Brendon Hartley will start Sunday’s 6 Hours of Imola from the second row after his #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid teammate, Ryo Hirakawa, set the fourth-fastest time in FIA World Endurance Championship qualifying.
Hirakawa handled Hyperpole duties for the Toyota Gazoo Racing crew, clocking a best lap of 1:28.920 — just over a second off pole — in the ten-minute shootout. The result puts Hartley and Hirakawa in a strong position heading into round two of the WEC season.
“It was a solid result with fourth and fifth, and I’m happy with our performance. Starting from the front gives us a good shot for tomorrow,” said Hirakawa.
Hartley, looking to help Toyota bounce back after a challenging start to the season in Qatar, added:
“Even if the result in Qatar was not what we normally aim for, the execution from the whole team to score strong points despite the challenging circumstances shows what we’re capable of. If we can repeat that performance in Imola, we’ll be there or thereabouts at the chequered flag, scoring more big points to help us challenge for both world titles [drivers and manufacturers].”
Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Earl Bamber had a disrupted lead-up to qualifying with the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA squad.
In final practice, Bamber’s teammate Sébastien Bourdais spun at the Tamburello Chicane, bringing out a Full-Course Yellow. While the car avoided major damage, the incident disrupted the team’s rhythm heading into qualifying.
Bourdais went on to qualify the #38 Cadillac V-Series.R 15th overall in the Hypercar field. He’ll share driving duties in Sunday’s six-hour race with Bamber and Jenson Button, as the team embarks on its maiden WEC campaign with Cadillac machinery.
Despite the setbacks, both New Zealanders remain optimistic heading into race day at the iconic Imola circuit.
The 6 Hours of Imola takes place late Sunday evening NZT, with live coverage available on Sky Sport and WEC TV.
Hypercar Qualifying Results:
| Pos | # | Drivers | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | Alessandro Pier Guidi James Calado Antonio Giovinazzi | Ferrari 499P | 1m28.920s | – |
| 2 | 83 | Robert Kubica Ye Yifei Philip Hanson | Ferrari 499P | 1m29.678s | 0.758s |
| 3 | 15 | Dries Vanthoor Raffaele Marciello Kevin Magnussen | BMW M Hybrid V8 | 1m29.885s | 0.965s |
| 4 | 8 | Sebastien Buemi Brendon Hartley Ryo Hirakawa | Toyota GR010 – Hybrid | 1m30.042s | 1.122s |
| 5 | 7 | Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Nyck de Vries | Toyota GR010 – Hybrid | 1m30.043s | 1.123s |
| 6 | 36 | Jules Gounon Frédéric Makowiecki Mick Schumacher | Alpine A424 | 1m30.190s | 1.270s |
| 7 | 93 | Paul di Resta Mikkel Jensen Jean-Eric Vergne | Peugeot 9X8 | 1m30.301s | 1.381s |
| 8 | 35 | Paul Loup Chatin Ferdinand Habsburg Charles Milesi | Alpine A424 | 1m30.305s | 1.385s |
| 9 | 12 | Alex Lynn Norman Nato Will Stevens | Cadillac V-Series.R | 1m30.448s | 1m528s |
| 10 | 6 | Kevin Estre Laurens Vanthoor Matthew Campbell | Porsche 963 | 1m30.815s | 1.895s |
| 15 | 38 | Earl Bamber Sébastien Bourdais Jenson Button | Cadillac V-Series.R | 1m31.925s | 3.005s |
Header Image: Toyota Gazoo Racing
