Estre Bemoans “Worst Qualifying of My WEC Career” at Fuji

Porsche Penske Motorsport driver Kevin Estre has described his qualifying effort on Saturday at Fuji as the “worst of my career” in the FIA World Endurance Championship, after a lock-up on his final flying lap consigned the No. 6 Porsche 963 to 17th on the grid.

Estre was eliminated in the first segment of qualifying on Saturday and will start on the back row in Hypercar for Sunday’s race in the car he shares with Laurens Vanthoor.

It followed a major lock-up for the French driver at Turn 1 on what turned out to be his final opportunity to progress through to Hyperpole.

Julien Andlauer made it through to the pole shootout in the sister No. 5 Porsche and went on to qualify seventh, just under eight tenths shy of the pace set by pole-sitter Alex Lynn aboard the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry.

While the Porsche 963 appeared to lack the raw speed demonstrated by Cadillac, Aston Martin and Peugeot, Estre admitted that the car’s performance should have been good enough to at least make it through to Hyperpole.

“I’m not sure if it was the worst qualifying of my career, but certainly of my WEC career,” Estre told Sportscar365. “I didn’t drive so well, and the car was also not great.

“My first lap was not great, then I cooled down and tried to push for another lap, but I never really got the grip, made mistakes and didn’t manage to put the lap together, and in the end I locked up on my final attempt.

“I knew I was missing time in sector one, so I tried to brake a bit later and I locked instantly on the peak. It was the only possibility to go to Hyperpole, but a mistake on my side, trying to over-push and compensate for something.

“Hyperpole was for sure in reach. Julien did a brilliant job. I don’t think there was much more in it. But the whole weekend I have to say, we have been on the back foot in the No. 6 compared to the No. 5. They have been quicker pretty much every time.

“Normally Fuji is a good race for us, but at least for No. 6, it looks quite tough.”

Porsche has enjoyed a strong record at Fuji in the last two years, scoring a podium finish in 2023 behind a dominant Toyota outfit and then scoring victory with Estre, Vanthoor and Andre Lotterer on the No. 6 crew’s way to the drivers’ title last year.

Asked to explain the difference between Porsche’s performance last year and this year, Estre heavily implied an unfavorable Balance of Performance was to blame — although he did not criticize the BoP directly, as is forbidden by the sporting regulations.

“If you look at the numbers, Julien’s lap is where we should be,” said Estre.

“Cadillac is very strong on one lap pace; they were very strong last year but they seem to be even stronger this year. The numbers also go in that direction.

“That’s where we are. BMW did a good job, and Aston and Peugeot are where they are because they are improving and everything is good on their side.

“When you look at the grid, it reflects pretty much the reality.”

Estre added that he expects Cadillac to repeat its dominant victory from July’s 6 Hours of Paulo after scoring a front row lockout with its pair of V-Series.Rs.

“For me Cadillac will be very hard to beat,” he said. “It will be Sao Paulo number two.

“Aston will also be very fast, because they have been fast all weekend. And it’s impossible to pass a Peugeot or an Aston on the straight. It’s going to be a tough race.”

Davey Euwema contributed to this report