Toyota beats Porsche in 2017 6 Hours of Silverstone

Toyota beats Porsche in 2017 6 Hours of Silverstone

The 2017 World Endurance Championship (WEC) season opener at Silverstone saw Toyota emerge victorious at the British circuit, with drivers Kazuki Nakajima, Anthony Davidson, and Sebastien Buemi each taking the wheel of the new TS050 Hybrid to the chequered flag.

The Toyotas’ comfortable lead in qualifying was reflected in their race pace, as the high downforce configuration TS050s held an advantage over the Porsche 919 racers, with the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid of Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber and Timo Bernhard finishing in second in the race.

The #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid driven by Jose Maria Lopez crashed at Copse, allowing the #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid to challenge the #8 Toyota for the race lead with a strategic pit stop. As the Porsche and the Toyota pitted, the German car paused just for fuel while the Japanese car took on four new tyres and a driver switch, with Nakajima handing over to Buemi.

Hartley emerged from the pit stop ahead of Buemi with an eight-second advantage with just over half an hour’s racing to go, though Buemi was able to pick up the pace and reel the Porsche in at a rate of over one second per lap, with the eventual pass for the lead coming with 12 minutes remaining in the race. The TS050 Hybrid took its first WEC win since 2014, and this Silverstone victory was the #8 car’s first with this trio of ex-F1 drivers.

Toyota beats Porsche in 2017 6 Hours of Silverstone

In the LMP2 class, the #38 car of Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca run by JOTA Sport took a comfortable class win, piloted by Oliver Jarvis, Thomas Laurent and Ho-Pin Tung. Defending LMP2 class champion Signatech Alpine ran steadily for the first two-thirds of the race, before a couple of full course yellow flag cautions mixed the running order up.

Matthieu Vaxiviere of TDS Racing led the class when racing resumed on the fifth hour, before the #38 Jackie Chan Oreca driven by Jarvis overtook the TDS Racing Oreca in the final hour. In the end, Jarvis took the #38 Jackie Chan Oreca to the class win, by a margin of 19.376 seconds over the #13 Rebellion Oreca driven by Nicolas Prost, Bruno Senna and Julien Canal.

Further afield in the GTE Pro category, it was a Ford and Ferrari melee initially led by the #67 Ford GT of Harry Tincknell, Andy Priaulx and Pipo Derani. A door problem saw the trio fall off the category lead, and the #51 AF Corse Ferrari of James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi marched on. Following two full course yellows, Tincknell brought the #67 Ford GT back into contention, and finished 15 seconds ahead of the #51 AF Corse Ferrari.

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Mick Chan

Open roads and closed circuits hold great allure for Mick Chan. Driving heaven to him is exercising a playful chassis on twisty paths; prizes ergonomics and involvement over gadgetry. Spent three years at a motoring newspaper and short stint with a magazine prior to joining this website.

 

Comments

  • Meanwhile at F1, Honda is…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 9
    • Mikey on Apr 19, 2017 at 9:50 am

      The article is about Porsche & Toyota. Bcos U cannot bash Toyo here, now U bash Honda pulak. What have Honda got 2 do here ??!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • Jimmy on Apr 18, 2017 at 11:26 pm

    Nobody feels proud wearing a Selko, not even a Grand Selko, but he/she does if it is a Breguet.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 3
    • Sama L00 on Apr 19, 2017 at 9:12 am

      Typical Malaysian kampung mentality. Whatever from European is good, even the VW gearbox cost them dearly in the past. Once you step out of the kampung, you will understand everyone else in the world appreciate Japanese technology.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • Malaysian on Apr 19, 2017 at 3:01 am

    This is Toyota breed and it shows and it won. May the Vios be with you! -Proud VP of Toyota Vios Club Malaysia-

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • Quattro on Apr 19, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    Porsche has no change when agianst the Toyota.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Aloysius Chan Fatt Seng on Apr 19, 2017 at 2:34 pm

    Shout out by a proud Vios owner here.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Sam Loo (ori1) on Apr 25, 2017 at 8:15 pm

    Maybe because Porche sui kwan along the way?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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