At the Prologue this weekend which hosts the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) competitors at the circuit in Le Castellet, yesterday Porsche unveiled its three 919 Hybrids. Check out Mark Webber, one of the German manufacturer's nine drivers, sharing his desire to win in the upcoming season.

The second Free Practice session of the day, a second chance for teams to gather another round of data to help fine tune set-ups ahead of their race simulations, scenarios and qualifying procedures later in the week.

First out of the pitlane once again was the The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar, this time with Dries Vanthoor behind the wheel - with a magnificent sight of 62 Hypercars, LMP2 and LMGT3 cars in one long mouth-watering train was a sight to behold.

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

All the action on the timesheet happened early on, as things heated up immediately, with battle lines drawn within the opening handful of laps. Ferrari and Toyota were chasing each other through the streets of Le Mans yesterday, and this afternoon the two modern day icons of endurance racing went head-to-head from the off. Finishing second in FP1, Brendon Hartely went quickest out of the blocks, knocking off eight tenths off the time set by Robert Kubica this morning to place the #8 Toyota at the top of the time sheet with a 3:26.246.

Interestingly - the performance flex from Hartley not only put him top of the table, it was also under the Hyperpole time from 2024. Watch this space! Meanwhile, in his shadow, keeping a keen eye was British driver James Calado in the #51 Ferrari 499P who shaded the New Zealdander by just 0.531 on the same lap.&nbsp;

Elsewhere, it was to be drama filled. With a little over 20 minutes on the clock, a Full Course Yellow was thrown to provide the marshals a safe window to recover the strikened #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie at Indianapolis corner. With the car making it back to the pits for repairs, the precaution was lifted, and we were under green flag conditions once again.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As teams cycled through their programmes, things started to settle down. However, at the halfway point in the session, plumes of white smoke could be seen coming out out of the back of the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, with Sheldon van der Linde at the wheel. The car came to a stop on track, at the entry to the high-speed Porsche curves. For the safety of all involved, a red flag was thrown, bringing a pause to the proceedings. Despite this, BMW can be pleased with their showing - making strides up the order with a fourth fastest time at their peak in the session. But for now the BMW and WRT mechanics will have a long night ahead of them as they look to diagnose and resolve the issue.&nbsp;

A red flag was also spring into action with 37 minutes left on the clock - this time the #11 Proton Competition LMP2 car with Giorgo Roda at the helm made contact with the barrier at Indianapolis. With the car on track - there was no option but to call a halt to proceedings.

Red flags breed further red flags and with five minutes left on the clock the third and final red flag was called upon to rescue the strickend #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes LMGT3 driven by Brenton Grove. With only a handful of minutes left on the clock - the session was called early.&nbsp; 
 
It was, however to be positive one for the home crowd as as the #36 Alpine Endurance Team abley guided by Mick Schumacher nestled themselves into the top three ahead of the hard-charging #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport machine in the hands of Laurens Vanthoor who pitched his 963 into fourth ahead of this mornings Free Practice toppers AF Corse with the #83 Ferrari 499P

<h2>LMP2</h2>

The highly competitive LMP2 category for ORECA built, Gibson powered prototype cars saw a stand out performance from the United Autosports team who broke out a time of 3:35.770 early on in the session and never looked back at the summit of LMP2. The #29 TDS Racing car slotted into second late on in the three-hour practice ahead of the famous #199 AO by TF LMP2 car - more commonly known as &lsquo;Spike&rsquo; finishing in a strong third.&nbsp;

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

It was status quo in the LMGT3 category, with the #87 Lexus once again topping the billing -&nbsp; destroying the 2024 Hyperpole time by nearly three seconds. The #21 Vista AF Corse and #57 Kessel Racing teams will be buoyant with the pace of their Ferrari 296s with second and third respectively. In fact the pace and advancement of the LMGT3 teams is evident and clear to see, with eight cars already under the marker from last year and we still have several sessions before Hyperpole to come. It&rsquo;s simmering nicely!&nbsp;

<h2>Talking Points&hellip;</h2>

All eyes are on the defending champions Ferrari. The scarlet red cars have won the last two editions of the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, with wins in 2023 and last year in 2024. 2023 Le Mans winner and 2025 FIA WEC championship points leader Antonio Giovinazzi spoke ahead of the Test Day, underlining the importance of the race, overall championship and pressures bestowed upon the Scuderia.&nbsp;&nbsp;

&ldquo;We are really happy to be back in Le Mans, it&rsquo;s a very special race, a special track - it&rsquo;s nice to race here. The last two years have been positive for Ferrari and the #51 in particular. A win in 2023 and a podium last year has given us lots of nice memories and hopefully we can repeat the result this year. It will be very difficult for many reasons. Le Mans is a long race, but we started well in the championship with two victories so the target is to win again, but most importantly score points for the championship - that has to be our focus.&rdquo;

Second for the #51 and seventh for the #50 gives the team in red the foundations to build upon this coming Wednesday for the official Free Practice 1.

<h4>Top 5 Classification :</h4>

1. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa &ndash; 3:26.246 
2. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi &ndash; 3:26.777 
3. Alpine A424 #36 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Mick Schumacher / Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki / Jules Gounon &ndash; 3:27.313 
4 Porsche 963 #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport - Kevin Estre / Laurens Vanthoor / Matt Campbell &ndash; 3:27.356 
5. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse &ndash; Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson &ndash; 3:27.357

<h4>Fastest times in the LMP2 and LMGT3 categories:</h4>

<ul>
	<li>LMP2 : Oreca 07-Gibson #22 United Autosports &ndash; Renger Van Der Zande / Pietro Fittipaldi / David Heinemeier Hansson&nbsp;&ndash; 3:35.770</li>
	<li>LMGT3 : Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Petru Umbrarescu / Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez / Clemens Schmid &ndash; 3:55.276</li>
</ul>

The 62 cars that make up the 24 Hours of Le Mans grid will next hit the track on Wednesday 10th June with Free Practice 1 in the afternoon and Free Practice 2 in the evening - providing drivers the chance to acclimatise to driving these high-performance cars at night. A spectacle we cannot wait for! Join us then for all the action.

Toyota up the pace during red flag filled Le Mans Test session

Hypercars under the microscope | Aston Martin has ventured into the world of Hypercar with the Valkyrie in the hope of overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Valkyrie is a true phenomenon in that it is the only Hypercar derived from a street-legal vehicle. A singular profile that combines performance and the challenges of endurance.

While Aston Martin&rsquo;s rivals have designed prototypes dedicated entirely to racing, the iconic British manufacturer has taken a different route by adapting its Valkyrie road-going Hypercar for the racetrack. The approach is certainly bold, but one made possible by the technical regulations governing the Hypercar class which authorise cars derived from production models &ndash; if they have been significantly modified for racing.

The result is&nbsp;a breathtaking machine, originally intended for the road but redesigned for Le Mans, and now optimised for the world&rsquo;s two major endurance series, the FIA WEC and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

<h2>A V12 under the hood!</h2>

Powering the la Valkyrie is a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine designed by Cosworth. In the street-legal version, this engine reaches 11,000 rpm and exceeds 1,000 horsepower. It has however been reined in to comply with the 500 kW (680 hp) ceiling laid down by the competition rulebook, while preserving its personality.

Aston Martin has opted to cut back the engine&rsquo;s horsepower and revs to boost its reliability and fuel consumption &ndash; a key factor in endurance. The outcome is a more efficient engine capable of going the distance while preserving the pure sensations procured by a V12.

The Valkyrie is built on a rigid, ultra-light carbon fibre monocoque chassis. The car&rsquo;s aerodynamics are inherited from the combined expertise of Marek Reichman, Chief Creative Officer, and Adrian Newey, the renowned Formula One engineer who recently joined Aston Martin F1. The pair has designed an outline that generates optimal downforce within the strict limits mapped out by the Balance of Performance (BoP). 
The racing version includes quick-release fairings front and rear, a centralised refuelling system and a redesigned&nbsp;cockpit&nbsp;to improve safety and the driver&#39;s field of view.

The Valkyrie boasts double-wishbone suspension with pushrods and adjustable dampers. With this setup, fine-tuning is extremely precise &ndash; an essential feature when it comes to tweaking the car to suit the various circuits on the championship calendar. Like all Hypercars, the Valkyrie is shod with 18-inch Michelin tyres developed specifically for Hypercar racing.

An Xtrac seven-speed sequential gearbox with a steering wheel-mounted paddle shift system guarantees ultrarapid gear change.

<div><iframe allow="autoplay" frameborder="no" height="300" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/2109855204&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true&amp;visual=true" width="100%"></iframe>

<div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-85419638" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="24 Heures du Mans">24 Hours of Le Mans</a> &middot; Listen to the&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-85419638/ecoutez-laston-martin-valkyrie-hypercar" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Ecoutez l'Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar">Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar</a></div>
</div>

&nbsp;

<h2>Seeking legendary status for the Valkyrie</h2>

Since its first outing in the summer of 2024, the Valkyrie has covered over 15,000 km in testing. The development programme crossed Europe (Donington, Silverstone, Vallelunga, Jerez) before moving onto the Middle East (Bahrain, Qatar) and then the United States (Road Atlanta, Sebring, Daytona) for testing under a variety of challenging conditions. The Heart of Racing team carries the manufacturer&rsquo;s ambitions in both WEC and IMSA with its sights set on a prestigious victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Measuring up to the world&rsquo;s greatest constructors and rivalling with them from day one in the championship standings would be a remarkable feat. While other makes have several seasons of experience under their belts, Aston Martin is taking its first steps in the class. The British manufacturer is setting out on a long learning curve at the peak of endurance. Seeing the two Valkyries reach the chequered flag would therefore be a fine success in itself. 
Aston Martin Thor Team currently stands in eighth spot in the FIA Hypercar Manufacturers&rsquo; Championship.

For Aston Martin, returning to the top class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Valkyrie is much more than a sporting challenge, it&rsquo;s a demonstration of know-how. By combining the best of its road hypercar with the demands of endurance, the British firm is being driven by a tradition of innovation that could lead to a historic win.

Don&rsquo;t miss the other episodes in our &ldquo;Hypercars under the microscope&rdquo; series in which we analyse the prototypes in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/actualites/24-heures-du-mans-2025-presentation-de-la-categorie-hypercar-59635">h</a><a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/2025-24-hours-of-le-mans-presentation-of-the-hypercar-category-59646" target="_blank">igh-quality field</a>.

Coming up: the BMW M Hybrid V8 entered by BMW M Team WRT. 
In case you missed them: <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-alpine-a424-hypercar-under-the-microscope-more-precise-more-reliable-more-ambitious-59684" target="_blank">Alpine A424</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-cadillac-v-series-r-under-the-microscope-ready-to-roar-for-america-at-le-mans-59659" target="_blank">Cadillac V-Series.R</a>

<a href="https://fiawec.tv/page/679a56921229db49627128a6" target="_blank">Watch all the action from the FIA World Endurance Championship</a>, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, live or on demand with the FIA WEC TV official app! Don&rsquo;t miss a thing! Check out the app for further information.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie under the microscope: when the road leads to Le Mans

Every year, the Le Mans round is the culmination of the Ligier European Series. This year’s 33-car, two-class grid was the perfect appetizer before the 24 Hours of Le Mans next week. Romain Boeckler dominated much of the race, but a five-second penalty cost him the crown today.

The Le Mans heat is an hour long, with a mandatory pit stop between the 25th and 35th minute. Teams are under no obligation to change drivers. Some cars only have one. Pianezzola (#60) and Papin (#18) started at the front in their respective classes, JS P4 (prototypes) and JS2 R (Grand Tourings).

Boeckler got the best start at the green flag but by the top of the Mulsanne Straight the Italian polesitter was in the lead, only to relinquish it going into Mulsanne Corner at the bottom of the Straight. Maxwell Dodds (JS P4 #6) had a better braking strategy and slipped ahead. In JS2 R, polesitter Lukas Papin lay in third place, hot on the heels of No&eacute; Da Cunha (#50) and Ethan Pharamond (#74). A three-way tussle!

Boeckler made the move for the lead at the start of the second lap and had put the #6 1.33 seconds behind by the end of the lap. The end of lap 3 saw a group of prototypes break away from the pack: Boeckler, Dodds, Pianezzola, Peters and Steed in that order. A safety car intervention wiped that the gap away. Racing resumed in the 24th minute. Pianezzola nudged ahead before the pit stop to-ing and fro-ing.

At the end of lap 7, with everyone refuelled, Boeckler tried to leapfrog Iko Segret who had taken over the #6, and was followed by Vic Stevens (#27). Segret attacked at Mulsanne Corner and edged past Boeckler with three minutes to go. Despite his 5-second penalty, Boeckler was out to prove a point and reached the chequered flag first. Local driver Mathis Poulet of three-time Le Mans winner Beno&icirc;t Tr&eacute;luyer&rsquo;s Trajectus Motorsport team took fourth place. Simone Riccitelli (#7) won the JS2 R class.

<h4>Top 5 Ligier JS P4:</h4>

1. #6 Ans Motorsport, Iko Segret/Maxwell Dodds, 14 laps

2. #22 Loire Valley Racing, Romain Boeckler, 3.730&nbsp;gap

3. #27 Team Virage, Vic Stevens/Jude Peters, 23.692&nbsp;gap

4. #19 Trajectus Motorsport, Mathis Poulet/Vincent Bouteiller, 36.982 gap

5. #4 Nielsen Racing, Ben Caisley/Josh Steed, 40.045 gap

<h4>Top 5 Ligier JS2 R:</h4>

1. #7 LR Motorsport, Simone Riccitelli, 14 laps

2. #57 23Events Racing, August Therbo, 0.296 gap

3. #50 Les Deux Arbres, Antoine Lepesqueux/No&eacute; Da Cunha, 32.576 behind the #57

4. #83 Trajectus Motorsport, Mathis Poulet/Vincent Bouteiller, 36.982 behind the #50

5. #68 MRacing, Cindy Gudet, 2.383 behind the #83

Ligier European Series: victory for French/British pair Segret and Dodds

The wait is over - the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is less than a week away. To kick-off the on track proceedings, the opening Sunday is the Test Day with two Free Practice sessions, both consisting of three hours in duration - with teams able to eye the competition and stake their claim for success.

For most teams, today&#39;s running is to gain crucial kilometres ahead of the official Free Practice and Qualifying sessions later in the week. Unlike other circuits - Circuit de la Sarthe can only be driven once a year, so it is important for drivers to reacquaint themselves with the speed, track surface conditions and unique nature of the circuit. For teams, they will be getting their heads around tyre choices, aerodynamic balance and the ultimate set-up for qualifying as well as the blueprint for the race itself.&nbsp;

As the clock struck 10:00 local time, the Le Mans air was filled with the sound of endurance racing machines once again. The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar driven by Raffaele Marciello had the honour of leading the 62-car field out of the pitlane and onto the track for the very first time in 2025.

As the first hour rounded out, a Safety Car was sprung into action as the #34 InterEuropol Competition LMP2 car with Nicholas Boulle at the wheel collided with the barriers on the exit of the Porsche Curves - heading into Karting. Boulle walked out of the car unscathed and the car was quickly recovered and barriers repaired by the marshals and rescue team to enable the session to restart within 40 minutes. With an hour and thirty minutes left on the clock, it was back to business for the teams.

<h2>Hypercars</h2>

With a couple of support race sessions on track before the Le Mans entrants took to the circuit, the racing line was rubbered in nicely - allowing quick lap times from beginning. Porsche were the first to dip under the 3:30 barrier with the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 driven by Laurens Vanthoor who punched in a 03:29.002 within his first handful of laps. #7 Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi and #83 AF Corse star Yifei Ye followed suit - both ducking under the barrier in the opening 40 minutes.&nbsp;

Jack Aitken (#311 Cadillac Whelen) signalled his arrival at Le Mans with a 3:28 lap, but it was Robert Kubica who stole the attention of the crowd with a 03:27.010 lap to ignite the excitement in the session and week ahead. In total 16 of the 21 Hypercars dipped below the unofficial Test Day target of 03:30.

Late in the session Earl Bamber in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R was the man on the move as he leapfrogged the sister Whelen team machine into second place. The #8 Toyota turned the screw with Brendon Hartley showing his hand late - pipping the pair of Cadillacs with a 3:28 flat. The 2023 event winners - the #51 Ferrari 499P at the fall of the flag snatched fourth to split the two Amercian machines at the end of the session.&nbsp;

<h2>LMP2</h2>

It was to be a nip and tuck affair in LMP2, with three teams trading times at the top of the classification. The #16 RLR M Sport machine led the charge with a 03:36.593, but a blanket of less half a second around the 13.626km venue also covered the #37 CLX Pure Racing and #43 InterEuropol Competition cars.&nbsp;

On the back foot, the #45 Algarve Pro Racing team had to curtail its opening run with engine problems - forcing them into repairs for the majority of the session. The team will look to make repairs ahead of the afternoon running.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

The thunderous front-engined #87 Lexus from the Akkodis ASP Team topped the times for the majority of the session - leading from the front ahead of the Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 with the sister #78 Lexus rounding out the top three as the clock wound down to zero. The three cars were the only ones in the class to break the 03:58 target with the #87 Lexus punching in a 03:57.109.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<h2>Talking Points&hellip;</h2>

Two cars were making their Le Mans debut today with the LMGT3 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 and Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar strutting their stuff on Le Mans soil for the first time. Two brands, two icons of endurance racing - a new challenge for them both.&nbsp;

Aston Martin - winners outright in 1959 - have brought the V12 noise to the top-flight in endurance racing. Having won the GT class on multiple occasions, the gorgeous Valkyrie is the car with British hope pinned onto it. The session this morning was the first time race fans caught a glimpse of the green machine in action at Le Mans. The team are under no illusion that they face an uphill struggle against their more experienced rivals - but factory driver Harry Tincknell is confident of a strong showing here this week. 
 
&ldquo;We are all excited to be here - it&rsquo;s a huge undertaking to get two cars here. The first half of the season has been a big development programme - that continues here. With every race and every test session, the car gets better and we are excited to see what we can do here. We have the potential for this car to be a legend of Le Mans when we look back in years to come hopefully. We are happy to be the underdogs and if we get to sun up with no penalties, no reliability issues we could be in a position to surprise people and be up the order. Let&rsquo;s see.&rdquo;

Both the 007 and 009 cars have run faultlessly this session with both sitting in the top 10 at one point - putting down over 65 laps in the process.

The Silver Arrows have arrived in force with three Mercedes prepared by Iron Lynx for an assault on the LMGT3 class. All three turned heads with their resplendent, striking silver colours. The cars are working through their development plan, with the trio amassing over 100 laps between them - but sat towards the bottom of the standings&hellip;for now. 
 
Top 5 Classification

1. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse &ndash; Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson &ndash; 3:27.010 
2. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; S&eacute;bastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa &ndash; 3:28.000 
3. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Earl Bamber / S&eacute;bastien Bourdais / Jenson Button &ndash; 3:28.491 
4. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse &ndash; Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi &ndash; 3:28.843 
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #311 Cadillac Whelen &ndash; Jack Aitken / Felipe Drugovich / Frederik Vesti &ndash; 3:28.923

Fastest times in the LMP2 and LMGT3 categories:

LMP2&nbsp;: Oreca 07-Gibson #16 RLR M Sport &ndash; Michael Jensen / Ryan Cullen / Patrick Pilet (LMP2 Pro/Am) &ndash; 3:36.593 
LMGT3&nbsp;: Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team &ndash; Petru Umbrarescu / Jos&eacute; Mar&iacute;a L&oacute;pez / Clemens Schmid &ndash; 3:57.109

The Test Day continues with the second of two Free Practice sessions starting at 15:30 local time later today.

AF Corse throw down the gauntlet on Test Day opener

Mark Webber says it himself, to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans would be &quot;beautiful.&quot; The Australian driver&#39;s Le Mans ambition is level with Porsche&#39;s capabilities, for whom he is an official driver. Indeed, the German outfit clocked the best time of the Prologue&#39;s first day at the circuit in Le Castellet.&nbsp;

	<img class="imgVideo" id="3701" src="/wpphpFichiers/video/3701.jpg" />

	 
	Video: YOUTUBE Paddock-live (Circuit du Castellet) 
	Text: H&eacute;l&egrave;ne DAGOREAU / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

24H LE MANS

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Related News

Toyota up the pace during red flag filled Le Mans Test session

The Aston Martin Valkyrie under the microscope: when the road leads to Le Mans

Ligier European Series: victory for French/British pair Segret and Dodds

AF Corse throw down the gauntlet on Test Day opener

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