On Saturday, Toyota GAZOO Racing swept the front row for Sunday’s 6 Hours of Silverstone. The best laps from Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway averaged 97.304 seconds (135.448 mph) to claim overall pole for the No. 7 Toyota. This lap average was nearly three-tenths of a second faster than Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima in the No. 8 Toyota.
In the WEC, two drivers take part in qualifying. The car’s time is determined by the quickest times set by each driver being averaged together. Kobayashi’s quickest lap was 96.793 seconds (136.163 mph), the fastest lap of the weekend. Conway’s lap was significantly slower, but still pretty fast. Davidson and Nakajima’s best laps were separated by only a tenth of a second.
The No. 1 Porsche driven by Neel Jani and Nick Tandy in the session qualified third, 1.3 seconds off pole. The No. 2 of Timo Bernhard and Brendon Hartley was another four-tenths of a second back in fourth.
In LMP2, G-Drive Racing’s No. 26 shared by Alex Lynn and Pierre Thiriet will start on the class pole with an average lap time of 104.387 seconds (126.257 mph). The pole was thanks in part to Lynn clocking the fastest LMP2 lap of the weekend with a time of 103.412 seconds (127.447 mph).
Signatech Racing Matmut’s Nicolas Lapierre and Matthew Rao qualified the No. 36 Alpine in second, less than half a tenth off of G-Drive pace. Jackie Chan DC Racing’s Oliver Jarvis and Thomas Laurent were third quickest.
Julien Canal and Bruno Senna in the No. 31 Valliante Rebellion entry were fourth fastest, while the No. 13 of Mathias Beche and David Heinemeier Hansson were fifth.
In GTE-Pro, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing UK’s No. 67 for Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell won the class pole with an average time of 116.202 seconds (113.420 mph). Priaulx turned in the fastest GTE-Pro lap of the entire weekend (115.858 seconds, 113.756 mph) during his time in the car.
Priaulx and Tincknell were eight-tenths of a second faster than AF Corse’s Davide Rigon and Sam Bird in the No. 71 Ferrari 488 GTE in second. Aston Martin Racing’s No. 95 for Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen were third fastest. The No. 66 Ford for Stefan Mücke and Olivier Pla were fourth, while the No. 97 Aston Martin of Darren Turner and Jonny Adam were fifth.
The best of the Porsche contingent was the No. 91 of Richard Lietz and Frédéric Makowiecki. They will start seventh in class, 1.8 seconds off pole.
The GTE-Am pole was won by Aston Martin Racing’s Paul Dalla Lana and Pedro Lamy with an average lap time of 119.562 seconds (110.232 mph). Lamy’s only lap at speed was more than 1.5 seconds quicker than Dalla Lana’s fastest time.
Dalla Lana and Lamy’s average time was more than a second quicker than Spirit of Race’s Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr in second. Dempsey-Proton Racing’s No. 77 Porsche for Matteo Cairoli and Christian Ried was third.
Qualifying Results for the World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Silverstone
The World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Silverstone will go green at Noon local time (7 a.m. EDT). Live coverage of the race will start at 7 a.m. EDT on FOX Sports 1. It will move to FOX Sports 2 at 9 a.m. EDT and stay there until the finish. The whole race, along with post-race coverage, can be seen on FOX Sports GO.
Unlike qualifying, which was held under sunny skies, there is a 60 percent chance of rain on Sunday. If the rain materializes, things might be a little more interesting in the British Midlands.
About the author
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.
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