BMW M Workforce WRT have secured a shocking early outcome on the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. In a stunning outcome, the #15 German automotive, with Dries Vanthoor on the wheel, set one of the best time of session of three:24.465, intently adopted by the #3 Cadillac Racing automotive, with final yr’s pole sitter, the #50 Ferrari AF Corse staff, ending third quickest.
There was additionally a shock in LMGT3 as Ben Barker topped the tables within the #77 Proton Competitors Ford Mustang LMGT3. One other visiting staff for the Le Mans weekend, Inception Racing, got here second of their McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, with perennial qualifying frontrunners, TF Sport, saved the American energy on the high, ending third quickest of their Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R. In LMP2, the category reintroduced to the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship for the enduring race in Le Mans, Malthe Jakobsen took the #37 COOL Racing Oreca 07 – Gibson automotive to the highest of the timesheets. Louis Delétraz was second quickest within the crowd-pleasing “Spike” automotive from AO By TF.
The outcomes of qualifying practise don’t decide the total grid for Saturday’s legendary race. In every class, the positions from ninth to the again of the grid at the moment are set. The 8 quickest in every class will battle it out on Thursday 13 June within the Hyperpole session to find out the highest beginning positions for the race.
Hypercar
The dramatic qualifying session ended completely for BMW, with Vanthoor setting his spectacular time inside the final ten minutes of the session. The Cadillacs had been wanting fast all day, with the #3 automotive, pushed by dwelling city hero Sebastian Bourdais, delighting the followers with the second quickest time. Ferrari will probably be happy with their outcome, with each of their manufacturing unit vehicles within the Hyperpole session, the #50 in third and the #51 in sixth.
The 4th quickest time went to Toyota Gazoo Racing, the #7 automotive being pushed by Kamui Kobayashi. Nevertheless, within the last couple of minutes, the Japanese driver caught an inside curb on the Porsche Curves and spun out into the gravel. As this triggered a purple flag to finish the session, their quickest lap time was disqualified and they’re going to begin behind the Hypercar grid. For the primary time in years, Toyota will not be represented in Hyperpole, with the #8 automotive beginning eleventh on the grid.
In one other shock, #35 Alpine Endurance Workforce automotive of Paul Loup Chatin completed fourth on the timesheet because the French staff tackle their first dwelling race within the Hypercar class. The everlasting WEC #2 Cadillac was fifth quickest. In one more shock, the quickest Porsche might solely handle seventh. The championship main #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 scraped into the Hyperpole session, whereas the winners of the 6 Hours of Spa, the #12 Hertz Workforce JOTA Porsche benefitted from Toyota’s misfortune by snapping up that last spot in Hyperpole.
LMP2
Jakobsen, junior driver with Workforce Peugeot TotalEnergies, did a sterling job taking his COOL Racing LMP2 automotive to pole with a time of three:32.827. The very talked-about “Spike,” made by AO by TF, the staff chargeable for the enduring “Rexy” Porsche 911 on the 2023 Le Mans race, got here dwelling second quickest. The highest three is rounded out by Ben Hanley within the #23 United Autosports USA automotive, the 2020 class winners and 2022 and 2023 third-place finishers persevering with their sturdy kind at Le Mans.
The shock in LMP2 got here with the 2023 winners, Inter Europol Competitors, not making it via to Hyperpole. Though the final again to again winners at Le Mans in LMP2 was 2018-2019, the staff have been wanting like one of many favourites following their success on the 4 Hours of Le Castellet. Now they’ve their work minimize out to repeat their success.
LMGT3
The success of American muscle continued in LMGT3, the highest three bookended by a Mustang and a Corvette with a McLaren sandwiched between the 2. The Mustang clocked a quickest time of three:55.263, simply 0.143 seconds quicker than the McLaren, with the Corvette an extra 0.699 seconds off the tempo.
Iron Lynx, who got here inside a whisker of profitable the 6 Hours of Spa, managed 4th quickest of their Lamborghini Hurácan LMGT3 Evo2, adopted by championship main Manthey PureRxing in fifth. sixth went the best way of Coronary heart of Racing, the staff at present 2nd within the championship standings. The ultimate two locations in Hyperpole went to #66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 LMGT3 and the #777 D’Station Racing Aston Martin, which means that the 8 Hyperpole locations are shared between 7 totally different producers, an important image of the range within the 2024 WEC season.
Nevertheless, as is the best way with Le Mans, LMGT3 was not proof against surprises. The extraordinarily fast Iron Dames simply missed out on Hyperpole by 0.030 seconds. Workforce WRT, the staff that dominated the 6 Hours of Imola, additionally had each vehicles eradicated on this session, with the #46 automotive solely managing twelfth and the sister #31 automotive three locations again in fifteenth.
Up Subsequent
The joy has solely simply begun on the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Hyperpole takes place on Thursday 13 June
For full qualifying outcomes, click on right here.
