Le Mans warm-up: Kobayashi pips Buemi in Toyota LMP1 battle
Kamui Kobayashi put the #7 Toyota on top in Saturday morning's Le Mans 24 Hours warm-up session, beating the sister car of Sebastien Buemi by a quarter of a second

Kobayashi set the fastest time late-on in a largely uneventful 45-minute session, recording a 3m18.687s in the TS050 HYBRID.
That beat Buemi's previous 3m18.949s benchmark, which in turn was more than four seconds faster than leading LMP1 privateer Ben Hanley.
The #10 DragonSpeed car completed 12 laps, the most of any LMP1 outfit, with Hanley initially setting a fastest time of 3m24.954s.
But the car was investigated for speeding in the pitlane and had that lap removed towards the end of the session, which dropped the BR1 to 13th in the timesheets.
But Hanley improved on his final lap to record a 3m23.039s.
The similar #17 SMP Racing BR1 was fourth and separated from its sister #11 car by the leading #1 Rebellion-Gibson R-13, as half a second covered the leading four privateers.
Tom Dillmann recorded a 3m26.421s in the #4 ByKolles car and ended the session seventh, with Charlie Robertson completing a timed lap in the #5 Manor-Ginetta on his final run, recording a 3m29.305s.
Rebellion's #3 car did five laps but was without a completed timed effort, while the second #6 Manor-Ginetta did not take to the track during the session.
LMP2: Taylor tops the times

Ricky Taylor topped the LMP2 class with a lap almost half a second clear of his rivals aboard the #34 Jackie Chan DC Racing Ligier.
The Penske IMSA SportsCar Championship driver produced a 3m29.466s in the middle of the session to displace the #26 G-Drive Racing ORECA, which had its best lap set by Formula E championship leader Jean-Eric Vergne.
Vergne would drop to third late-on when Nicolas Lapierre took the #36 Signatech-Alpine to second on his final-minute flying lap.
The second Jackie Chan DC Racing Ligier of Gabriel Aubry took fourth in class in the driver's first flying lap of the session.
The sister car driven by Stephane Richelmi was fifth behind a late improvement from ex-Formula 1 racer Felipe Nasr in the Cetilar Villorba Corse Dallara.
All of the LMP2 runners completed the warm-up, although the #48 IDEC Sport ORECA failed to set a laptime after Paul-Loup Chatin went off into the gravel at the Dunlop Chicane.
He was one of several LMP2 drivers to have an off without taking on significant damage, with former Champ Car driver Tristan Gommendy going off at the Esses, as well as Julien Canal in the #23 Panis Barthez Competition Ligier.
GTE: Ford usurps Ferrari at the last

Ford set the pace in GTE Pro thanks to a last-minute effort by IndyCar star Scott Dixon in the #69 Ganassi-run GT.
Dixon's best time of 3m50.533s leapfrogged him ahead of a trio of Ferraris, led by James Calado the #51 488 GTE Evo, by 0.169s.
Toni Vilander was a further two tenths behind in the third-string #52 car, while Sam Bird had made it a top-three lockout for Ferrari in the #71 machine until Dixon's late surge up the order.
Porsche, which along with Ford was hit with a weight penalty in the latest Balance of Performance update, was sixth-fastest courtesy of Nick Tandy's best time in the #93 car, behind the second of the Fords.
Aston Martin set the eighth quickest time after its Vantage GTE was handed a double performance break following its poor qualifying performance, while the best of the BMW M8s was 10th.
Ferrari led the way in GTE Am thanks to a 3m53.218s effort from Jeroen Bleekemolen in the #85 Keating/Risi car, which was enough to beat Ben Barker's time in the #86 Gulf Racing Porsche by 1.6s.
The polesitting #88 Dempsey-Proton Racing Porsche did not set a lap time.
Results
Pos | Class | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LMP1 | M.Conway, K.Kobayashi, J.M.Lopez | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota | 3m18.687s | - | 10 |
2 | LMP1 | S.Buemi, K.Nakajima, F.Alonso | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota | 3m18.949s | 0.262s | 9 |
3 | LMP1 | H.Hedman, B.Hanley, R.van der Zande | DragonSpeed | BR Engineering/Gibson | 3m23.039s | 4.352s | 12 |
4 | LMP1 | S.Sarrazin, E.Orudzhev, M.Isaakyan | SMP Racing | BR Engineering/AER | 3m23.314s | 4.627s | 10 |
5 | LMP1 | A.Lotterer, N.Jani, B.Senna | Rebellion Racing | Rebellion/Gibson | 3m23.442s | 4.755s | 9 |
6 | LMP1 | V.Petrov, M.Aleshin, J.Button | SMP Racing | BR Engineering/AER | 3m23.549s | 4.862s | 10 |
7 | LMP1 | O.Webb, D.Kraihamer, T.Dillmann | ByKOLLES Racing Team | ENSO CLM/NISMO | 3m26.421s | 7.734s | 9 |
8 | LMP1 | C.Robertson, M.Simpson, L.Roussel | CEFC TRSM Racing | Ginetta/Mecachrome | 3m29.305s | 10.618s | 4 |
9 | LMP2 | R.Taylor, C.Ledogar, D.H.Hansson | Jackie Chan DC Racing | Ligier/Gibson | 3m29.466s | 10.779s | 8 |
10 | LMP2 | N.Lapierre, A.Negrao, P.Thiriet | Signatech Alpine Matmut | Alpine/Gibson | 3m29.868s | 11.181s | 9 |
11 | LMP2 | R.Rusinov, A.Pizzitola, J-E.Vergne | G-Drive Racing | ORECA/Gibson | 3m30.072s | 11.385s | 4 |
12 | LMP2 | R.Lacorte, G.Sernagiotto, F.Nasr | Cetilar Villorba Corse | Dallara/Gibson | 3m30.582s | 11.895s | 11 |
13 | LMP2 | H-Pin Tung, S.Richelmi, G.Aubry | Jackie Chan DC Racing | ORECA/Gibson | 3m30.676s | 11.989s | 10 |
14 | LMP2 | J.Allen, J.Gutierrez, E.Guibbert | G-Drive Racing | ORECA/Gibson | 3m30.918s | 12.231s | 10 |
15 | LMP2 | T.Buret, J.Canal, W.Stevens | Panis Barthez Competition | Ligier/Gibson | 3m30.919s | 12.232s | 10 |
16 | LMP2 | V.Shaytar, H.Newey, N.Nato | SMP Racing | Dallara/Gibson | 3m30.942s | 12.255s | 12 |
17 | LMP2 | V.Capillaire, J.Hirschi, T.Gommendy | Graff-SO24 | ORECA/Gibson | 3m31.186s | 12.499s | 12 |
18 | LMP2 | P.Hanson, F.Albuquerque, P.Di Resta | United Autosports | Ligier/Gibson | 3m31.425s | 12.738s | 6 |
19 | LMP2 | F.Perrodo, M.Vaxiviere, L.Duval | TDS Racing | ORECA/Gibson | 3m32.361s | 13.674s | 11 |
20 | LMP2 | H.de Sadeleer, W.Owen, J.P.Montoya | United Autosports | Ligier/Gibson | 3m32.519s | 13.832s | 4 |
21 | LMP2 | R.Gonzalez, P.Maldonado, N.Berthon | DragonSpeed | ORECA/Gibson | 3m33.617s | 14.930s | 5 |
22 | LMP2 | F.van Eerd, G.van der Garde, J.Lammers | Racing Team Nederland | Dallara/Gibson | 3m35.285s | 16.598s | 10 |
23 | LMP2 | A.Bertolini, N.Jonsson, T.Krohn | Eurasia Motorsport | Ligier/Gibson | 3m35.411s | 16.724s | 11 |
24 | LMP2 | J.Jaafar, N.Jeffri, W.Tan | Jackie Chan DC Racing | ORECA/Gibson | 3m35.876s | 17.189s | 9 |
25 | LMP2 | E.Creed, R.Ricci, T.Dagoneau | Larbre Competition | Ligier/Gibson | 3m37.436s | 18.749s | 5 |
26 | LMP2 | D.Cheng, N.Boulle, P.Nicolet | Jackie Chan DC Racing | Ligier/Gibson | 3m38.505s | 19.818s | 10 |
27 | LMP2 | M.Patterson, A.D.De Jong, T.Kim | Algarve Pro Racing | Ligier/Gibson | 3m39.966s | 21.279s | 9 |
28 | GTE Pro | R.Briscoe, R.Westbrook, S.Dixon | Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA | Ford | 3m50.533s | 31.846s | 10 |
29 | GTE Pro | A.P.Guidi, J.Calado, D.Serra | AF Corse | Ferrari | 3m50.702s | 32.015s | 11 |
30 | GTE Pro | T.Vilander, A.Giovinazzi, P.Derani | AF Corse | Ferrari | 3m50.931s | 32.244s | 11 |
31 | GTE Pro | D.Rigon, S.Bird, M.Molina | AF Corse | Ferrari | 3m51.010s | 32.323s | 10 |
32 | GTE Pro | J.Hand, D.Muller, S.Bourdais | Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA | Ford | 3m51.320s | 32.633s | 8 |
33 | GTE Pro | P.Pilet, N.Tandy, E.Bamber | Porsche GT Team | Porsche | 3m51.862s | 33.175s | 10 |
34 | GTE Pro | R.Dumas, T.Bernhard, S.Muller | Porsche GT Team | Porsche | 3m51.869s | 33.182s | 9 |
35 | GTE Pro | A.Lynn, M.Martin, J.Adam | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 3m52.169s | 33.482s | 10 |
36 | GTE Pro | M.Christensen, K.Estre, L.Vanthoor | Porsche GT Team | Porsche | 3m52.230s | 33.543s | 11 |
37 | GTE Pro | A.Farfus, A.F.da Costa, A.Sims | BMW Team MTEK | BMW | 3m52.381s | 33.694s | 8 |
38 | GTE Pro | M.Sorensen, N.Thiim, D.Turner | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 3m52.448s | 33.761s | 11 |
39 | GTE Pro | S.Mucke, O.Pla, B.Johnson | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | Ford | 3m52.581s | 33.894s | 10 |
40 | GTE Pro | R.Lietz, G.Bruni, F.Makowiecki | Porsche GT Team | Porsche | 3m52.829s | 34.142s | 11 |
41 | GTE Pro | M.Tomczyk, N.Catsburg, P.Eng | BMW Team MTEK | BMW | 3m52.842s | 34.155s | 8 |
42 | GTE Pro | A.Priaulx, H.Tincknell, T.Kanaan | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | Ford | 3m52.903s | 34.216s | 9 |
43 | GTE Am | B.Keating, J.Bleekemolen, L.Stolz | Keating Motorsports | Ferrari | 3m53.218s | 34.531s | 10 |
44 | GTE Pro | J.Magnussen, A.Garcia, M.Rockenfeller | Corvette Racing - GM | Chevrolet | 3m53.286s | 34.599s | 9 |
45 | GTE Pro | O.Gavin, T.Milner, M.Fassler | Corvette Racing - GM | Chevrolet | 3m53.688s | 35.001s | 10 |
46 | GTE Am | M.Wainwright, B.Barker, A.Davison | Gulf Racing | Porsche | 3m54.830s | 36.143s | 9 |
47 | GTE Am | T.Flohr, F.Castellacci, G.Fisichella | Spirit of Race | Ferrari | 3m55.209s | 36.522s | 11 |
48 | GTE Am | J.Bergmeister, P.Lindsey, E.Perfetti | Team Project 1 | Porsche | 3m55.289s | 36.602s | 8 |
49 | GTE Am | M.Campbell, C.Ried, J.Andlauer | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Porsche | 3m55.791s | 37.104s | 5 |
50 | GTE Am | S.Yoluc, E.Hankey, C.Eastwood | TF Sport | Aston Martin | 3m56.517s | 37.830s | 3 |
51 | GTE Am | P.Long, T.Pappas, S.Pumpelly | Proton Competition | Porsche | 3m56.847s | 38.160s | 11 |
52 | GTE Am | P.D.Lana, P.Lamy, M.Lauda | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin | 3m57.584s | 38.897s | 9 |
53 | GTE Am | M.Ishikawa, O.Beretta, E.Cheever | MR Racing | Ferrari | 3m58.695s | 40.008s | 9 |
54 | GTE Am | Mok W.S., M.Griffin, K.Sawa | Clearwater Racing | Ferrari | 4m01.485s | 42.798s | 10 |
55 | GTE Am | F.Babini, C.Nielsen, E.Maris | Ebimotors | Porsche | 4m02.635s | 43.948s | 4 |
56 | LMP1 | T.Laurent, M.Beche, G.Menezes | Rebellion Racing | Rebellion/Gibson | - | - | 5 |
57 | LMP1 | O.Rowland, A.Brundle, O.Turvey | CEFC TRSM Racing | Ginetta/Mecachrome | - | - | 0 |
58 | LMP2 | P.Lafargue, P-L.Chatin, M.Rojas | Idec Sport Racing | ORECA/Gibson | - | - | 6 |
59 | GTE Am | L.Griffin, C.MacNeil, J.Segal | JMW Motorsport | Ferrari | - | - | 2 |
60 | GTE Am | M.Cairoli, K.Al Qubaisi, G.Roda | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Porsche | - | - | 0 |

Previous article
Le Mans 24 Hours: Ex-F1 driver Nasr frustrated by 'limited' Dallara
Next article
WEC cost reduction must go further for IMSA to adopt 2020/21 rules

About this article
Series | WEC |
Drivers | Sébastien Buemi , Kamui Kobayashi |
Teams | Toyota Racing |
Author | Jack Cozens |
Le Mans warm-up: Kobayashi pips Buemi in Toyota LMP1 battle
Trending
How 'Brilliant' Bob Wollek lived up to his nickname
Sportscar racing lost one of it's greatest talents 20 years ago today when Bob Wollek was knocked from his bicycle prior to the Sebring 12 Hours. The enigmatic Frenchman never won the Le Mans 24 Hours, but many still remember today why 'Brilliant Bob' became a legend
Top 10 moments of an underrated British great
Brian Redman was one of the best sportscar drivers of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as a three-time champion on the fearsome American Formula 5000 scene. To celebrate his 84th birthday Autosport contacted him about his best races – and he decided to write the piece himself…
How an endurance racing boom could help one of LMP2's top teams
The G-Drive squad has been a mainstay of endurance racing in recent years, and has linked up with Russian manufacturer Aurus in recent years to promote its brand. With a change of rules in endurance racing's top tables, the team could be well-placed to take advantage of a potential boom...
How Ferrari’s Hypercar project could bolster Leclerc’s legacy
OPINION: Ferrari's planned return to the top category at the Le Mans 24 Hours has further heightened anticipation for the 2023 race. Few concrete details are currently known, but already it has a high-profile superstar angling for involvement, which would make a refreshing change
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
The ground-up refresh behind Toyota's new Le Mans challenger
Toyota's new GR010 contender for the World Endurance Championship's Hypercar era has little in common with the LMP1 TS050 that preceded it. But within the confines of the scaled back new rules, its latest challenger will be no less formidable a prospect
The Porsche icon that forged sportscar racing's greatest era
Porsche is returning to the top class of Le Mans with an LMDh prototype that it hopes will write its next successful chapter in sportscar racing. But it will have to go some to emulate its 956/962, a car which defines the Group C age more than any other
How Kristensen forged the Mr Le Mans legend
He is synonymous with success at the Circuit de la Sarthe, but Tom Kristensen's sportscar legacy amounts to much more than his record-breaking nine Le Mans wins, as the most successful driver ever at Sebring and a world champion to boot