Inside ‘The Lap’: Frijns on his Dramatic LMP2 Pole Effort

Robin Frijns’ remarkable LMP2 pole lap on Thursday evening was one of the highlights of a thrilling Hyperpole session that wowed fans in the grandstands around the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The Dutch master, who was also the standout driver of last months’ TotalEnergies 6 Hours of Spa, set a scorching 3m28.394, to go 1.3s clear of the sister Realteam Racing by WRT car driven by Norman Nato.

But the lap, one of the best seen at Le Mans in recent years, was not without its issues with Frijns confused by some communication difficulties during the lap.

“The problem I had was that we have this electronic pit-board, so every time we are coming it goes out and we have this digital information and what we see,” Frijns told fiawec.com

"The radio quality wasn't the best and I had difficulties understanding my engineer, so the board is useful.

“In the second to last lap, when I did 3m29s, I crossed the line and I saw P3. My engineer came on the radio said, ‘seven tenths off’, which I understood as seven tenths off P1, but he actually said, ‘seven tenths in front.’

“So, heading to the last lap I said to myself ‘ok Robin, you need to nail this one, you know’.

“I was pushing with everything I got, and it was a really nice lap, but I also missed a little bit in the first chicane, like maybe a tenth there.”

Frijns didn’t let up in the third sector and attacked the final Ford chicane as hard as ever, letting it all hang out as he drifted on to the start-finish.

“If you see the footage how I exited the last corner sideways, well I didn't have any margin,” admitted Frijns.

“My left rear wheel was about to go off that little cliff into the gravel. I really left nothing on the table.

“Even when I crossed that lap though, I still saw P3 on the board and I was like ‘it’s not possible’.

“I was really happy with my lap and then it came on the radio I was 1.4 seconds off, I said 'like I cannot be 1.4 seconds off.'

“So, I was like asking, asking, and the engineers said 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 and I'm like, 'where are we man?'

“And then he said, ‘you are 1.3 seconds in front’. Then I got it and I was like ‘okay, now my head is fine.’

Racing drivers never talk about the perfect lap because they don’t exist, but Frijns came damn near it with his pole winning effort.

He managed to find a clear lap but only just and ironically was helped slightly by his Formula E teammate Nick Cassidy!

“There was one GT car right in front of me (the No54 AF Corse Ferrari), which backed off in between Indianapolis and on Arnage but he saw me coming and he went completely to the right.

“So, it was very nice of him. But other than that, I was completely free.

Frijns, while rightly proud of his efforts on Thursday was not taking anything for granted as he and the WRT squad look to hunt for back-to-back LMP2 Le Mans and FIA WEC titles this year.

“It is a full on sprint race but last year we started P12 I believe, and we won the race,” he said.

“It's very nice to be on pole but it's kind of like an ego thing. So, for me, yes I was very pleased with that, but at the end of the day we're here to win the 24 hours and not just win the pole really.”