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.

<p>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&rsquo;s on a mission and who is searching for more speed. There is something special about night time at Le Mans. Here&rsquo;s how it went&hellip;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Hypercar</h2>

<p>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.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The sister #8 car fared much better when Brendon Hartley fired his way to the top in</p>

<p>&nbsp;his version of the TR010 Hybrid within the first 20 minutes of FP2 - setting the first &lsquo;hot&rsquo; 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&hellip; just making it out the other side without getting stuck.&nbsp;</p>

<p>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&hellip; a &lsquo;control, alt, delete&rsquo; helped reboot the American machine and he was on his way again.</p>

<p>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..</p>

<p>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 Del&eacute;traz limping it back for a replacement.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<h2>LMP2</h2>

<p>ELMS front running team Forestier Racing by Panis dominated the early phase of the session with Oliver Gray &lsquo;eating his carrots&rsquo; ahead of the session revelling in the darkness - pulling 1.3 seconds over his rivals. A margin that couldn&#39;t be caught by the pursuing #4 Crowdstrike Racing bt APR team in second or the #43 Inter Europol Competition in third.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<h2>LMGT3</h2>

<p>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.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>#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.</p>

<p><u>Top 5 Overall Standings:</u></p>

<p>1. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing &ndash; Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries &ndash; 3&rsquo;26&rsquo;&rsquo;096<br />
2. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse &ndash; Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson &ndash; 3&rsquo;26&rsquo;&rsquo;316<br />
3. Cadillac V-Series.R #101 Cadillac WTR &ndash; Ricky Taylor / Jordan Taylor / Filipe Albuquerque &ndash; 3&rsquo;26&rsquo;&rsquo;387<br />
4. Alpine A424 #36 Alpine Endurance Team &ndash; Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Makowiecki / Jules Gounon / Victor Martins &ndash; 3&rsquo;26&rsquo;&rsquo;417<br />
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA &ndash; Louis Del&eacute;traz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato &ndash; 3&rsquo;26&rsquo;&rsquo;420</p>

<p><u>LMP2/LMGT3 Catergories:</u></p>

<ul>
	<li>LMP2 : Oreca 07-Gibson #29 Forestier Racing by Panis &ndash; Louis Rousset / Esteban Masson / Oliver Gray &ndash; 3&rsquo;33&rsquo;&rsquo;645</li>
	<li>LMGT3 : BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #32 Team WRT &ndash;&nbsp; Darren Leung / Sean Gelael / Augusto Farfus &ndash; 3&rsquo;55&rsquo;&rsquo;132</li>
</ul>

<p>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.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

Toyota turn it on at Le Mans to top FP2 and first night-time session

Road To Le Mans, Challenge Ferrari Trofeo Pirelli Europe, and the Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil are part of the sporting schedule of the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans. Three support fixtures took place on the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans today, all free practice sessions.

<h2>Road To Le Mans: Brutal Fish by Campos shows form</h2>

<p>The pinnacle of the Michelin Le Mans Cup since 2016, Road to Le Mans celebrates a decade of existence with a mini revolution. Rather than two 60-minute races, this year there will be one 3-hour race, starting at 10:00 on Friday! There are 58 competitors this year, split into three classes: LMP3, LMP3 Pro/Am and GT3. Each car has two drivers. In the 2026 line-up are last year&rsquo;s six winners, as well as David Droux, winner in 2023, and David Fumanelli, winner in 2024. Narain Karthikeyan, who has 46 Formula One Grands Prix to his name, is at the wheel of the #36 Ligier JSP 325. Another one to watch is Mr Le Mans&rsquo; nephew Oskar Kristensen, who is paired with German Christian Gisy in the #24 Ligier JSP 325 in the Pro/Am class. Sergio Sette Camara is in the same class. The Brazilian raced in Formula Two in 2017 and 2019 and was reserve and development driver for the McLaren and Red Bull Formula One teams.</p>

<p>Road To Le Mans is true to its name. Drivers, teams and manufacturers are a step away from top-notch endurance racing. The races have stints, drivers have teammates, the Circuit des 24 heures du Mans is part of the calendar &ndash; everything is preparation for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.</p>

<p>Two practice sessions took place today. It was difficult for competitors to find their feet given the number of red flags in both sessions. On the first evening of the competition, the #12 Ligier JSP 325 driven by Arthur Rageo and August Raber topped the timesheets in the fastest class, while Stefan Aust and Felipe Fernandez-Laser (#71 Ligier JSP 325) were first in the Pro/Am class. In GT3, the #10 Aston Martin Vantage AMR went quickest in the hands of Valentin Hasse Clot and Philipp Sager.</p>

<h2>The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe settles in</h2>

<p>Sixty V6 twin-turbo starting up at the same time: what a growl! The Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Europe is a curtain-opener for the the French 24-hour marathon this year. The championship is back, having included a Le Mans round on numerous occasions in the past: in 2011, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2023. Cars change, one generation gives way to another, but the feelings are just as strong.</p>

<p>This season began in France, in March at Le Castellet, followed by Mugello, Italy and Spielberg, Austria. Le Mans is the fourth round. Three years after the Centenary when the 499P claimed the first of three consecutive triumphs in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ferrari red is back in La Sarthe.</p>

<p>This year, the customary 45-minute race is replaced by two intense 35-minute races. The first is at 18:30 on Thursday, when the shadows begin to lengthen, and the second is on Saturday at 09:15, when the circuit is drawing breath before the weekend&rsquo;s headline act.</p>

<p>The field is composed of 296 Challenges. In all, 25 nationalities compete, representing 40 dealers: the Europeans are joined by 11 Ferrari Challenge North America drivers, six British and two Japanese. It almost resembles a world cup final! Lilou Wadoux is Race Advisor, and will be racing herself in the 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend, in the Richard Mille AF Corse #150 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo she shares with Custodio Toledo and Riccardo Agostini.</p>

<p>Sergio Paulet leads the Trofeo Pirelli (#1 Ineco - Reparto Corse RAM). He banked 3:54.958 in Free Practice 2, the only driver to go below the 3:55 mark. Fernando Monje (#74 QUADIS Gallery &ndash; GOAT Racing) is on his heels (3:55.257).</p>

<p>Michael Verhagen (#33 Ferrari Warszawa) has been demonstrating superiority among the amateurs since the beginning of the season. He was fastest this morning, but will have to fend off Enzo Ide (#22 Formula Racing), who was faster this afternoon (3:55.288). The Coppa Shell Am is in the hands of Jean Ry (#108 Kessel Racing).</p>

<h2>Mar&ccedil;al M&uuml;ller in Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil</h2>

<p>For the first time in its history, the Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil is a support fixture at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. Founded in 2005, the series works on the same principle as Porsche Cups elsewhere in the world: a field of identical Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars compete in an annual championship. Although a large majority of races take place in Brazil, there are a few exceptions: rounds in Argentina, Portugal, Spain, and now France. Several well-known names are in the line-up. Among them Michael Fassbender (#93), the famous actor who took the wheel at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022 and 2023, as well as Pipo Massa (#19), son of Felipe Massa, Formula One World Championship vice-champion in 2008.</p>

<p>This morning&rsquo;s first free practice session began with a rain shower. Porsche Carrera Cup legend Miguel Paludo (#7) shone beneath the clouds. As five-time winner of the series and currently defending his title, he is one of the favourites. The times continued to improve as the track dried, right up until the end of the session. Pietro Fantin (#117) recorded the morning&rsquo;s fastest time of 4:08.535.</p>

<p>Performance logically improved in the afternoon&rsquo;s session, as drivers got to know the circuit and the track gained grip after the 24 Hours of Le Mans practice sessions. Jeff Giassi (#97) soon went below 4:05. A Full Course Yellow interrupted the chase for the best time. When racing recommenced, Mar&ccedil;al M&uuml;ller (#544), two-time winner of the Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil, banked a magnificent 4:05.281 &ndash; by far the best time of the day.</p>

<p><strong><u>2026 24 Hours of Le Mans Support Race Schedule:</u></strong></p>

<p>09:00&ndash;09:45: Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil Qualifying 1<br />
10:15&ndash;11:15: Road to Le Mans Qualifying<br />
11:55&ndash;12:40 Ferrari Challenge Qualifying<br />
13:25&ndash;14:15: Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil Race 1<br />
18:30&ndash;19:15: Ferrari Challenge Race 1</p>

2026 24 Hours of Le Mans support race Free Practice sessions

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 ANNOUNCE 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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<p>&nbsp;</p>

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

<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	&nbsp;</p>
<div class="donneesIPTC">
	<strong><img alt="" src="/wpphpFichiers/1/1/ressources/Image/actualites/intercontinental-le-mans-cup_2010/zhuhai/2010_10_21_michelin.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 435px; " /></strong>
	<p>
		<strong>Photo : - 2010 Michelin</strong></p>
</div>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	<strong>Intercontinental Le Mans Cup &ndash; Zhuhai 1 000km</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	Expected at Silverstone but ultimately absent, and disruptive during testing at Road Atlanta, rain will again be centre stage this weekend in China.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	Friend of some and enemy of others, rain is a great leveller. Set-up and strategy hinge upon it and it can upset the order of a race within minutes. Remember Tom Kristensen&#39;s drive in the night-time deluge at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2008.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	Forecasters expect showers for Friday and Saturday at Zhuhai. This is not surprising for a subtropical climate characterized by high humidity and mild winters. This should result in short but intense showers and temperatures between 20 and 25 &deg;C. For Sunday the skies will remain overcast, but the circuit should escape the rain.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	The Zhuhai 1 000km will be held from November 5th to 7th.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	Julien Hergault</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">
	<strong>Photo: Road Atlanta (USA), PETIT LE MANS, October 2nd, 2010. At Road Atlanta, rain tyres were part of testing, and could be again at the Zhuhai 1 000km.<br />
	&nbsp;</strong></p>


Zhuhai 1 000km - Rain could be the deciding factor

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