Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport, is resolved to keep the title fight alive until the season’s final event, even though the Barcelona qualifying for the FIA World Endurance Championship fell short of expectations.
The German brand aimed to cut the 23-point gap to Toyota in the constructors’ standings and to reduce the 24-point deficit of Robin Frijns and Rene Rast against the No. 8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid duo in the drivers’ standings, but both WRT BMW M Hybrid V8s failed to reach Hyperpole at Barcelona, while the No. 8 car lined up on the front row.
“From a championship perspective, it’s far from ideal,” Roos remarked about Toyota’s front-row lockout.
“One must be present in this championship at all times and you can’t afford to miss chances to score points.
“Our clear objective is to push forward, collect as many points as possible and keep the title race open until the final race.”
“We had hoped to close the gap [to Toyota] here, but it looks like that will be difficult for us to achieve. That remains our goal.”
Roos did not anticipate contending for pole at Barcelona, yet he remained frustrated to see no car in Hyperpole, with starting positions of 13th and 16th for Sunday’s race.
“We knew this venue would be tough, it isn’t our favorite circuit, but we still expected at least one car, maybe two, to break into Hyperpole,” Roos commented.
“We were clear we wouldn’t push for pole, but having no car reach Hyperpole is certainly disappointing.”
Ferrari’s slim title hopes also suffered during qualifying as the factory 499Ps will begin from eighth and 14th, with Antonio Giovinazzi receiving an additional one-position penalty for impeding.
Currently 54 points behind Toyota in third place of the manufacturers’ standings, while the No. 51 crew sit 30 points adrift at the top of the drivers’ table.
Nevertheless, both BMW and Ferrari could benefit from the wet weather forecast for Sunday’s race that might shuffle the order and allow them to reel in ground on Toyota.
However, No. 51 Ferrari driver James Calado stressed that any thoughts of defending last year’s title were “not in my mind.”
“Mathematically it’s possible, but the odds are very slim,” he added.
“We head into this race and Monza with the same fighting spirit as always; anything can happen.”
“If Toyota were to fail to finish and we were to win, we’d be straight back in the fight, so anything can happen. But the chances aren’t in our favor.”
The Italian marque also believed it was not in the hunt for Barcelona pole and lamented a scruffy qualifying that prevented both cars from climbing higher up the grid.
Antonio Fuoco’s best lap in the No. 50 machine was deleted for track-limits violations, while Giovinazzi encountered traffic on his run after a time had also been scratched off.
“A small mistake when you need to do more because you’re a little behind the others, this kind of thing can happen,” Fuoco told Sportscar365.
“Unfortunately, it was on the last corner and I had to abort the next attempt, which was actually quite strong in sector one.”
Alessandro Pier Guidi, who shares the No. 51 car with Giovinazzi and Calado, added: “We were hoping for something a bit better. It probably wasn’t the best qualifying, not the cleanest.”
“For sure we don’t have the pace to challenge for the pole, but P4, P5, P6 was our target and the best possible outcome.”
Jamie Klein contributed to this report
