Mika Salo has competed at Le Mans six times, four times in the GT category and has won the LM GT2 twice. After 109 Formula 1 Grand Prix line-ups, the Finnish driver still had plenty of stamina for endurance racing.

French marque Alpine, with Ferdinand Habsburg at the wheel, went quickest in Hyperpole Qualifying, sending the A424 Hypercar to the fastest time of the week so far and under the 2025 pole time.

<h2>Hypercar Qualifiers</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg</li>
	<li>Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato</li>
	<li>Cadillac V-Series.R #101 Cadillac WTR &ndash; Ricky Taylor / Jordan Taylor / Filipe Albuquerque</li>
	<li>BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde</li>
	<li>Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken</li>
	<li>BMW M Hybrid V8 #15 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Kevin Magnussen / Raffaele Marciello / Dries Vanthoor</li>
	<li>Aston Martin Valkyrie #009 Aston Martin THOR Team &ndash; Alex Riberas / Marco S&oslash;rensen / Roman De Angelis</li>
	<li>Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa</li>
	<li>Aston Martin Valkyrie #007 Aston Martin THOR Team &ndash; Harry Tincknell / Tom Gamble / Ross Gun</li>
	<li>Alpine A424 #36 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki / Jules Gounon / Victor Martins</li>
	<li>Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #19 Genesis Magma Racing &ndash; Mathieu Jaminet / Paul-Loup Chatin / Daniel Juncadella</li>
	<li>Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries</li>
	<li>Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #17 Genesis Magma Racing &ndash; Andr&eacute; Lotterer / Luis Felipe Derani / Mathys Jaubert</li>
	<li>Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina</li>
	<li>Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi</li>
</ul>

<h2>LMP2 Qualifiers</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team &ndash; Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #37 Cool Racing &ndash; Adrien Clomesnil / Ian Aguilera / Theodor Jensen</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #343 Inter Europol Competition &ndash; Bijoy Carg / Reshad De G&eacute;rus / Nico M&uuml;ller</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #29 Forestier Racing by Panis &ndash; Louis Rousset / Esteban Masson / Oliver Gray</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #26 Vector Sport &ndash; Ryan Cullen / Vladislav Lomko / Pietro Fittipaldi</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition &ndash; Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nicholas Yelloly</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #22 United Autosports &ndash; Rasmus Lindh / Gr&eacute;goire Saucy / Mikkel Jensen</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #24 Nielsen Racing &ndash; David Heinemeier Hansson / Edward Pearson / Jack Doohan</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #28 IDEC Sport &ndash; Paul Lafargue / Valerio Rinicella / Job Van Uitert</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #9 Iron Lynx-Proton &ndash; Jonas Ried / Kakunoshin Ohta / Harry King</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #99 AO by TF &ndash; PJ Hyett / James Allen / Dane Cameron (LMP2 Pro/Am)</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR &ndash; George Kurtz / Alexander Quinn / Laurin Heinrich (LMP2 Pro/Am)</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #183 AF Corse &ndash; Fran&ccedil;ois Perrodo / Matthieu Vaxiviere / Ben Barnicoat (LMP2 Pro/Am)</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #14 TDS Racing &ndash; Tobias Lutke / Mathias Beche / K&eacute;vin Estre (LMP2 Pro/Am)</li>
	<li>Oreca 07-Gibson #222 United Autosports &ndash; Daniel Schneider / Benjamin Hanley / Oliver Jarvis (LMP2 Pro/Am)</li>
</ul>

<h2>LMGT3 Qualifiers</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF &ndash; Peter Dempsey / Salih Yolu&ccedil; / Charlie Eastwood</li>
	<li>Ford Mustang LMGT3 #77 Proton Competition &ndash;&nbsp; Eric Powell / Ben Tuck / Sebastian Priaulx</li>
	<li>Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #23 Heart Of Racing &ndash; Gray Newell / Eduardo Barrichello / Jonny Adam</li>
	<li>Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering &ndash; James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan G&uuml;ven</li>
	<li>BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #32 Team WRT &ndash;&nbsp; Darren Leung / Sean Gelael / Augusto Farfus</li>
	<li>Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #74 Kessel Racing &ndash; Dustin Blattner / Lorenzo Patrese / Dennis Marschall</li>
	<li>Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Petru Umbrărescu / Clemens Schmid / Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez</li>
	<li>Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27 Heart Of Racing &ndash; Ian James / Zacharie Robichon / Mattia Drudi</li>
	<li>BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #69 Team WRT &ndash;&nbsp; Anthony McIntosh / Parker Thompson / Daniel Harper</li>
	<li>Ford Mustang LMGT3 #88 Proton Competition &ndash; Stefano Gattuso / Giammarco Levorato / Logan Sargeant</li>
	<li>Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 Iron Lynx &ndash; Martin Berry / Rui Andrade / Maxime Martin</li>
	<li>Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #21 Vista AF Corse &ndash; Fran&ccedil;ois Heriau / Simon Mann / Alessio Rovera</li>
	<li>Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Tom Van Rompuy / Hadrien David / Jack Hawksworth</li>
	<li>Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #54 Vista AF Corse &ndash; Thomas Flohr / Francesco Castellacci / Davide Rigon</li>
	<li>Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #92 The Bend Manthey &ndash; Yasser Shahin / Riccardo Pera / Richard Lietz</li>
</ul>

<h2>Alpine ANNOUNCES THEMSELVES at le mans!</h2>

<p>Excitement was building at Le Mans. As evening arrived, it was time for Hyperpole Qualifying. Eighteen Hypercars from eight manufacturers were unleashed onto the Circuit de la Sarthe in their lightest, most aggressive trim to date, with the sole objective of reaching tomorrow evening&#39;s Hyperpole knockout sessions. Only 15 would progress. Three would be eliminated.</p>

<p>In the first round of representative laps, Tom Gamble in the #007 Aston Martin Thor Team entry struck first with a 3:24.163. On the second pass, the #009 nestled in behind, with a chasing pack of three Cadillacs, two BMWs, an Alpine and a Toyota all within half a second as the session entered its second phase.</p>

<p>With five minutes left on the clock, teams turned up the wick, dipping below the 3:24 barrier and edging ever closer to the pole time of 3:23.166 set one year ago.</p>

<p>Aston Martin, then Alpine, then BMW all went quicker before the #101 WTR Cadillac broke the beam with a 3:23.323, with two minutes remaining. A tantalising one-lap shootout ensued.</p>

<p>New Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA recruit Louis Del&eacute;traz went faster still and under the 2025 benchmark. Then, seconds later, out of nowhere, Ferdinand Habsburg, on Alpine&#39;s Le Mans swansong, set the fastest time of the week so far with a 3:23.135.</p>

<p>Genesis were delighted. On its Le Mans debut, the two Magma-inspired cars successfully made it through to tomorrow&#39;s session. Meanwhile, two major stories echoed around the circuit. Peugeot were eliminated from Hyperpole Qualifying, with the French manufacturer managing only 16th and 18th places with its 9X8s, while the pain continued for the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, whose week was going from bad to worse. The reigning champions were dumped out. No matter how hard Philip Hanson tried, the yellow 499P will play no further part in tomorrow&#39;s shootout.</p>

<h2>Doriane Pin leads lmp2 from the front</h2>

<p>Kicking the evening off in cool, overcast conditions, the Goodyear-shod LMP2 and LMGT3 classes took to the track to qualify for tomorrow&#39;s Hyperpole knockout sessions. Thirty minutes on the clock; Hyperpole 1 tomorrow was the target.</p>

<p>The #28 IDEC Sport car, with Paul Lafargue in the hot seat, set the first representative time for those behind to chase. However, the youngest driver on the grid, Ian Aguilera in the #37 CLX Motorsport car, was first to step up to the plate, comfortably taking the top spot.</p>

<p>It did not last long, however, as only seconds later FP1 hero Doriane Pin arrived and smashed the benchmark with a 3:36.127 in the #30 Duqueine car. The pair traded blows, with Aguilera reclaiming the top spot a lap later, lowering the yardstick to a 3:35.229 in a tit-for-tat battle.</p>

<p>The young French driver was not to be outdone. Throwing caution to the wind, Pin lowered the bar again to a 3:34.662, the pair clear of the opposition. Hot on their heels, and the only other car able to get close, was the #343 Inter Europol Competition entry of Bijoy Garg.<br />
<br />
The casualties in LMP2 were the #44 Proton Competition, #25 Algarve Pro Racing, #48 RD Limited and #3 DKR Engineering entries.</p>

<h2>Corvette the Class Act in LMGT3</h2>

<p>Seven different marques occupied the top seven fastest times in LMGT3, demonstrating the strength of competition between the manufacturers.</p>

<p>Out front early on was the #34 Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette, driven by Peter Dempsey. The Irishman set the benchmark and then had to look over his shoulder at the scramble behind. The #77 Ford Mustang, in the hands of Eric Powell, delivered the Blue Oval&#39;s best showing to date in second, while Gray Newell showed the pace of the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin, proving it had the speed to fight at the front of the category.</p>

<p>In LMGT3, the biggest upset came in the form of the #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes, which had run strongly earlier in the day. The Mercedes-AMG LMGT3, driven by Abdulla Al-Khelaifi, failed to make the cut by just under a tenth of a second. The other cars missing out on tomorrow&#39;s shootout were the #10 Garage 59, #33 TF Sport, #79 Iron Lynx, #150 Richard Mille AF Corse, #57 Kessel Racing and #59 Racing Spirit of L&eacute;man entries.</p>

<p>These crews will sadly play no further part in the qualifying knockout.</p>

<p>But that&#39;s not the end of the action today. Join us at 22:00 local time for Free Practice 2 and the first night-time running of the week. Le Mans at night is always magical, and this two-hour session will give us a flavour of what is to come this weekend.</p>

Alpine Steal the Show in Le Mans Hyperpole Qualifying

Cars need to refuel 30 times in 24 Hours, so managing pit stops is a tactical affair. Every second counts, and every move is important. Drivers, mechanics and engineers orchestrate their manoeuvres with millimetric precision.

<p>Imagine you&rsquo;re at the wheel of a Hypercar in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. You&rsquo;ve been on track for almost an hour. The fuel tank is almost empty, the tyres are losing grip on the corners. It&rsquo;s about time you stopped by the pit lane. The thought has barely crossed your mind, and you hear &ldquo;<strong>box this lap</strong>&rdquo; over the radio. So, you take the deceleration lane losing as little time as possible, you flick the speed limiter on at the right moment, stop the car in <strong>the right spot</strong>, marked out by your team, and the <strong>rehearsed choreography of precise moves</strong> is set in motion around your race car.</p>

<p>Once the tank is refilled, the tyres are changed while you leave the cockpit. You cross paths with your teammate who is already half in the seat you just left. You just have time to give him a couple of snippets of information. In the box, a warm welcome awaits. The pit stop was perfectly executed. Nothing was left to chance. <strong>Engineers, mechanics and driver crew have been through the drill many times.</strong></p>

<p><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2026-24-hours-of-le-mans-ferrari-wins-the-5th-24-hours-of-le-mans-pit-stop-challenge-60731" target="_blank">The Pit Stop Challenge, when the pit crew show off their moves</a></p>

<p>Mathias Beche is one of the three TDS Racing #14 Oreca 07-Gibson drivers. He describes what happens on an &ldquo;in lap&rdquo;, when a driver comes into the pit lane. <em><strong>&ldquo;When you hear &ldquo;box this lap&rdquo;, you respond &ldquo;copy&rdquo;, to confirm you&rsquo;ve got the message. Then, on one of the straights, you disconnect your hydration tube. Next, you prepare yourself mentally for the driver change, and the procedures to be executed. A reminder comes just before the Porsche Curves, but you must remain focused. You enter the deceleration lane at just the right speed. There&rsquo;s a gravel trap there for a reason.&rdquo;</strong></em> Mistakes can happen: Alessandro Pier Guidi and the #51 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Ferrari 499P made its acquaintance last year.</p>

<p>Mathias Beche continues his description. <em><strong>&ldquo;You tend to come in a bit fast, but there&rsquo;s less grip here because this part of the track is less used, and it&rsquo;s very tight. You&rsquo;ve done three hours in the car at very high speed, so a chicane at 50 kph is a shock. You try not to lose too much speed before you pass the 60 kph sign, but you don&rsquo;t want to get hit with a penalty for speeding. Once you&rsquo;re in the pit lane, you get ready for the driver change, and you visualise where you have to stop. The engineer tells you what the situation is. You do your best to stop in exactly the right place. Then you have to remove your harness, disconnect the radio, take off your belts, get out of the car and take your seat insert with you.&rdquo;</strong></em> Once in the garage, drivers can remove their kit, debrief their stint in a few minutes, find out when their next stint is likely to begin (between 1 and 4 hours) and get some well-earned rest.</p>

<h2>LOSING A NUT, THE MECHANIC&rsquo;S NIGHTMARE</h2>

<p>Inside the garage, the pit crew are as focused as the driver for this critical phase of the race. Antoine Tico is a mechanic for RD Limited (#48 Oreca 07-Gibson in LMP2). He has a major role at pit stops. <strong>&ldquo;My job is to undo the front wheels. I remove the left and right and a colleague replaces them.&quot;</strong> A good pit stop is short and smooth. Perfection requires order. And practice. <strong>&ldquo;You try several strategies, according to who does what best. There are several ways to go about things. Ours suits us. The main thing is to do always follow the same procedure.</strong>&quot; Then reflexes build up gradually. However, perfection isn&rsquo;t always possible. So you have to deal with the unexpected. <strong>&ldquo;If we lose a nut, we have a spare one on us.&rdquo;</strong> When the engineer gives the signal, it&rsquo;s time to get ready. <strong>&ldquo;You make sure the bottles of compressed air are open, that the tyres are where they should be, that the wheel gun is switched to unscrew.&rdquo;</strong> The car comes in, and stops within a centimetre of the marks. Toe on the line, the front wheel mechanic must wait for the tank to be filled before performing any operation on the prototype.</p>

<p>What if the car comes in with a visible issue, like a damaged bonnet, for example? <strong>&ldquo;In any case, we fill it up. Then, if the damage looks serious, we&rsquo;ll bring it in.&rdquo;</strong></p>

<p>Every pit stop is a crucial moment, coordinated by the track engineer. At TDS Racing, that&rsquo;s Arthur Trouttet&rsquo;s job. He looks after the #14 Oreca 07 (LMP2), driven by K&eacute;vin Estre, Tobias L&uuml;tke and Mathias Beche, whom we met earlier. From his standpoint at the back of the garage or in the cabin on the pit wall, poring over the data screens and the settings, he has an overview of the race situation. He&rsquo;s the one who calls for a pit stop.</p>

<p><em><strong>&ldquo;Usually, we have a pit stop in the 11th lap </strong></em>[in LMP2]<em><strong>. But, if incidents hamper the race, like slow zones or safety cars, the stints are longer.&rdquo;</strong></em></p>

<h2>THE TRACK ENGINEER CONDUCTS THE OPERATIONS</h2>

<p><em><strong>&quot;We survey the prototype&rsquo;s mechanical data on the telemetry to decide when to pit. We say &ldquo;box this lap&rdquo; over the radio. Often, we issue a reminder at the exit from Arnage Corner, so the driver doesn&rsquo;t forget. When we use the radio, we use the driver channel, and all the team mechanics hear the same message.&nbsp;I let the mecanics know how long they have before the tank is full. That way, they can do any necessary cleaning while the car is refuelled. They know that when there are less than 10 seconds left, they must grab the wheels to start the tyre change as soon as refuelling is over. Tyres and drivers are changed at the same time. I survey the operations. My role is to inform the mechanics, and to do a radio check with the driver who has just taken the wheel. We use the radio for crucial information only.&quot;</strong></em></p>

<p>To win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, you need to spend less than an hour on pit stops for refuelling, and tyre and driver changes.</p>

<p><u><strong>Here are the statistics for the 2025 race:</strong></u></p>

<ul>
	<li>1st Hypercar, AF Corse#83 Ferrari 499P: 32 stops in 45:10.234.</li>
	<li>1st LMP2, Inter Europol Competition #43 Oreca 07-Gibson: 36 stops in 53:56.265.</li>
	<li>1st LMGT3, #92 Porsche 911 GT3.R: 34 stops in 47:49.146.</li>
</ul>

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Pit stop tactics: a major factor at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

One of the hardest to call races in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is fast approaching. Seven different marques in the top nine places in the opening Free Practice session helped fuel the excitement and anticipation for the 2026 edition.

<p>Sunday, felt like a long time ago, motorsport fans had been deprived of on track action for two days at the Circuit de la Sarthe - but now the wait is over, it&rsquo;s a full on schedule from now on for the <strong>94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans</strong>, as the first <strong>Free Practice session</strong> got Wednesday underway with <strong>Cadillac</strong> making it a one-two in the opening Free Practice session of the day as the <strong>#38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac</strong> went within six-tenths off the pole time from last year with <strong>Earl Bamber</strong> chalking up a <strong>3:23.786</strong>.</p>

<h2>THE OVERVIEW</h2>

<p>After two test day sessions on Sunday to help teams find baseline set-ups, today teams will be refining those set-ups, giving drivers valuable seat time as well as cycling through various race scenarios and qualifying runs. Teams also have a tricky balancing act over the next few days. Not only will they need to prepare for qualifying for the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-new-improved-24-hours-of-le-mans-hyperpole-60613" target="_blank"><u><strong>Hyperpole</strong></u></a> this evening, they will also want to keep their true race pace close to their chests for as long as possible - not giving their rivals any inkling of their real performance potential.&nbsp;</p>

<p>2026 Grand Marshal <strong>Sarah Bovy</strong> waved the green flag at 14:10 local time to signal the start of the three-hour FP1 session with the <strong>#15 BMW M Hybrid V8</strong> of <strong>Kevin Magnussen</strong> leading the 62 cars out of the pit lane.</p>

<p>Overnight rain on Tuesday evening at Le Mans had washed away the build-up of test day rubber at the Circuit de la Sarthe - creating a circuit that was almost &lsquo;green&rsquo; again. Thanks to an array of support races earlier in the day a smattering of rubber had been laid down, and early in the session drivers were reacclimatising themselves to the circuit they last drove three days ago - with many drivers citing a change in grip and car balance early on.</p>

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

<p>Toyota with Ferrari and Aston Martin in close succession got close to the Sunday benchmark of 3:26.293, but it was the American <strong>Cadillac concern who were the first team to break into the 3:25, 3:24 and 3:23 this week</strong>. The 2025 pole sitting brand wanted to show their pace was not a one off and on the stroke of the first half hour the #101 Wayne Taylor Racing car driven by Jordan Taylor which topped the first test day practice session heralded its arrival - lowering the bar to 3:25.348.<br />
<br />
Across the garage in the Hertz Team JOTA team - the #38 car with local hero <strong>S&eacute;bastien Bourdais</strong> at the controls upped the ante to muscle the gold machine into the mix in second - showing the Detroit manufacturer has strength and depth in its ranks.</p>

<p>When New Zealander Earl Bamber took to the wheel of the #38 late on - the Kiwi stole the show - first with a 3:24 lap and then a <strong>3:23.786</strong> in quick back-to-back succession. The #12 sister car with pilot Will Stevens at the controls made it a Cadillac one-two-three lock-out with 12 minutes left on the clock, before Ren&eacute; Rast in the #20 BMW M Team WRT burst that bubble to force themselves into third in the classification.</p>

<p>Ferrari, after a difficult opening Sunday gave the Tifosi a glimmer of hope in FP1 as the 2024 Champions in the scarlet red #50 Ferrari 499P held third quickest for much of the session before eventually finishing seventh. Halfway through the FP1 running, the homegrown support in the grandstands was lifted with the arrival of the <strong>Alpine Endurance Team into the top three</strong> - with the French firm showing they are well and truly in this contest with an eventual fifth.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There were seven marques in the top nine positions. Heavyweights <strong>Toyota</strong> mustered up sixth and tenth at the flag. It may have been four years since the Japanese powerhouse won here at Le Mans, but the earliest adopter of the Hypercar regulations has <strong>an enormous amount of experience to draw upon</strong>, and can&#39;t be discounted from victory this weekend no matter how much the team plays down their chances.</p>

<p>Aston Martin who have come on leaps and bounds in the past 12 months with the development of the Valkyrie finished eighth ahead of an emerging <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2026-24-hours-of-le-mans-the-low-down-on-the-genesis-magma-racing-hypercar-60714" target="_blank"><u><strong>Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar</strong></u></a> with the #009 behind the aforementioned #50 Ferrari AF Corse team.</p>

<p>At the other end of the Hypercar order, Genesis Magma Racing - the new kids on the block are improving with every session, and are expected for the time being to be near the foot of the Hypercar field. However, Peugeot struggled to get its pair of 9X8s dialled in and will leave FP1 with some headscratching to do if they want to make it out of the Qualifying session later today and into the Hyperpole shoot-out tomorrow. 2023 winners, the #51 Ferrari 449P - couldn&rsquo;t get close to the top ten in the class this afternoon and finished bottom. <strong>Reigning champions in the #83 AF Corse team were also in difficult waters</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Disaster struck the 499P crew as <strong>Yifei Ye</strong> appeared to <strong>out-brake himself at the bottom of the Mulsanne</strong>. Luckily the Chinese driver avoided major contact with the tyre wall and managed to limp the bright yellow machine back to the pits.</p>

<p>Also facing drama at business end of the session - <strong>the #36 Alpine making contact with the wall!</strong></p>

<h2>DORIANE AND HER Duqueine Team TOP LMP2</h2>

<p>One of the longest running formulas in 24 Hours of Le Mans history looks as exciting as ever. In the first hour alone - eight cars were separated by less a than a second as teams jockeyed for position on the timesheet.&nbsp;</p>

<p>IDEC Sport switched on early, but bearing down just two tenths behind was the top Pro/Am outfit the #99 AO by TF Sport car affectionately known as <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/introducing-rockie-the-pegasus-by-ao-racing-at-the-94th-24-hours-of-le-mans-60585" target="_blank"><u><strong>Rockie the Pegasus</strong></u></a>. Crowdstrike Racing by APR third ahead of the ever present Inter Europol competition fourth.</p>

<p>However, late in the day with a handful of minutes on the clock <strong>Doriane Pin</strong> <strong>propelled her ORECA to the top of the FP1 times in LMP2</strong>, with former Hypercar driver Kevin Estre in hot pursuit in second for the #14 TDS Racing team with IDEC Sport settling for an eventual third.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Elsewhere, 13 minutes into the session a yellow flag was needed to cover off a stricken <strong>#37 CLX Motorsport car which lost the rear end under braking on the esses ahead of Tertre Rouge</strong>. A Slow Zone was followed for nine minutes to allow the marshals to recover the car safely.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The <strong>#9 Proton Competition car</strong> <strong>escaped the wars in the first hour</strong>, pirouetting on the descent into Tertre Rouge. Although avoiding the barriers by a matter of millimetres, the impact on the curbs damaged the suspension meaning a trip to the pits was next on the cards.</p>

<h2>HAWKSWORTH FLIES TO THE TOP OF LMGT3</h2>

<p>In the GT category - the <strong>#78 Akkodis ASP team</strong> hit the ground running with <strong>Jack Hawksworth</strong> laying down a 3:55.737 early doors - a position the Lexus outfit would hold all the way through the three-hour session. It was to be four front-engined cars in the top four with the #32 Team WRT BMW second, the sister WRT car, the #69 BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo third and #62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes rounding out the top four.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The action doesn&rsquo;t stop here. Tonight we have Free Practice 2 - allowing teams to experience running in night time conditions for the first time, but before then jeopardy&hellip;</p>

<p>We have the qualifying session for the Hyperpole for all classes. This evening we will find out the top 15 in LMP2 and LMGT3 and the quickest 15 in the Hypercars. Those cars will advance to tomorrow&#39;s Hyperpole. The rest will have to agonisingly watch from the sidelines. Get ready and draw breath!</p>

<p><u><strong>Top 5 Classification in FP1:</strong></u></p>

<p>1. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken &ndash; 3&#39;23&#39;&#39;786<br />
2. Cadillac V-Series.R #101 Cadillac WTR &ndash; Ricky Taylor / Jordan Taylor / Filipe Albuquerque &ndash; + 1&#39;&#39;652<br />
3. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT &ndash; Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde &ndash; + 1&#39;&#39;747<br />
4. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato&nbsp;&ndash; +2&#39;&#39;247<br />
5. Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Ant&oacute;nio F&eacute;lix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg &ndash; + 2&#39;&#39;292</p>

<p><u><strong>Catergory Leaders:</strong></u></p>

<ul>
	<li>LMP2&nbsp;: Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team &ndash; Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor&nbsp;&ndash; 3&#39;35&#39;&#39;248</li>
	<li>LMGT3&nbsp;: Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Tom Van Rompuy / Hadrien David / Jack Hawksworth &ndash; 3&#39;55&#39;&#39;737</li>
</ul>

<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/results/2026">&gt;&gt; Results Free Practice 1&nbsp;&lt;&lt;</a></p>

Cadillac spreads its wings with top-two lockout in FP1 at Le Mans

Like all sporting events, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has rules, some quite surprising on the surface. Here are seven details that reveal less-known facets of the world’s greatest endurance race.

<p>The rules and regulations governing endurance racing have been established over a hundred years, and adapted to innovation and real-world experience. Some 24 Hours of Le Mans rules may seem strange at first glance. Yet they all reflect the DNA of the race: safety, endurance racing, technology and the unique capacity to push boundaries while remaining in control.</p>

<h2>1. A driver who is further than 10 metres from their car may be considered to have withdrawn from the race</h2>

<p>Imagine a Hypercar stopped on track in the middle of the night. The driver gets out and heads for the nearest marshal post. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they could be disqualified.</p>

<p>The rules state that a driver who is further than 10 metres from their car may be considered to have withdrawn from the race. As long as there is a chance that the car can rejoin the track, the driver should remain near the car.</p>

<h2>2. Nobody should approach a stationary car</h2>

<p>When a car has stopped on track, it is immediately surrounded by an <strong>invisible exclusion zone</strong>.</p>

<p>Only track marshals are authorised to approach <strong>less than 10 metres from the car or the driver</strong>. This is a safety precaution, to protect competitors and officials, especially where hybrid vehicles fitted with high voltage electrics are concerned.</p>

<h2>3. It is strictly forbidden to push a car</h2>

<p>The image of the driver heroically pushing the car back to the pits belongs to the past.</p>

<p>Competitors no longer have the right to push their cars, including in the pit lane. This rule guarantees <strong>fairness and safety for everyone on and around the track</strong>.</p>

<h2>4. The last lap must be completed in less than six minutes</h2>

<p>The 24 Hours of Le Mans is only over when you cross the finish line.</p>

<p>To be correctly classified at Le Mans, the final lap must be completed in less than six minutes. Otherwise penalties may be applied.</p>

<p>This little-known rule prevents a highly damaged car from taking a disproportionate amount of time to cross the line just to be in the classification.</p>

<h2>5. A driver must be able to rejoin the track without assistance</h2>

<p>Breaking down doesn&rsquo;t necessarily spell retirement. However, the driver must be able to restart the car.</p>

<p>When a car stops during the race, the driver must be able to <strong>restart the engine themself</strong>, using the onboard system. Drivers are prepared for this sort of emergency. If they need help, the mechanics can give instructions over the radio, if it is in working order, or via a specially-designated phone in the car. Technicians are also allowed to give advice in person at the scene, but are not permitted to touch the car themselves.</p>

<h2>6. An innovative car can take part without competing</h2>

<p>The <strong>Garage 56</strong> entry introduced in 2012 underlines the race&rsquo;s status as an automotive test bed.</p>

<p>Teams defending innovative projects may be invited to take part, without being part of the competition. Their goal is not to win, rather to explore new technology and imagine tomorrow&rsquo;s mobility.</p>

<p>This tradition makes the 24 Hours of Le Mans one of the rare sporting events to have <strong>a head start on the future while celebrating the past</strong>.</p>

<h2>7. The car must be visible in the garage</h2>

<p>During Race Week, teams are not allowed to totally hide their cars from view.</p>

<p>The rules state that the sports cars must remain visible in the garage, and not masked by curtains, tyre walls or screens of any sort.</p>

<p>This rule contributes to the unique spectator experience offered at Le Mans. Here, <strong>fans can get close to the machines </strong>and see behind the scenes like nowhere else.</p>

<h2>The rulebook wasn&rsquo;t written in an office</h2>

<p>At first glance, some of these rules may seem bizarre. However, they are all the result of years of experience, technical innovation, unplanned incidents and lessons learned on the ground.</p>

<p>A sum of contributions that together make the 24 Hours of Le Mans unique. Every car, every driver and every tactic are part of an <strong>ongoing legacy</strong> that began over a century ago. It&rsquo;s precisely that mixture of tradition, technology and human endeavour that continues to make Le Mans <strong>the ultimate automotive experience</strong>.</p>

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