Foot

A historic fact. For the first time in the history of the WEC, no hybrid finished in the top three during a qualifying session. The Rebellion No. 1 was ahead of the Ginetta No. 5 by 1’200 and the Ginetta No. 6 by 1’217. The first Toyota is at 1’343. Let’s remember that the qualifying time in WEC is determined by the average of the best times of two drivers.

The grid is largely affected by the success handicap, which makes the Toyotas lose nearly two seconds. The driver of the No. 8, Sebastien Buemi, was indeed worried after free practice about having to fight with the LMP2s. « We even struggle to beat the GTs » he lamented.

Nevertheless, despite what the final qualifying times may indicate, Toyota has closed the gap with the others compared to the free practice sessions. Without the traffic during the second round of laps, they had the potential to finish less than a second behind Rebellion. Kamui Kobayashi in car number 8 was even ahead in the first two sectors, before losing a second in the last one, which includes the long back straight.

A situation that bodes well for the race. In a four-hour stint, reliability is less likely to come into play than in a 6 or 8-hour stint. The key will be to see if Toyota can keep up with the Rebellion’s pace thanks to its cornering speed and, above all, maintain an advantage in traffic.

LMP2: Cool Racing takes the win

Another first. Cool Racing clinches the first pole position in its history in WEC, thanks to a stellar Nicolas Lapierre well supported by Antonin Borga. The Swiss team achieved an average time of 1’48”649. “We struggled in the last qualifying rounds, but we really worked hard for this one,” reacted Nicolas Lapierre. “The race will be very tough tomorrow in terms of tire management.” Cool Racing finished just over a tenth ahead of Jackie Chan DC Racing’s Oreca and two-tenths ahead of United Autosport’s Oreca. On the other hand, Signatech Alpine missed its qualification, finishing only seventh ahead of Racing Team Nederland, which was never in the running during qualifications.

GTE-Pro: Porsche first

Let’s continue with the new developments. Kevin Estre has impressed everyone by securing Porsche’s first pole position in its history at Shanghai. The Frenchman completed an exceptional lap in 1’59”024 to place the No. 92 Porsche in the lead with an average of 1’59”579. This was achieved in spite of the Aston Martins, which had shown to be the fastest in free practice as well as in the first round of qualifying laps. In the end, they fell short by 18 and 28 thousandths of a second behind the Porsche.

« It’s our first pole since Sebring last year,” Kevin Estre recalled. « I hope we have a better race than that time. » Indeed, they could do no better than sixth.

GTE-Am: Team Project One on pole

The session started with a spin by Louis Prette in the Proton Competition’s Porsche No. 78, without consequence. Then, it was Team Project One that secured pole position in 2’00”824 in their Porsche, seven-tenths ahead of the Aston Martin Racing No. 98. Could the reigning champion and the historical leader of the category be waking up? Defeated in the first two rounds, they have a chance to get back on track.