WEC-Portimão: Thursday Practices

WECHyperCar

Apr 14

Kamui Kobayashi did set the fastest lap of 6 Hours of Portimao practices 1 and 2 to head another Toyota Gazoo Racing 1-2.

Toyota Gazoo Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimão. Kamui Kobayashi with Toyota GR010 HYBRID #7 was the fastest driver of the day. Conway was fifth and Lopez seventh.

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “I am happy with how it’s gone today. The two cars were running different programmes and it has gone smoothly. On car #7, we initially struggled in first practice to find the right performance window for the tyres, but it improved in the afternoon. One of our big targets was to understand the tyre performance, which depends a lot on track temperatures. It is much closer here in terms of the competition so we are working hard and our car will improve over the weekend.”

Mike Conway (Driver, car #7): “We were in decent shape from the start. We spent the day trying to maximise our car for the conditions we expect in the race. We are learning how the tyres behave on this track and tried a few slightly different set-up directions. It has gone well so far although it’s hard with the traffic on this track; it’s very busy and there’s not a lot of distance between some corners, so you can lose a lot of time quite quickly. As drivers we’re adapting to that as well because it will be a factor in the race.”

José María López (Driver, car #7): “It was a good day and we tested a lot of things, just going through our plan. The car is running well, without problems during the two sessions which is always a positive start to a weekend. It is too early to have a clear view where we stand compared to our competition because we don’t know what the others are doing. We saw in Sebring how we were on top until qualifying and then Ferrari showed their performance. We looked competitive as a team today, so it is a positive start.”

Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimão. The three Toyota GR010 HYBRID #8 drivers follow Kobayashi (P2) with a fastest lap 0.637 slower for Buemi, 0.945 sec. for Hartley and 0.959 sec. for Hirakawa.

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “We have had a positive day, without any incidents which is always good news on a short track like this, which is very packed with a lot of cars out there. We did a good amount of laps with encouraging lap times. There was a lot to learn, especially about the tyres and the behaviour of the car in the wind, which was quite strong. We need to look at the data and adapt the car in the best way to deal with the conditions.”

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It was a smooth day with no dramas on either car which is a good start for the team. We had different run plans between the two cars over the sessions, testing different tyre compounds and comparing set-ups, and we learned a lot which will help us fine-tune our car for the race. Overall, it has been a very positive day. A little bit of focus now goes towards qualifying when we’ll be trying to take our first pole position of 2023.”

Ryo Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “I think the team did a very good job with a one-two in both sessions and a lot of useful data to work with, so I am happy. There are still many things we can improve which is good because it means we can make the cars even stronger for the race. Personally, first practice was frustrating because the red flags meant I couldn’t do many laps but the afternoon was better, I had a lot of time in the car and did good lap times. I am happy with the car, so let’s keep pushing for the weekend.”

Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Ferrari AF Corse

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimão. Miguel Molina did set the sixth fastest lap of the day which puts the Ferrari 499P #50 in P3 for the day.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimão. The three drivers of the Ferrari 499P #51 (Calado, Pier Guidi, Giovinazi) did set a fastest lap within a range of 0.023 sec. thereby being the lineup with the best consistency even though the car is fourth of the day.

Porsche Penske Motorsport

The two Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 969 did set there fastest lap of the day in the morning session. They are fifth and sixth with #5 heading #6.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimão. Frederic Makowiecki was the fastest of the #5 squad during morning practice which puts the car in P5 for the day.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Portimão. Laurens Vanthoor was the fastest of the #6 drivers with the 14th fastest lap of the day. The #6 Porsche 969 is P6 for the day.

Peugeot TotalEnergies

Both Peugeot 9X8 have each one driver who enabled the french squad to place their Hypercars ahead of the Cadillac and Glickenhaus. The other drivers of the squad where not able to match the Cadillac and Glickenhaus fastest lap!