WEC: Toyota locks out front row at Monza

World Champions TOYOTA GAZOO Racing locked out the front row after a dramatic and incident-packing qualifying session for the 6 Hours of Monza.

José María López, who shares the #7 GR010 HYBRID with Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi, took pole position with a lap of 1min 35.899secs. He was fastest in every session at the Italian circuit, which is hosting a WEC race for the first time this weekend.

Brendon Hartley, in the #8 sister car he drives alongside Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, lapped just 0.062secs slower for a qualifying.

With a combined 1,419km completed throughout the three practice sessions at Monza so far, the team was well-prepared when qualifying for the third round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) began under the early evening sun.

The session began with two aborted laps for José after locking the brakes going into the first chicane and taking the escape route. Meanwhile, Brendon improved on his second lap to consolidate his provisional hold on top spot.

Under pressure, José delivered the quickest lap of the week on his third timed run, demoting the sister car to second, moments before an LMP2 crashed, causing a red flag.

When the session resumed, just under three minutes remained, which was sufficient time for one final flying lap. But the team chose to keep the two GR010 HYBRIDs in the pit lane and conserve tires for Sunday’s race, when tire degradation in the summer heat will be a key factor.

Elsewhere, Alpine Elf Matmut third as Nicolas Lapierre laps in 1m36.121s after car is repaired from early morning accident.

Pipo Derani ensures Glickenhaus Racing start on outside of the second row as he claims a fastest lap of 1m36.995s. The second Glickenhaus 007 LMH car is fifth as Richard Westbrook qualifies 0.328 in arrears to team-mate.

José María López (GR010 HYBRID #7): “I have been fastest in every session here which is quite unusual, especially in endurance racing. So I have started on the right foot and I was happy to do the job in qualifying. It doesn’t matter if you’re quickest in every session before qualifying; you have to deliver on that one lap. I really enjoy the challenge, particularly in the GR010 HYBRID as I have a great feeling with this car. With the lock-up on my first laps, there was a bit of extra adrenaline, more than I wanted, but in the end it was just important to deliver the result. It’s nice to get a one-two but the important job comes on Sunday, when we are pushing to achieve the same result in the race.”

Estre takes 2021 pole hat-trick for Porsche

The Porsche GT Team takes pole in LMGTE Pro class as No.92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 driven by Kevin Estre sets best time of 1m45.412

Estre celebrates third consecutive pole position of the 2021 season – French ace’s best time is just 0.065s faster than chasing No.51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi.

No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Gimmi Bruni places third but half a second away from sister Porsche.

Meanwhile, No. 52 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo driven by Miguel Molina places fourth in second AF Corse entry.

Milesi claims first-ever WEC pole for Team WRT

Charles Milesi sets 1m38.527 to claim first WEC pole for Team WRT

Milesi’s lap just pips Filipe Albuquerque who sets brilliant last ditch lap to get within 0.030s in United Autosport USA car.

Ben Hanley driven Dragonspeed USA place entry sets third-best lap of 1m38.663s. Team is also the leading Pro/Am entry in LMP2.

Racing Team Nederland place fourth as Nyck de Vries laps in 1m38.726s

JOTA suffer difficult session as No.28 car driven by Stoffel Vandoorne crashes heavily at second Lesmo corner and causes session to be red flagged.

Anthony Davidson sets late lap to claim sixth in second JOTA car.

TF Sport on top in LMGTE Am

TF Sport Aston Martin takes second pole of the 2021 season as Ben Keating flies to a 1m47.272s best lap after titanic battle.

No.83 AF Corse squad second with a best lap set by Francois Perrodo just 0.269s back from Keating’s pole time

Cetilar Racing place third as Roberto Lacorte laps within 0.409s of pole as team continues fightback after practice accident.

Qualifying Results