6H Fuji: What the drivers said post Qualifying

Kazuki Nakajima, No.8 Toyota TS050 HYBRID, Toyota Gazoo Racing – Pole
“I would say I got the maximum out of the car.  It’s always tricky to make the most of the new tyres because you only have one lap and conditions are difficult.  I think I did well enough, but you could always argue there’s a bit more to be found.  I’m quite happy with the lap and the most important thing for us was not to make a mistake, to put the car where it should be.  The biggest threat should have been our teammates who should have been quicker because of the Success Handicap system, but we were not sure about the pace of the other LMP1 cars.  We were a bit scared for qualifying but I’m happy to be here today.  It’s good to start from the front tomorrow and hopefully we can have a clean race and keep this position to the end.”

Brendon Hartley, No.8 Toyota TS050 HYBRID, Toyota Gazoo Racing – Pole
“I’m very happy to take my first pole with Toyota, with Kazuki and Sebastien.  Kazuki did an amazing first lap – it’s always hard going first and setting the benchmark. I was following the lap delta, had a big amount of traffic in the last sector because of an LMP2 car so had to do a second lap. We had enough gap to make pole, which was a bit of a surprise, and we expected the gap to the privateers would be closer  That being said, on this track, we can really do a big boost before the start of a qualifying lap which is an advantage and we’re expecting a close race tomorrow.”

Ho-Pin Tung, No.37 ORECA 07 Gibson, Jackie Chan DC Racing – Pole, LMP2
“I don’t think I did a perfect lap so there’s still a bit of time on the table, but looking back at where we started in the previous race at Silverstone, where we both lacked single lap pace, and also on the long runs, we’ve made a big step.  I’m very glad to be part of the first pole position for Goodyear on their return to sportscars, which is great for them and us as a team. We’ve finally managed to finally find a good mix and the right way to work together in order to come to this kind of result. Tomorrow is very different weather conditions so it’s going to be a tough one but we did well here last year and can try to repeat that.”

Gabriel Aubry, No.37 ORECA 07 Gibson, Jackie Chan DC Racing – Pole, LMP2
“I really appreciate the work the team has done, an incredible job since Silverstone’s disappointment and this result has shown the hard work and tenacity of the team so thank you to them.  Tomorrow is another day, with different conditions and we will approach it really hard as we did qualifying and hope for the same result.”

Richard Lietz, No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19, Porsche GT Team – Pole, LMGTE Pro
“In the end it’s always nice to have the pole, but tomorrow we have a hard 6 hours ahead and, as others have said, we are expecting some funny weather conditions.  As always here in Fuji, anything is possible with rain and weather conditions, so it’s going to be difficult to always have the right tyre at the right time.  But anyway, the car was developed for one year now and the people in Weissach have done a good job.  We finished 1-2 in Silverstone which was a really nice result, and took some pressure away, and now we have the first pole for the new car. I’m proud to be part of this group of people and of this team.”

Gianmaria Bruni, No.91 Porsche 911 RSR-19, Porsche GT Team – Pole, LMGTE Pro
“The new Porsche 911 RSR-19 seems to suit this track very well.  It was the first time for us yesterday hitting this track and we’ll see how it goes.  We improved every session, we prepared well for qualifying in FP3 and it was a good lap time.  Richie again did a good lap and it was enough for us to be in P1.  Tomorrow is another day but I’m really happy to be here, racing with the new car and looking forward to the race.”