In 2015, Corvette Racing began its season with two wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, then - against all odds - after having lost a car during the free practice, won the LM GTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

24H Le Mans

24 Heures du Mans

After losing pole position earlier in the evening due to a penalty, the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA crew made sure they left no shadow of doubt over its potential.

S&eacute;bastien Bourdais fired the V-Series.R to the top of the timesheets with a 3:26.843 &ndash; the only car to dip below the 3:27 mark. The American outfit means business following their demotion from pole earlier in the evening.

The shortest session of the week also served as the final dress rehearsal before the big one &ndash; the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was the last opportunity for all 62 teams to finalise their set-ups and maximise valuable track time before the race.

Run under the cloak of darkness, the short, sharp Free Practice 4 session lasted just one hour and came hot on the heels of a dramatic Hyperpole.

Hypercar

The #7 Toyota, in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi, led the way for much of the session ahead of the #35 Alpine and the yellow #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, before the #20 BMW and then the #38 Cadillac climbed to the top of the standings.

After an early exit for both Japanese cars in Hyperpole 1, Toyota can be pleased with its evening&#39;s work and, for many, remains a dark horse heading into Sunday&#39;s race. Despite having gone four years without a victory at Le Mans, Toyota&#39;s wealth of experience should help propel the team into the fight at the front.

It is fascinating to see the variety of manufacturers showing strong one-lap pace. Can Cadillac convert that speed into a race-winning challenge? The same can be said for Alpine. On its last dance at Le Mans with the A424 Hypercar, the French manufacturer would dearly love to triumph in front of its home fans.

BMW looked strong too, with two cars in the hunt for victory. <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/bmw-take-first-hypercar-era-le-mans-pole-after-cadillac-penalty-60771">The German marque will start the 94th edition of the race from pole position</a> with the #15 machine, despite finishing the night down in 15th place.

Top 5 from Free Practice 4

1. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken &ndash; 3&rsquo;26&rsquo;&rsquo;843 
2. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde &ndash; 3&rsquo;27&rsquo;&rsquo;037 
3. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries &ndash; 3&rsquo;27&rsquo;&rsquo;146 
4. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato &ndash; 3&rsquo;27&rsquo;&rsquo;282 
5. Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg &ndash; 3&rsquo;27&rsquo;&rsquo;335

Les meilleurs chronos des autres cat&eacute;gories&nbsp;:

<ul>
	<li>LMP2&nbsp;: Oreca 07-Gibson #183 AF Corse &ndash; Fran&ccedil;ois Perrodo / Matthieu Vaxiviere / Ben Barnicoat (LMP2 Pro/Am) &ndash; 3&rsquo;36&rsquo;&rsquo;111</li>
	<li>LMGT3&nbsp;: Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #33 TF Sport &ndash; Ben Keating / Jonny Edgar / Nicky Catsburg &ndash; 3&rsquo;55&rsquo;&rsquo;262</li>
</ul>

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="http://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/resultats/2026">Full Results from FP4</a> &lt;&lt;&lt;

<h2>LMP2</h2>

In the flame-spitting single-make category, AF Corse will be pleased with its night&#39;s work as it ends Thursday with the fastest LMP2 time under the lights, ahead of the #30 Duqueine Team entry in second and the #37 CLX Motorsport car in third. The trio were covered by less than a second.

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

TF Sport put the Corvette at the top of the timesheets, making it a perfect evening for the General Motors brands at Le Mans.

It was a Corvette one-two, with the sister Racing Team Turkey by TF entry finishing second, ahead of the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin in third and the #13 AWA Corvette in fourth.

Tomorrow brings the Road to Le Mans race, as well as plenty for fans to enjoy away from the circuit, including the Fan Village, Open Track Walk and the Drivers&#39; Parade through the centre of Le Mans.

The next time we see the 24 Hours of Le Mans crews on track will be on Saturday for a brief 15-minute warm-up at 12:00 local time, before the race gets underway at 16:00.

&nbsp;

Cadillac signal their intent with fastest time in final Free Practice at 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.

<ul>
	<li>Hypercar : BMW M Hybrid V8 #15 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Kevin Magnussen / Raffaele Marciello / Dries Vanthoor</li>
	<li>LMP2 : Oreca 07-Gibson #29 Forestier Racing by Panis &ndash; Louis Rousset / Esteban Masson / Oliver Gray &ndash; 3&rsquo;32&rsquo;&rsquo;855</li>
	<li>LMGT3 : Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27 Heart Of Racing &ndash; Ian James / Zacharie Robichon / Mattia Drudi &ndash; 3&rsquo;52&rsquo;&rsquo;433 
	&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

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,&nbsp; 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&#39;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 &ndash; quickest takes pole as teams battled both each other and the clock. 
&nbsp;

<h3>Top 10 Hypercar after Hyperpole:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>1. BMW M Hybrid V8 #15 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Kevin Magnussen / Raffaele Marciello / Dries Vanthoor &ndash; 3&rsquo;22&rsquo;&rsquo;564</li>
	<li>2. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato &ndash; 3&rsquo;23&rsquo;&rsquo;079</li>
	<li>3.Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg &ndash; 3&rsquo;23&rsquo;&rsquo;620</li>
	<li>4. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde &ndash; 3&rsquo;23&rsquo;&rsquo;764</li>
	<li>5. Cadillac V-Series.R #101 Cadillac WTR &ndash; Ricky Taylor / Jordan Taylor / Filipe Albuquerque &ndash; 3&rsquo;23&rsquo;&rsquo;778</li>
	<li>6. Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #19 Genesis Magma Racing &ndash; Mathieu Jaminet / Paul-Loup Chatin / Daniel Juncadella &ndash; 3&rsquo;23&rsquo;&rsquo;823</li>
	<li>7. Aston Martin Valkyrie #009 Aston Martin THOR Team &ndash; Alex Riberas / Marco S&oslash;rensen / Roman De Angelis &ndash; 3&rsquo;24&rsquo;&rsquo;729</li>
	<li>8. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi &ndash; 3&rsquo;25&rsquo;&rsquo;081</li>
	<li>9. Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #17 Genesis Magma Racing &ndash; Andr&eacute; Lotterer / Luis Felipe Derani / Mathys Jaubert &ndash; 3&rsquo;26&rsquo;&rsquo;116</li>
	<li>10. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken &ndash; 3&rsquo;22&rsquo;&rsquo;559</li>
</ul>

<h2>How it unfolded in the Hypercar class...</h2>

In Hyperpole 1, the 15 fastest cars from Wednesday&#39;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&#39;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.

&nbsp;

LMP2 Times after Hyperpole

1. Oreca 07-Gibson #29 Forestier Racing by Panis &ndash; Louis Rousset / Esteban Masson / Oliver Gray &ndash; 3&rsquo;32&rsquo;&rsquo;855 
2. Oreca 07-Gibson #28 IDEC Sport &ndash; Paul Lafargue / Valerio Rinicella / Job Van Uitert &ndash; 3&rsquo;33&rsquo;&rsquo;242 
3. Oreca 07-Gibson #24 Nielsen Racing &ndash; David Heinemeier Hansson / Edward Pearson / Jack Doohan &ndash; 3&rsquo;33&rsquo;&rsquo;510 
4. Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition &ndash; Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nicholas Yelloly &ndash; 3&rsquo;33&rsquo;&rsquo;578 
5. Oreca 07-Gibson #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR &ndash; George Kurtz / Alexander Quinn / Laurin Heinrich (LMP2 Pro/Am) &ndash; 3&rsquo;33&rsquo;&rsquo;628 
6. Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team &ndash; Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor &ndash; 3&rsquo;33&rsquo;&rsquo;702 
7. Oreca 07-Gibson #14 TDS Racing &ndash; Tobias Lutke / Mathias Beche / K&eacute;vin Estre (LMP2 Pro/Am) &ndash; 3&rsquo;33&rsquo;&rsquo;715 
8. Oreca 07-Gibson #99 AO by TF &ndash; PJ Hyett / James Allen / Dane Cameron (LMP2 Pro/Am) &ndash; 3&rsquo;34&rsquo;&rsquo;280 
9. Oreca 07-Gibson #183 AF Corse &ndash; Fran&ccedil;ois Perrodo / Matthieu Vaxiviere / Ben Barnicoat (LMP2 Pro/Am) &ndash; 3&rsquo;34&rsquo;&rsquo;692 
10. Oreca 07-Gibson #343 Inter Europol Competition &ndash; Bijoy Carg / Reshad De G&eacute;rus / Nico M&uuml;ller &ndash; 3&rsquo;35&rsquo;&rsquo;038

&nbsp;

LMGT3 Times after Hyperpole

1. Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27 Heart Of Racing &ndash; Ian James / Zacharie Robichon / Mattia Drudi &ndash; 3&rsquo;52&rsquo;&rsquo;433 
2. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #21 Vista AF Corse &ndash; Fran&ccedil;ois Heriau / Simon Mann / Alessio Rovera &ndash; 3&rsquo;53&rsquo;&rsquo;412 
3. Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Petru Umbrărescu / Clemens Schmid / Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez &ndash; 3&rsquo;53&rsquo;&rsquo;614 
4. Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Tom Van Rompuy / Hadrien David / Jack Hawksworth &ndash; 3&rsquo;53&rsquo;&rsquo;869 
5. BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #32 Team WRT &ndash; Darren Leung / Sean Gelael / Augusto Farfus &ndash; 3&rsquo;54&rsquo;&rsquo;401 
6. BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #69 Team WRT &ndash; Anthony McIntosh / Parker Thompson / Daniel Harper &ndash; 3&rsquo;54&rsquo;&rsquo;655 
7. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #74 Kessel Racing &ndash; Dustin Blattner / Lorenzo Patrese / Dennis Marschall &ndash; 3&rsquo;54&rsquo;&rsquo;677 
8. Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #23 Heart Of Racing &ndash; Gray Newell / Eduardo Barrichello / Jonny Adam &ndash; 3&rsquo;54&rsquo;&rsquo;888 
9. Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering &ndash; James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan G&uuml;ven &ndash; 3&rsquo;55&rsquo;&rsquo;610 
10. Ford Mustang LMGT3 #77 Proton Competition &ndash; Eric Powell / Ben Tuck / Sebastian Priaulx &ndash; 3&rsquo;55&rsquo;&rsquo;666

<h2>LMP2 and LMGT3</h2>

Hyperpole 1 &ndash; 20 minutes with 30 cars on track &ndash; 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 &ndash; where it all counts &ndash; 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&#39;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 Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez 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.

BMW take first Hypercar-era Le Mans pole after Cadillac penalty

The Ferrari Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil competitors hit the track for their respective first races this afternoon and qualifying was held for Road to Le Mans.

<h2>Road to Le Mans | Arthur Rogeon places the #12 Ligier in&nbsp;pole position</h2>

The 58 teams entered in the 11th Road to Le Mans had a single&nbsp;one one-hour qualifying session to secure the best possible starting position for the race.&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

Enzo Peugeot initially seized the upper hand in 3:51.776 (R-Ace GP&#39;s #85 Duqueine D09&ndash;Toyota), but a yellow flag and subsequent&nbsp;slow zone interrupted the flow of the qualifying session, already cut short by more than 10 minutes by red flag at the very beginning. Only 32 minutes were left&nbsp;to clock a serviceable&nbsp;time. Arthur Rogeon took the wheel of the #12 and went on the offensive for the remaining six minutes. His time of 3:48.898 topped&nbsp;the timesheet when the circuit was once again neutralised two minutes from the chequered flag. Second in the class&nbsp;(23Events Racing&#39;s #5 Ligier JS P325-Toyota shared by&nbsp;Isaac Barashi/Matteo Franco Segre) trailed by more than 0.8 seconds. At the wheel of the #77&nbsp;McLaren 720S, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer scored the quickest time in GT3. In LMP3 Pro/Am, pole position went to a team also competing in the 24 Hours of Le&nbsp;Mans:&nbsp;DKR Engineering (Quentin Antonel in the #3).

Pole position in each class:

<ul>
	<li>LMP3: #12 Ligier JS P325 - Toyota |&nbsp;Brutal Fish by Campos (Arthur Rogeon/August Raber): 3:48.898</li>
	<li>LMP3 Pro/Am: #3 Ligier JS P325 - Toyota #3 | DKR Engineering (Antti Rammo/Quentin Antonel): 3:50.901</li>
	<li>GT3: #77 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo | SMC Motorsport (Gonzalo Mart&iacute;n de Andr&eacute;s/Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer): 3:53.704</li>
</ul>

The start of the three-hour race will be given tomorrow, Friday 12 June at 10:00.

<h2>An electric&nbsp;Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil race&nbsp;</h2>

The second day of competition in the Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil definitely delivered on action. The competitors, all driving&nbsp;Porsche 911 (992) GT3 Cups, took real measure of each other&nbsp;for the first time. After yesterday&#39;s free practice, a qualifying session this morning clarified the hierarchy. Marcos Regadas (#17) clinched&nbsp;the&nbsp;pole in 4:04.809, but Mar&ccedil;al M&uuml;ller (2019 and 2024&nbsp;champion) was hot on his heels only 0.008 seconds behind. In the end, five drivers finished in the same second.&nbsp;

From the outset, the crowd in the grandstands was treated to an electrifying battle. At the Dunlop Chicane, Marcos Regadas was holding fast to&nbsp;his lead with&nbsp;his immediate pursuers&nbsp;&mdash; starting with Mar&ccedil;al M&uuml;ller &mdash;&nbsp;right on his tail. In a one-make series, drivers push to use every millimetre&nbsp;of the track to gain an advantage. M&uuml;ller proved it by overtaking Regadas around the outside at the Michelin Chicane! The driving was clean, the defensive maneuvers masterful. On the opening lap, Jeff Giassi (#97) joined the fight&nbsp;for the lead.

Giassi (white Porsche with red stripes) found it difficult to keep up with&nbsp;M&uuml;ller and&nbsp;Regadas. The latter set a whirlwind pace in the lead. Behind that group, Silvio Morestoni (#2) had an incident at&nbsp;Mulsanne and&nbsp;Marco Bili (#83) left the track at the Ford Chicane. The&nbsp;slow zone caused by Morestoni tightened the pack. With 30 minutes left, while existing Mulsanne, Giassi doubled&nbsp;M&uuml;ller before&nbsp;Indianapolis with two wheels outside the lines. However, he made a mistake that would cost him dearly. Class legend and five-time champion Miguel Paludo took his chance and overtook one, then two, then three rivals to snatch P1!&nbsp;

Giassi had reclaimed P1 within a few laps by the time raindrops started falling. Being in the lead under these tricky conditions is actually a disadvantage. Giassi&#39;s rivals could observe how his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup reacted and anticipate accordingly. He was unable to pull away from M&uuml;ller, his closest pursuer..

With less than two laps to go, after M&uuml;ller attempted the impossible at the Indianapolis Corner, he went off into the gravel trap, clipped the outer wall, lost a mirror &mdash; and rejoined the race! Miraculously, not only did he keep the car under control, he also regained the lead despite the damage!

On the last lap. M&uuml;ller at the wheel of his&nbsp;yellow Porsche, snaked&nbsp;through the Hunaudi&egrave;res to avoid getting sucked into Giassi&#39;s slipstream. The strategy paied off, but Giassi did better coming out of the Mulsanne Corner and the roles reversed up until the Indianapolis Corner. Finally, Giassi managed to keep his advantage and won by only 0.144 of a second, trailing by only a few&nbsp;centimetres. Pietro Fantin (#117) rounded out the podium. The Brazilians lit up Le Mans with their&nbsp;talent. The show will return on Saturday for Race 2 at 10:30.

Top 3 after Race 1:

1. Jeff Giassi (#97) 
2. Mar&ccedil;al M&uuml;ller (#544) +0.144 
3. Pietro Fantin (#117) +1:729

<h2>Hendrik Viol wins the first round of the Ferrari Challenge</h2>

Seeing Ferraris on the track the 24 Hours circuit is always special.&nbsp;it is precisely on these premises&nbsp;that part of the Italian manufacturer&rsquo;s legend was forged (with 12 victories between 1949 and 2025).&nbsp;

The field of 61 Ferrari 296 Challenge cars held its first race today, their V6 engines roaring in unison. It was a hard-fought contest from start to finish, with drivers battling it out and making full use of the slipstream effect along the Mulsanne Straight. Dylan Medler (#15, The Collection) and Fernando Monje (#74, Quadis Gallery-GOAT Racing) worked together to pull away from the pack. As the laps wore on, championship leader Sergio Paulet (#1, Ineco-Reparto Corse RAM) began to lose ground and&nbsp;was overtaken by Hendrik Viol (#92, Scuderia Prana Racing)&nbsp;who moved up to third place. The purple and fluorescent yellow livery of Viol&rsquo;s 296 was worthy of an Art Car, standing out sharply against the dominant red of most of the other machines, like a knight on a mission, proudly flying his colours to secure victory.&nbsp;

For a time, it seemed the battle for victory was strictly between Medler and Monje, but Viol and Paulet joined the fray. A four-way battle took&nbsp;shape during the penultimate lap, lasting more than&nbsp;20 km!&nbsp;The purple and yellow cars loomed large in the leader&rsquo;s mirrors, right up until a collision occured. Viol does not ease off, however, and powers past! Medler lost&nbsp;momentum during his final acceleration out of Mulsanne, leaving Viol to finish alone.&nbsp;&nbsp;

In the other classes, Giacomo Rinaldo (#75 Rossocorsa) won the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli AM race and&nbsp;championship leader Michael Verhagen failed to finish. In the Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell, Yahn Bernier (#399, Ferrari of Seattle-MG1 Motorsport) secured the win&nbsp;with a lead of more than&nbsp;15 seconds. Jean Ryu (#108, Kessel Racing) triumphed in the Ferrari Challenge Coppa Shell AM.&nbsp;

Race 2&nbsp;is set&nbsp;for Saturday 13/06 from 09:15 to&nbsp;10:00 as a curtain-raiser to the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.&nbsp;

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans – Porsche and Ferrari put on a show at today's support races

A three-way fight is about to come to the boil as Alpine, BMW and Cadillac prepare to go toe-to-toe in Hyperpole this evening, after commanding the final daylight Free Practice session at Le Mans. The #36 Alpine, both BMW MTeam WRT machines and both Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars ended the session at the sharp end of the order.

The final Free Practice session in daylight &ndash; can you believe we&#39;re already at that stage of the week? One last chance to see the track at speed before Sunday&#39;s warm-up. Sixty-two cars, 62 dreams. Three hours on the clock to complete the learning process at Circuit de la Sarthe as the countdown to the 24 Hours of Le Mans continues.

<h2>BMW M Team WRT spoil the cadillac party</h2>

Setting the first benchmark were the winners of the 2023 Centenary event &ndash; the #51 Ferrari 499P in the capable hands of Antonio Giovinazzi. The Prancing Horse has had a quiet week so far, but in Free Practice 3 it reminded the opposition it was still there, posting an early 3:24.598 straight out of the box.

Cadillac has been a major threat all week, with all three of its Michigan machines featuring near the top of the timing screens. The #101 Wayne Taylor Racing entry, driven by Filipe Albuquerque, briefly went quickest before the gold Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA car of Will Stevens surged to the top with a 3:24.058.

Those positions remained unchanged until the final 12 minutes. After a brief red-flag period, a flurry of green sectors lit up for the #38 Cadillac as Earl Bamber joined the fray, putting his golden arrow into second place to make it a Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA one-two and a one-two-three for the all-conquering Cadillac contingent.

BMW would spoil that all-American party in the dying moments of the afternoon spectacle, throwing caution to the wind with both of its M Hybrid V8s. The Bavarian marque charged into second and third, before Belgian ace Dries Vanthoor, at the wheel of the #15 machine, claimed the FP3 honours ahead of the #36 Alpine A424 of Victor Martins and early pace-setter Will Stevens in the Cadillac.

&nbsp;

<h2>FROM Genesis to&nbsp;Revelation</h2>

Genesis has been one of the revelations of every session, steadily moving the pace of the GMR-001 Hypercar towards the sharp end of the field day after day. As the newest car on the 2026 grid, the South Korean marque held fourth for much of the three-hour session, with Paul-Loup Chatin in the #19 leading the charge. The brand-new Hypercar would eventually end up fifth on the leaderboard and is an outside shot of a front-row here in France.

Both Genesis cars have made it into this evening&#39;s Hyperpole 1 shootout, and it will be fascinating to see just how far they can progress.

Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul has been quoted in the press this week as saying that speed will not be a problem. However, the biggest hurdle facing the GMR-001 Hypercar will be reliability over the full 24 hours, with this session proving particularly important for completing race-run simulations.

&nbsp;

<h2>LMP2</h2>

In the prototype class, just one thousandth of a second separated the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis car and the #30 Duqueine Team entry after three hours of running. Over a 13.626km lap, it demonstrated just how incredibly close the LMP2 category really is.

During one of the out laps in the opening phase of FP3, the #28 IDEC Sport car took a trip across the gravel, resulting in a return to the garage so the kitty litter could be scooped out of the ORECA before the French team carried out a precautionary check-over.

On the stroke of the first hour, the #44 Proton Competition machine appeared to hit the barriers heavily entering the Porsche Curves, with the rear of the ORECA taking the impact. Yet just seven minutes later, under Slow Zone conditions, the incredible marshals and recovery crews had the Felbermayr-liveried car back on the road.

With 45 minutes remaining, there was a lapse in concentration for Theodor Jensen in the #37 CLX Motorsport car, running wide, kicking up dust and bouncing across the grass on the approach to Tertre Rouge. It was a heart-in-the-mouth moment, but the ORECA eventually made it back onto the circuit much to the relief of the Danish driver.

As FP3 entered its final half-hour, the #222 United Autosports car of Daniel Schneider made contact with the tyre barriers at the Ford Chicane, bringing out a red flag and temporarily halting proceedings. Schneider was unharmed and the car was recovered, but the United mechanics will have some work to do to straighten that ORECA ahead of its next outing.

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

In the opening 20 minutes, you could barely separate the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari and the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus. Both set the early pace with identical laps of 3:54.782.

Once Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez climbed aboard the Lexus, the #87 edged ahead, with the #32 Team WRT BMW squeezing into the vacant gap.

However, the Barrichello name came to the fore in the final hour as Eduardo, son of Rubens, hustled his Heart of Racing Aston Martin to the top of the timesheets ahead of the #32 Team WRT BMW and the #87 Lexus.

<h2>&nbsp;</h2>

FP3 Top 5 Fastest Times:

1. BMW M Hybrid V8 #15 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Kevin Magnussen / Raffaele Marciello / Dries Vanthoor &ndash; 3:23.302 
2. Alpine A424 #36 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki / Jules Gounon / Victor Martins &ndash; 3:23.725 
3. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato &ndash; 3:23.816 
4. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde &ndash; 3:24.162 
5. Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #17 Genesis Magma Racing &ndash; Andr&eacute; Lotterer / Luis Felipe Derani / Mathys Jaubert &ndash; 3:24.195

Top Times in LMP2 and LMGT3

<ul>
	<li>LMP2 : Oreca 07-Gibson #29 Forestier Racing by Panis &ndash; Louis Rousset / Esteban Masson / Oliver Gray &ndash; 3:34.252</li>
	<li>LMGT3 : Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #23 Heart Of Racing &ndash; Gray Newell / Eduardo Barrichello / Jonny Adam &ndash; 3:53.728</li>
</ul>

&gt;&gt;&gt; <a href="http://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/resultats/2026">Free Practice 3 Results </a>&lt;&lt;&lt; 
&nbsp;

All eyes on Alpine, BMW and Cadillac heading into Hyperpole

Corvette Racing&#39;s early 2016 season was a copy and paste of the previous year, but the men under Doug Fehan, Corvette Racing&#39;s Program Manager, were unable to repeat their&nbsp;performance at Le Mans. But&nbsp;that did not prevent them from celebrating their&nbsp;100th victory in endurance and winning three titles - Driver, Team and Constructor - in the American championship&hellip;

Video: YouTube - Pratt &amp; Miller

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