24h Le Mans
Incredible scenes marked the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as BMW claimed pole position after an action-packed final Hyperpole session. Jack Aitken, driving the #38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac, was quickest on the road, but a penalty carried over from earlier in the week dropped the car to tenth on the grid, promoting the German manufacturer to the top spot.
The American Cadillac brand looked set to secure back-to-back pole positions at Le Mans, but a penalty for not complying with the pit lane start procedure st the start of the evening dropped the #38 from first to tenth in the standings, handing BMW its first pole position of the Hypercar era at Le Mans.
In LMP2, the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis entry claimed pole and In LMGT3, Heart of Racing and Aston Martin secured the top spot.
All eyes were fixed on the Circuit de la Sarthe. Following Wednesday evening's dramatic qualifying session, which whetted the appetite for the main event, the famous venue came to a standstill for Hyperpole.
Hyperpole 1 reduced the Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 fields to ten contenders before Hyperpole 2 unleashed a no-holds-barred final shootout – quickest takes pole as teams battled both each other and the clock.
In Hyperpole 1, the 15 fastest cars from Wednesday's qualifying session went head-to-head in low-fuel trim.
BMW were the first to circulate and immediately laid down the gauntlet with a provisional one-two. However, an influx of competitive laps from Cadillac, Genesis, Alpine and Toyota offered an early glimpse that sparks were about to fly.
Halfway through the session, with the sun disappearing behind the clouds and ambient temperatures dropping by the minute, every team dived into the pit lane to bolt on fresh soft tyres and extract every ounce of performance.
Charles Milesi delighted the French crowd by setting the fastest time in Hyperpole 1, with the ever-present Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac second and the #17 Genesis Magma Racing machine third.
The biggest story was Toyota's shock elimination. Both GR010 HYBRIDs were dumped out in the opening session, managing only 14th and 15th fastest. Joining them on the casualty list were the #36 Alpine A424, the 2024-winning #50 Ferrari AF Corse entry and the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie.
In Hyperpole 2, the atmosphere was palpable as the ten fastest cars headed out for one final dogfight.
BMW laid down the gauntlet as Dries Vanthoor scorched the timesheets with a 3:22.745 on the first runs. The Belgian Bullet then found even more pace, hustling the M Hybrid V8 around the 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe to shave a few more tenths from his benchmark.
BMW looked set for pole, but a textbook final lap from Jack Aitken aboard the #38 Cadillac snatched top spot by just five thousandths of a second, securing what appeared to be back-to-back poles for Cadillac at Le Mans. However, an infringement from earlier in the week resulted in a penalty that dropped the British driver and the American team to tenth on the grid.
The sister #12 Cadillac of Will Stevens inherited second place, while French hopes rest on the #35 Alpine A424 in third, ahead of the #20 BMW in fourth and the WTR-run Cadillac in fifth.
Genesis enjoyed a dream Le Mans debut by qualifying sixth and ninth overall. British fans will be cheering on the #009 Aston Martin from seventh, while the Italian tifosi will be left hoping the #51 Ferrari can move forward after qualifying eighth.
The rapid #38 Cadillac, quickest on the road, will start from the middle of the Hypercar pack. Watch out for it tomorrow.
LMP2 Times after Hyperpole
1. Oreca 07-Gibson #29 Forestier Racing by Panis – Louis Rousset / Esteban Masson / Oliver Gray – 3’32’’855
2. Oreca 07-Gibson #28 IDEC Sport – Paul Lafargue / Valerio Rinicella / Job Van Uitert – 3’33’’242
3. Oreca 07-Gibson #24 Nielsen Racing – David Heinemeier Hansson / Edward Pearson / Jack Doohan – 3’33’’510
4. Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition – Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nicholas Yelloly – 3’33’’578
5. Oreca 07-Gibson #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR – George Kurtz / Alexander Quinn / Laurin Heinrich (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’33’’628
6. Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team – Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor – 3’33’’702
7. Oreca 07-Gibson #14 TDS Racing – Tobias Lutke / Mathias Beche / Kévin Estre (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’33’’715
8. Oreca 07-Gibson #99 AO by TF – PJ Hyett / James Allen / Dane Cameron (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’34’’280
9. Oreca 07-Gibson #183 AF Corse – François Perrodo / Matthieu Vaxiviere / Ben Barnicoat (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’34’’692
10. Oreca 07-Gibson #343 Inter Europol Competition – Bijoy Carg / Reshad De Gérus / Nico Müller – 3’35’’038
LMGT3 Times after Hyperpole
1. Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27 Heart Of Racing – Ian James / Zacharie Robichon / Mattia Drudi – 3’52’’433
2. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #21 Vista AF Corse – François Heriau / Simon Mann / Alessio Rovera – 3’53’’412
3. Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team – Petru Umbrărescu / Clemens Schmid / José María López – 3’53’’614
4. Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 Akkodis ASP Team – Tom Van Rompuy / Hadrien David / Jack Hawksworth – 3’53’’869
5. BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #32 Team WRT – Darren Leung / Sean Gelael / Augusto Farfus – 3’54’’401
6. BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #69 Team WRT – Anthony McIntosh / Parker Thompson / Daniel Harper – 3’54’’655
7. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #74 Kessel Racing – Dustin Blattner / Lorenzo Patrese / Dennis Marschall – 3’54’’677
8. Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #23 Heart Of Racing – Gray Newell / Eduardo Barrichello / Jonny Adam – 3’54’’888
9. Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering – James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan Güven – 3’55’’610
10. Ford Mustang LMGT3 #77 Proton Competition – Eric Powell / Ben Tuck / Sebastian Priaulx – 3’55’’666
Hyperpole 1 – 20 minutes with 30 cars on track – was a frantic affair.
In the LMP2 prototypes, Tom Dillmann was the class act, booking Inter Europol Competition a place in Hyperpole 2, with the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR just a tenth behind.
The casualties in the first session were the two United Autosports cars (#22 and #222), the #26 Vector Sport, the #9 Proton Competition, and the #37 CLX Motorsport entry, which found itself in the wars when Theodor Jensen hit the barriers after overcooking it on the exit of the second chicane on the Mulsanne Straight.
In the GT category, Heart of Racing carried its Free Practice pace into Hyperpole 1 to ensure Aston Martin would be represented in the top ten.
In fact, seven of the eight LMGT3 manufacturers secured places in the final shootout, with only McLaren missing out.
One of the drives of the session came from Guernseyman Sebastian Priaulx, who hauled the #77 Ford Mustang LMGT3 into seventh when, at one stage, both Blue Oval entries were languishing at the foot of the timesheets and looked destined for an early bath.
Francesco Castellacci, in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, got too greedy with the track limits heading into Tertre Rouge, caught the grass on the outside left, and pirouetted off the circuit. The spin upset his rhythm and prevented him from breaking into the top ten.
Also missing out on the final showdown were Logan Sargeant in the #88 Ford Mustang, the #61 and #62 Mercedes-AMG entries, and the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3.
Upping the ante, Hyperpole 2 – where it all counts – saw just 15 minutes on the clock.
The final five minutes stirred the emotions, with eight of the ten cars dipping below the previous pole time in a frenetic finale.
The #28 IDEC Sport entry struck first, with Job van Uitert at the wheel. His rapid run would eventually be shuffled down the order, but as the session unfolded he was the final driver to complete his lap. The Flying Dutchman ultimately secured second place, although he could not match the pace of the car ahead.
Esteban Masson, aboard the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis machine, was on rails, setting a scorching 3:32.855 to claim LMP2 pole position. Cue jubilant scenes in the Panis camp and celebrations for team owner Olivier Panis.
It was panic stations at the #78 Akkodis ASP Team garage. The mechanics struggled to close the driver's door, costing Jack Hawksworth valuable track time. The brilliant Brit refused to let it ruin his evening, setting the fourth-fastest time behind team-mate José María López in the sister #87 Lexus.
Vista AF Corse, with the #21 Ferrari, will line up on the front row in second, while Mattia Drudi secured a sublime pole position for Heart of Racing and Aston Martin with a 3:52.433.
He was the only driver to dip below the 3:53 barrier.
