24h Le Mans
The Hyperpole at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary held special meaning for the participating drivers and constructors, particularly for Ferrari making its big return to the highest echelon of endurance racing.
Twenty-four cars (the top eight from each category) qualified for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans Hyperpole, with the qualifying sessions placing the first eight in the general classification within the same second.
The Hypercar category boasted two Ferrari 499Ps, two Toyota GR010 Hybrids, two Porsche 963s and two Cadillac V-Series.R on the Hyperpole starting grid. The LMP2 field included JOTA, Team WRT, Prema Racing, IDEC SPORT Racing, Vector Sport, COOL Racing and Racing Team Turkey. Lastly, the LMGTE Am category grouped Richard Mille AF Corse's #83 Ferrari, AF Corse's #54 and #21 Ferraris, Corvette Racing's #33 Chevrolet Corvette, ORT by TF's #25 Aston Martin, Kessel Racing's #57 and #74 Ferraris and GMB Motorsport's #55 Aston Martin.
Thanks to stunning qualifying performances, Ferrari AF Corse secured the top two spots on the starting grid, the #50 ahead of the #51 sister car. Antonio Fuoco made history at the wheel of the #50, giving the Italian marque its first pole position at Le Mans since 1973 (its last official participation prior to this year). Fifty years later, the pole position time (03:22.982) was a full 15 seconds faster, demonstrating the extent of the technological and sporting progress achieved over the last half century.
In LMP2, Team WRT, JOTA and Prema Racing were considered favourites for the pole, but the sheer speed of underdog IDEC SPORT Racing's Paul-Loup Châtin was underestimated. The French driver clinched the top spot in the category at the wheel of the #48 ORECA 07-Gibson (03:32.923) ahead of JOTA's #28 ORECA and Team WRT's #41.
The Hyperpole in the LMGTE Am category was reserved for amateur drivers. In the #33 Chevrolet Corvette, Ben Keating well-outperformed the competition. The American driver beat Ahmad Al Harthy in the #25 Aston Martin by 1.5 seconds. AF Corse's #54 Ferrari rounded out the top 3.
Ferrari AF Corse's #50 Ferrari 499P flanked by Corvette Racing's #33 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R and IDEC SPORT Racing's #48 ORECA 07-Gibson during the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans Hyperpole ceremony. Antonio Fuoco: “It’s something special to take pole position in a race that marks Ferrari’s return to the top endurance class of the most famous race. I think the entire team has done something fantastic in enabling our two Hypercars to take the front row. Now we’re enjoying this moment. We all deserve it, but we know we have a long and challenging race ahead of us. We’ll have to stay very focused and give our all."
Watch the video below to relive the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans Hyperpole.
