Toyota put its aerokit advantage to good use in qualifying for the FIA World Endurance Championship season-opener at Silverstone on Saturday afternoon, scorching to a one-two finish to mark its first pole position in over three years.
Entering 2017 after a tough year notable for its heartbreaking defeat at Le Mans, Toyota made a range of updates to its TS050 Hybrid car and tweaked its driver line-up by drafting in three-time WTCC champion Jose Maria Lopez.
With the rival Porsche team opting to run its Le Mans-spec aerokit for Silverstone, Toyota was able to make its high downforce setup advantage tell by romping to a one-two finish.
Mike Conway and Kamui Kobayashi combined to record a two-lap average of 1:37.304 in the No. 7 TS050 Hybrid, clinching pole by almost three-tenths of a second from Anthony Davidson and Kazuki Nakajima in the sister No. 8 car.
Defending champion team Porsche was left to settle for third and fourth for the start, finishing over a second adrift of the Toyotas with its No. 1 and No. 2 919 Hybrids.
G-Drive Racing picked up pole in the LMP2 class courtesy of Alex Lynn and Pierre Thiriet, edging just 0.046 seconds clear of the No. 36 Signatech Alpine entry.
Ford eased to pole position in GTE Pro as Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell finished eight-tenths of a second clear, leaving Sam Bird and Davide Rigon to settle for second in the No. 71 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE. Aston Martin’s No. 98 entry will start at the head of the GTE Am field.