24h Le Mans
Despite an early heart-stopping spin, the #7 Toyota with Kamui Kobayashi aboard left it to the final two laps to put Toyota Racing at the top of the order in Free Practice Two as the sun went down.
The sun went down and the lights switched on for the first time around the Circuit de la Sarthe - with Free Practice 2 ending the track action on Wednesday for the teams taking part in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans. Two hours on the clock for the 62 cars to dial themselves in, and acclimatise themselves to the blanket of darkness. The dance of the headlights, the glow from the brake disks - who’s on a mission and who is searching for more speed. There is something special about night time at Le Mans. Here’s how it went…
As track temperatures dropped, so did grip levels and first to be caught out in the cooler conditions was the #7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid. Driver Nyck De Vries dropped the Japanese machine in the middle of the Dunlop chicane. The Dutchman managed to get the car back on track, but a Full Course Yellow had to be brought out for the marshals to retrieve a ripped off piece from the underside of the Toyota.
The sister #8 car fared much better when Brendon Hartley fired his way to the top in
his version of the TR010 Hybrid within the first 20 minutes of FP2 - setting the first ‘hot’ lap of the session. Later on, coming to the end of a 12-lap stint the Kiwi outbraked himself on final chicane on the Mulsanne and went offroading across the gravel trap… just making it out the other side without getting stuck.
The #007 Aston Martin with Ross Gunn behind the wheel was impressive in the spine-tingling Valkyrie fighting for a top three at the start of the two-hours, while the ever present #101 Cadillac run by Wayne Taylor Racing was strong once again taking over from the Toyota at the top of the time sheets in hour one. However, there was a heart in the mouth moment for Filipe Albuquereque whose Cadillac lost both power and lights coming into the pit lane. Stopping briefly… a ‘control, alt, delete’ helped reboot the American machine and he was on his way again.
There was an upturn in pace from the #83 Ferrari 499P as Robert Kubica got to grips with the AF Corse car - second fastest in the moonlight session was a small consolation after the disappointment of missing out on Hyperpole. Then, Yiefi Ye climbed aboard after the Polish drivers stint and the car clicked for the Chinese star too, going quicker than the #101 Cadillac at the halfway point - a position he would hold until almost the end when Kobayashi entered his purple patch - laying down a marker for the rest of the field..
After topping Hyperpole Qualifying, Alpine were looking racy in fourth - this time with the #36 A424 leading the charge. The #12 Hertz Team JOTA run Cadillac in fifth suffered a rear puncture in the final 25 minutes - Swiss ace Louis Delétraz limping it back for a replacement.
Seconds later the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 with Dries Vanthoor aboard, lost control at the esses coming into Tertre Rouge. With colder tyres and track temp, the car went light on the left hander and the BMW rotated into the gravel - bringing out a Slow Zone in the process.
Plugging away, the new face at Le Mans this year - Genesis Magma Racing ended sixth quickest, yes you read that right - sixth quickest on its debut. Incredible strides from the South Korean firm.
ELMS front running team Forestier Racing by Panis dominated the early phase of the session with Oliver Gray ‘eating his carrots’ ahead of the session revelling in the darkness - pulling 1.3 seconds over his rivals. A margin that couldn't be caught by the pursuing #4 Crowdstrike Racing bt APR team in second or the #43 Inter Europol Competition in third.
A yellow flag and then Slow Zone was shown with an hour and twenty minutes left on the clock as the Duqueine ORECA of Richard Verschoor was left stranded in the kitty litter on the approach to the Goodyear Bridge after a harmless spin. Thankfully not too much damage for the French team to repair for tomorrow.
In the LMGT3 category it was advantage Team WRT, who set its stall out early as they showcased the speed of the Bavarian M4 LMGT3 Evo in the cooler conditions. Six manufacturers occupied the first six positions in an important session for the GT cars. Teams only get three hours over the two days in the darkness, so it was important for all three drivers, especially the Bronze pilots - who need as much time as possible to get up to speed in the dark as well as finding the pace overall.
#61 Iron Lynx were another team delighted with a step forward in pace in second, while the #92 Manthey Porsche pounded around the circuit in third.
Top 5 Overall Standings:
1. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries – 3’26’’096
2. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse – Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson – 3’26’’316
3. Cadillac V-Series.R #101 Cadillac WTR – Ricky Taylor / Jordan Taylor / Filipe Albuquerque – 3’26’’387
4. Alpine A424 #36 Alpine Endurance Team – Frédéric Makowiecki / Jules Gounon / Victor Martins – 3’26’’417
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato – 3’26’’420
LMP2/LMGT3 Catergories:
Tomorrow, we will take it up a level. We have Free Practice 3, kicking things off at 14:45 local time followed by the Hyperpole knockouts, with the final dress rehearsal - Free Practice 4 coming tomorrow night. Who will show their true colours? Who will take pole for the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Join us for a front row seat tomorrow.
