BMW and Mustang made great strides in the very tight Qualifying of the 24h of Le Mans, held under the sun which illuminated the Circuit de la Sarthe for 60′ which determined the best 8 of the HYPERCAR, LMP2 and LMGT3 Classes who will compete in the Hyperpole tomorrow.
The whole session was very interesting, with different brands competing for the lead and also with some twists that immediately provided excitement for the large audience present in the stands and along the track.
HYPERCAR: Vanthoor mocks Bourdais
In the Hypercar Class it was BMW that took the lead in 3’24″465 thanks to a Dries Vanthoor on the ball who brought the M Hybrid V8 #15 ahead of everyone with a few minutes to go, with 6 different brands at pass the turn.
At that moment, Sébastien Bourdais had put the #3 Cadillac in first place for a few minutes, but the Chip Ganassi Racing driver found himself 0.177s behind his Team WRT rival.
Ferrari achieved an excellent third place with the usual missile Antonio Fuoco, who stopped 0″266 from the top at the wheel of the 499P #50 and just ahead of the Toyota #7 of Kamui Kobayashi, who ended up in spin at the ‘Porsche Curves’ causing the red flag which put an early end to the battle. The episode put the Japanese under investigation who could be deprived of the best times.
Paul-Loup Chatin on the other hand surprised with the Alpine, setting the fifth fastest time, 0.4″ behind the leader, beating the #2 Cadillac and the #51 Ferrari in the hands of Alessandro Pier Guidi, half a second from the lead, as well as Kévin Estre on the # Porsche 6, seen at the end with 4 soft tires end up in a spin, but manage to pass the trap by a matter of hundredths.
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina, Nicklas Nielsen
Photo credit: Rainier Ehrhardt
The first of the eliminated was Callum Ilott in Jota’s Porsche #12, who was improving just when the session was interrupted and was therefore forced to start ninth in the race alongside the Alpine #36.
Behind them will be the Porsche #5 of Team Penske and the Toyota #8 that Brendon Hartley sent into a spin in the key moments, losing the chance to advance in the standings.
13th is the Ferrari #83 of AF Corse, the first car in the category more than a second behind, followed by Mirko Bortolotti with the Lamborghini #63 with which the Iron Lynx standard-bearer was the protagonist of a couple of skids in turn 1 cold tire.
The Peugeots did poorly, finishing in 16th and 21st place, as did the official Porsche #4, which placed 20th behind the BMW #20, Porsche-Jota #38 and Cadillac #311. At the back of the group we have the Lamborghini #19 and the Isotta Fraschini, at 3″1 and 5″4 respectively.
#37 Cool Racing Oreca 07: Gibson: Lorenzo Fluxa, Malthe Jakobsen, Ritomo Miyata
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
LMP2: Jakobsen above all
It’s Malthe Jakobsen who brings everyone into line regarding the LMP2 Class, thanks to the 3’32″827 that the Cool Racing boy achieved at the wheel of the Oreca #22.
The Dane put Louis Delétraz behind him by 0″3, racing on the 07-Gibson #14 of AO by TF in ‘Spike’ livery which stands out in the PRO/AM subcategory beating rivals United Autosports #23 and Panis Racing #65, the latter 1″ from the record.
The Idec Sport #28 also places in the Top5, followed by the Vector Sport #10 and the DKR #33, which together with the United Autosports #22 enter tomorrow’s Hyperpole.
AF Corse #183 remains out by 0″3, ready to sprint into the Top 10 together with Nielsen Racing #24, with Inter Europol Competition #34, Proton Competition #9 and Duqueine #30 behind.
Cool Racing #47 and APRs #25 and #45 complete the line-up with wider gaps.
#77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3: Ryan Hardwick, Zacharie Robichon, Benjamin Barker
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
LMGT3: Mustang surprise on McLaren
The Ford Mustang surprises everyone in the LMGT3 Class, with an excellent Ben Barker who showed great pace from the first laps, stopping the clock at 3’55″263.
The British driver from Proton Competition then got out of his #77 with a big smile, aware that the time was now good to access the Hyperpole, even though there were still several minutes left until the checkered flag.
Excellent second place also for the McLaren #70 of Inception Racing, which had taken command of the operations, while all the others showed heavy gaps of over 0″8, remaining very close to each other starting from the Corvette #82 of TF Sport and from the Lamborghini #60 of Iron Lynx who are third and fourth.
The Porsche #92 of Manthey PureRxcing climbs into the Top5 after an initial struggle, beating the Aston Martin #27 of Heart of Racing and the Ferrari #66 of JMW Motorsport, better than the 296 thanks to Larry Ten Voorde.
The last to earn the Hyperpole is the Aston Martin #777 of D’Station Racing, just 3 hundredths faster than the Lamborghini #85 of the Iron Dames, before the eliminated.
Top10 which also includes the Lexus #87 of Akkodis-ASP, followed by the McLaren #59 of United Autosports and the BMW #46 of Team WRT driven by Maxime Martin and which Valentino Rossi will also ride.
The #54 and #55 AF Corse Ferraris found themselves in 13th and 22nd place without managing to improve in the decisive moments.
Free Practice 2 will take place at 10pm, lasting 120′, where everyone will be able to test the night conditions for the first time.
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