Sebastien Buemi – Syndication Server

Qualifying crash sidelines Buemi for second Diriyah E-Prix

Sebastien Buemi has been forced to withdraw from the second race of the Diriyah E-Prix after sustaining chassis damage in a qualifying crash. The Envision Racing driver locked up on the approach to Turn 1 towards the end of the session, carrying on …

Sebastien Buemi has been forced to withdraw from the second race of the Diriyah E-Prix after sustaining chassis damage in a qualifying crash.

The Envision Racing driver locked up on the approach to Turn 1 towards the end of the session, carrying on straight into the barrier. Buemi was uninjured in the shunt, but qualifying was delayed as repairs to the barrier were carried out.

While Buemi was initially expected to race, from 11th on the grid, an inspection by the FIA deemed his car unsafe, prompting the Jaguar customer team to withdraw him from the race.

“Envision Racing can confirm the withdrawal of Sebastien Buemi’s No. 16 car from Round 3 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship,” the team said in a statement. “Following damage sustained during qualifying, the FIA have examined the chassis and determined that it is not safe to start. The team will now focus on Robin Frijns’ No. 4 car as he starts from the front row in Diriyah.”

Frijns will start the 36-lap race from second on the grid alongside Nissan driver Oliver Rowland.

Saturday night’s race will mark the first time Formula E veteran Buemi has been absent from the grid since the New York City doubleheader in 2016-17, when he was driving for the Renault e.Dams team. Buemi had World Endurance Championship commitments for Toyota at the Nurburgring on the same weekend, and Pierre Gasly filled in for him on that occasion.

Toyota turns tables on Ferrari in second Fuji WEC practice

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s GR010 HYBRIDs ended up 1-2 atop the timing screens in Free Practice 2 for the FIA WEC runners at Fuji Speedway this afternoon, with Sebastien Buemi setting the fastest time early in the session in the No. 8. The Swiss’ fastest …

The Swiss’ fastest lap, set in significantly better conditions than the first session earlier in the day, was a 1m29.523s. It was almost six-tenths faster than the sister car, which ended up with a 1m30.120s.

Third in the times was the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963, which finished with a 1:30.584, Antonio Felix da Costa reeling off the car’s best tour of the circuit.

After finishing 1-2 in Practice 1, which was held on a wet track after rain throughout the morning, Ferrari AF Corse’s 499Ps were fourth and sixth. The quicker of the two was the No. 51, which set a best time just over a second off the No. 8 Toyota. The No. 5 Porsche Penske 963 split the two 499Ps and slotted in fifth.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1416]

LMP2 was tight at the top, with the top five all setting times in the 1m33s. Louis Deletraz in the No. 41 Team WRT ORECA ended up setting the benchmark time, a 1m33.131s, bettering Pietro Fittipaldi’s best lap in the No. 28 JOTA example which eventually was good enough for second. The No. 23 United Autosports ORECA rounded out the top three.

In GTE Am, AF Corse-run Ferrari 488 GTE Evos finished 1-2-3, with the No. 54 leading the way with a 1m38.239s from Davide Rigon. The No. 21 finished the day second, with the No. 83 Richard Mille-backed car third.

The quickest Porsche was the No. 83 from Dempsey Proton Racing, which was fourth fastest. The No. 777 Vantage AMR from D’Station was the quickest of the Aston Martins in sixth. The title-winning Corvette Racing C8.R ended up 10th.

UP NEXT: Track action continues Saturday with Free Practice 3 at 10:20am local time.

RESULTS

Buemi leads first Spa 6H practice for Toyota

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s No. 8 GR010 HYBRID set the benchmark time in the first practice session of the 6 Hours of Spa weekend. Sebastien Buemi topped the times with a 2m02.982s, a time just a fraction slower than last year’s pole lap from Glickenhaus, …

Buemi’s flyer was 1.6 seconds faster than the other FIA WEC Hypercar class runners. The No. 50 Ferrari came closest, after a 2m04.632s from Antonio Fuoco, who was a tenth up on Jose Maria Lopez in the No. 7 Toyota that completed the top three.

The fastest of the LMDh cars in the class was the No. 6 Porsche Penske 963, following a 2m04.870s from Laurens Vanthoor. The Belgian would end the red flag-interrupted session fifth, below the No. 51 Ferrari that finished up fourth on the timing screens.

The No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R was sixth, while the brand-new No. 3 example, making a guest appearance this weekend, would set the ninth-fastest time, behind the quickest of the two Peugeot 9X8s — the No. 4.

The other new Hypercar in the field, the No. 38 Porsche 963 from Hertz Team JOTA, was 22nd overall in the times and completed 18 laps, the team using the session as an extended shakedown of its new car. The best time was six seconds off the pace set by Toyota, but this is very much early days and outright speed is not yet a priority.

In LMP2, the No. 22 United Autosports ORECA of Filipe Albuquerque ran just 0.043s faster than the No. 28 JOTA 07 Gibson to top the class with a 2m07.471s. The No. 23 United Autosports ORECA completed the top three.

It was a 1-2 for Ferrari 488 teams in GTE Am, with Kessel Racing’s No. 57 managing a 2m16.177s courtesy of Daniel Serra. The No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari from Ulysse De Pauw ended up second while the ORT by TF Aston Martin slotted in third with a 2m17.168s from Charlie Eastwood.

A pair of red flags interrupted the session, costing the teams almost 10 minutes of running. The first was for an incident at Les Combes for the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari, the second for contact between the D’Station Aston Martin and the Vanwall.

UP NEXT: Track action continues this afternoon with Free Practice 2 at 4:20 local time.

RESULTS