There were 54 cars ready to go when the lights turned green at 09h00 for the test day two weeks before the Le Mans 24 Hours on 14-15 June. The no.8 Toyota was the first to leave the pits. The Japanese manufacturer stamped its authority on the proceedings. After the two 4-hour long sessions with a 1-hour break the two TS 040 Hybrids topped the time sheets as no 8 lapped in 3m23.014 sec (av. speed: 241,7 km/h), thanks to Sébastien Buemi, 8/10sec off last year’s pole (Duval, no. 2 Audi, 3m22.349sec). It was 14/100ths of a second in front of n°7! Next up were the nos 3 and 1 Audis which set exactly the same time, 3m24.453 sec, 1.4sec off the Toyotas. Porsche, which was making its comeback after 16 years’ absence in the blue riband category finished in fifth (n°14) and seventh places (n°20) with its 919 Hybrids.

In LM P2, the Alpine A450B-Nissan driven by Paul-Loup Chatin was quickest in the morning. However, in the closing minutes of the test Roman Rusinov put in a stunning lap in the no. 26 Morgan in 3m37.795 sec to snatch the best time from the no. 48 Oreca 03-Nissan entered by Irish team Murphy Prototypes. The Russian driver improved the pole position in the category by almost a second. The Alpine A450 finished third just in front of the quickest Ligier JS P2 (n°35), a name that was also making its comeback to Le Mans this Sunday.

As always the gaps were tiny in the LM GTE Pro category in which the no. 92 works Porsche set the fastest lap in 3m57.260 sec thanks to Frédéric Makowiecki. Two Ferraris finished in the same second: the no. 51 works car and the one entered by private team RAM Racing. Fourth 1.2 sec in arrears was the first of the new Corvette C-7s having a promising maiden outing on the Le Mans circuit.

Paolo Ruberti in the no. 90 Ferrari 458 Italia (8 Star Motorsport) was the fastest of the LM GTE Am drivers in 3’57’’403. He finished in front of six more identical Ferraris with no. 72 and 61 in second and third places.

The Nissan ZEOD RC entered in the context of the 56th garage attracted a lot of attention and its best lap was in 3m 54.145 sec (27th time out of 54 cars) at an average speed of 209,5 km/h.

24 000 spectators enjoyed this beautiful day to get a taste of the Le Mans 24 Hours two weeks before the big day. In 2013 the test day attendance figure was 23 000.

There are many rendezvous before the start of the 82nd race. On Sunday 8th and Monday 9th June scrutineering will be held on place de la République followed by the two evenings’ practice on Wednesday 10th and Thursday 11th June before the kick off on Saturday 14th June at 15h00.

Test Day - Classification

Practical information
The 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours
82nd running
3rd round of the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship

 

Dates : 14-15 June 2014

General enclosure ticket price: 56 euros (ACO members) 73 euros (non ACO members).

Free for young people born after 15th June 1998 accompanied by an adult.

Test day: Sunday 1st June 2014.

Scrutineering and administrative checks: Sunday 8th and Monday 9th June 2014.

Free practice and qualifying: Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th June 2014.

Start of the 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours: Saturday 14th June 2014 at 15h00.