LM24 FP1: Brendon Hartley tops times for Toyota; JOTA fastest in LMP2
Photo: WEC
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LM24 FP1: Brendon Hartley tops times for Toyota; JOTA fastest in LMP2

Below are the main headlines after the first free practice session at 24 Hours of Le Mans, round four of FIA WEC, which got underway in hot conditions at the Circuit de la Sarthe this afternoon.

HYPERCAR

  • Toyota takes a 1-2 in the first free practice session of the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans.
  • The No.8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar driven by Brendon Hartley peaks on a 3m27.742s best in the final 25 minutes of the session which is held in sunny and humid conditions.
  • Kamui Kobayashi had set the best time overall and in the Hypercar class with a 3m27.875s lap. But Hartley's time just beats the sister car by 0.133s.
  • Japanese ace, who set three consecutive pole positions between 2019 and 2021, again sits atop the times in No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar.
  • No.2 Cadillac V.Series R Hypercar places an encouraging third as Earl Bamber sets a late time of 3m27.939s.
  • Felipe Nasr grabs fourth place for Porsche Penske with a time of 3m28.150s, a time which is 0.275s behind Kobayashi's best.
  • Fifth is the No.6 Porsche Penske as Kevin Estre sets his time in the final minutes of the session.
  • Peugeot TotalEnergies places sixth and seventh with Loic Duval setting the third placed time on 3m28.386s and 3m27.553s claimed by Mikkel Jensen in 9X8s.
  • Nico Mueller has a gravelly excursion at Foret Esses in opening hour aboard the No.94 car.
  • Highest placed Ferrari 499P is the No.50 car which places eighth.
  • Glickenhaus Racing is the fastest non-Hybrid Hypercar with the No.709 placing 11th

LMP2 

  • Jota continues strong pace after topping last Sunday's test day with Pietro Fittipaldi again heading the LMP category.
  • The Brazilian sets the best lap of 3m34.579s and heads the chasing pack by the tiny margin of 0.032s
  • Second placed time is completed by Malthe Jakobsen in the No.37 Cool Racing Oreca-Gibson as Le Mans rookie continues to build growing reputation.
  • Prema Racing rank third as Mirko Bortolotti laps in 3m36.451s.
  • No.36 Alpine ELF Team car driven by Matthieu Vaxiviere places fourth as Les Bleues look to add a fourth LMP2 winner's trophy to their cabinet.
  • The second Alpine car though suffers damage with an accident at the Ford Chicane when Oli Caldwell backs it in to the wall. Car is repaired and returns to the track.
  • Robin Frijns in the No.31 Team WRT LMP2 car survives brush with wall approaching Tertre Rouge in early stages of three-hour session.
  • Tower Motorsport LMP2 car is involved in red flag causing incident when its T-bones the already crashed D'Station Aston Martin LMGTE Am because on exit of Foret Esses.
  • Steven Thomas and Casper Stevenson emerge unscathed from the collision.

LMGTE AM

  • GMB Motorsport spring a surprise in LMGTE Am as former LMGTE Pro champion Marco Sorensen set a 3m55.020s best.
  • That eclipses the 3m55.330s set by Riccardo Pera in the GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19.
  • Le Mans rookie Valentin Hasse-Clot stars as he takes the third best time in the session for the No.72 TF Sport Aston Martin.
  • Fourth in class is the No.16 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR-19 as Jan Heylen peaks on a 3m55.573s lap.
  • The fastest test day entry from JMW Ferrari is ninth in LMGTE Am after Louis Prette crashes at the Ford Chicane early in session.
  • Session ends three minutes early as Nicolas Varrone crashes the No.33 points leading Chevrolet Corvette at Tertre Rouge

INNOVATION CLASS

  • The immensely popular Hendrick Motorsports run Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ends session in 41st place overall as 3m49.475s is set by 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button.

Click HERE for session results.

Track
France
June 10th

24 Hours of
Le Mans

Brendon Hartley

NZ
Brendon HARTLEY

Pietro Fittipaldi

BR
Pietro FITTIPALDI

JOTA
TOYOTA GAZOO RACING
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