Toyota Just Shade Ferrari for Monza Pole

Kamui Kobayashi took the No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar to its second pole position of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship season at Monza this afternoon.

The Japanese ace reprised his 2021 pole at the temple of speed to lap in 1m35.358s beat the No.50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P driven by Antonio Fuoco by a slender margin of 0.017s.

Filling out the second row of the grid will be the other Toyota Gazoo Racing entry, the No.8 car which was qualified by Brendon Hartley. The Kiwi shaded the No93. Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 driven by Jean-Eric Vergne.

The LMP2 category saw a sensational lap set by Robert Kubica in the No.41 Team WRT Oreca-Gibson. The pole took his first top spot in the LMP2 category heading the No.28 Jota entry which was driven by Pietro Fittipaldi.

Sarah Bovy took her second pole of the season and reprised her 2022 pole achievement in the Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19 she shares with Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey.

The fifth round of the 2023 FIA WEC is scheduled to begin at 12.30 local time on Sunday.

Follow all the action live with the official FIA WEC App HERE

The Headlines from Qualifying at Monza:

Hypercar

• No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar driven by Kamui Kobayashi takes pole with a scorching lap of 1m35.358s
• Kobayashi’s flyer is just 0.017s faster than Antonio Fuoco in No.50 AF Corse Ferrari
• No.8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar of Brendon Hartley is third ahead of the No.93 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 driven by Jean-Eric Vergne
• Alex Lynn in Cadillac Racing V-Series.R  is fifth ahead of the Antonio Giovinazzi driven No.51 Ferrari AF Corse
• The rest of the Hypercar field is made up of: No.94 Peugeot, No.5 Porsche Penske, Hertz Team Jota Porsche, No.6 Porsche Penske, Glickenhaus, Proton Porsche and Floyd Vanwall

LMP2: Pole – No.41 Team WRT

• Pole takes pole as Robert Kubica in the No.41 Team WRT entry takes brilliant pole position with a peak lap of 1m39.354s
• That lap by Kubica is 0.3s quicker than Pietro Fittipaldi in the Jota run Oreca-Gibson
• No.22 United Autosports driven by Phil Hanson claims third place start on a 1m39.790s
• The top six in LMP2 category is completed by Vector Sport (Gabriel Aubry), Inter Europol Competition (Albert Costa) and No.31 Team WRT Oreca-Gibson

LMGTE Am: Pole – No.85 Iron Dames Porsche

• Iron Dames take second consecutive pole position at Monza as Sarah Bovy claims a brilliant top spot in No.85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 RSR-19. 
• Bovy claims two laps good enough for pole but her peak is 1m47.632s, which is 0.4s quicker than Ahmad Al Harthy in ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin
• Third is the No.77 Dempsey Proton Porsche of Christian Ried as he laps in 1m48.166s
• The top six is completed by the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari, GR Racing Porsche and points leading Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C8.R
• Session split in to two parts after WEC debutant Efrin Castro in No.56 Project 1 AO Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 spins and scatters gravel on track at Ascari Chicane and also causes Mike Wainwright to spin in No.86 GR Racing Porsche

Find full results HERE