Toyota Triumph: Brendon Hartley Breaks Record, Secures Pole Position

Blazing Records and Unrivaled Speed: Brendon Hartley Leads Toyota’s Charge in the 6 Hours of Portimao Qualifiers. In a jaw-dropping display of speed and skill, Brendon Hartley clinched the pole position for Toyota at the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Portimao.

Brendon Hartley secured the pole position for Toyota in the upcoming FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Portimao, leading a dominant front row lockout for the Japanese team.

Hartley achieved a 1:30.171 lap time, setting a new qualifying record in the #8 Toyota GR010, nearly three-tenths of a second ahead of his teammate and Toyota team principal, Kamui Kobayashi, in the #7 Toyota.

The quickest non-Toyota car, driven by Nicklas Nielsen in the #50 Ferrari 499P, trailed Hartley by almost one and a half seconds. James Calado, Nielsen’s teammate, placed fourth in the #51 Ferrari.

Kevin Estre finished fifth in the #6 Porsche 963, more than two seconds behind the leading Toyota. The #94 Peugeot 9X8 driven by Nico Muller ranked sixth, followed by Fred Makowiecki in the #5 Porsche 963 at seventh place.

Westbrook took eighth in the Cadillac V-Series, with di Resta’s Peugeot in 9 place. Rounding out the class were the non-hybrid #708 Glickenhaus of Romain Dumas and Tom Dillmann’s #4 Vanwall 680 in 11th, both over three and a half seconds behind Hartley’s pole time.

Throughout the session, Hartley maintained the fastest time, securing the top spot early and pitting when it was apparent he couldn’t surpass it. Kobayashi tried to beat his time, but ultimately couldn’t, and other competitors soon realized Toyota’s superior pace and pitted as well.

Mirko Bortolotti captured the pole position in the LMP2 class by a mere thousandth of a second in the #63 Prema Oreca 07-Gibson, though they might lose it due to a potential operational infringement.

The car experienced issues while waiting in the pitlane’s fast lane for the session to start. The Prema mechanics detached the rear bodywork before pushing the car back to their pitbox and initiating its startup. WEC officials might view working on the car in the fast lane as a rule violation.

Gabriel Aubry finished second in the #10 Vector Sport Oreca 07-Gibson, just 0.001 seconds behind Bortolotti. Phil Hanson took third in the #22 United Autosports Oreca 07-Gibson.

In the GTE-Am class, Ben Keating earned pole position in the #33 Corvette C8.R with an impressive 1:41.362 lap time, set in the last minute of the session.

Despite her best efforts, Sarah Bovy couldn’t beat Keating’s lap time, finishing second. Alessi ranked third in the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo. The top three positions featured three different manufacturers.

Thomas Flohr secured fourth place in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, while the top-performing Aston Martin was piloted by Ahmad Al Harthy in the #25 ORT by TF Aston Martin Vantage AMR.

FIA WEC 6 Hours of Portimao Qualifying Results.

1. #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Brendon Hartley – Toyota GR010 HYBRID – 1:30.171
2. #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Kamui Kobayashi – Toyota GR010 HYBRID – 1:30.444
3. #50 Ferrari AF Corse – Nicklas Nielsen – Ferrari 499P – 1:31.596
4. #51 Ferrari AF Corse – James Calado – Ferrari 499P – 1:31.923
5. #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport – Kevin Estre – Porsche 963 – 1:32.404
6. #94 Peugeot TotalEnergies – Nico Müller – Peugeot 9X8 – 1:32.517

Toyota Triumph Pole Position 2023 6 Hours of Portimao Qualifiers Toyota Triumph Pole Position 2023 6 Hours of Portimao Qualifiers Toyota Triumph Pole Position 2023 6 Hours of Portimao Qualifiers

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