- Five cars have qualified with a time inside the 3:20 barrier. Both Toyota TS050 Hybrids are in this group of five. The #8 is in pole position with a time of 3:15.377, and the #7 sister car alongside on the front row in 3:17.377. The gap between the two hybrids is exactly two seconds! The other three cars under the 3:20 mark are the #1 Rebellion R13 - Gibson in 3:19:449, the #17 BR Engineering BR1 - AER (3:19.483) and finally the #3 Rebellion R13 - Gibson (3:19.945).

- The pole time banked by Kazuki Nakajima is not the best “virtual” lap. Combining the best splits from the three qualifying sessions gives a time of 3:15.017. The best splits were achieved by Thomas Laurent with the #3 Rebellion R13 - Gibson for the first split in 31:004, then Kobayashi himself in the second sector in 1:15.035 and the final sector by Kazuki Nakajima (#7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid).

- 342.3 kph. Highest speed of the week. Sébastien Buemi clocked this maximum at the wheel of the #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid. 25 cars topped 330 kph at least once. The fastest in LMGTE Pro was Frédéric Makowiecki who maxed at 322.9 kph in the #91 Porsche 911 RSR. This mark is all the more impressive when you consider the second fastest was “only” 305.6 kph, achieved by the Gulf Racing’s Porsche 911 RSR.

- An LMP1 will start amidst the LMP2 pack. The #5 Ginetta G60-LT-P1 - Mecachrome clocked the 14th time. The other nine LMP1s will start from the first nine grid positions. 

- The fastest of the LMP2 drivers in qualifying was Paul-Loup Chatin in 3:24.842. He was nonetheless eclipsed out on the track by TDS Racing’s Loïc Duval (#28 Oreca 07 - Gibson) before his time was wiped out by the stewards. Duval failed to stop for mandatory scrutineering on entering the pit lane during the session.

- The LMGTE Pro class is the most closely-fought category. All 51 drivers lapped within 7.920 seconds of each other. The fastest was Gianmaria Bruni, with the #91 Porsche 911 RSR in its commemorative livery. Jonathan Adam (3:55.424) with the new Aston Martin Vantage GTE (#97) brought up the rear. But beware! Jonny won’t be giving up his class title without a fight!

- Seven drivers failed to dip under the four-minute mark. They are all lining up in the LMGTE Am class.

 

Photo: In qualifying, the #91 Porsche 911 RSR’s performance was as dazzling as its iconic livery. Will it continue to shine in the race? 

 

 

Overall standings after qualifying

Highlights of Q2 and Q3 on Thursday 14 June

Highlights of Free Practice and Q1 on Wednesday 13 June