LM24: Provisional pole for Toyota; Aston Martin 1-2 in LMGTE Pro

Hyperpole, which will run from 11h30 – 12h00 local time tomorrow [Friday], is a new-for-2020 shootout session which will determine the top grid positions for each category ahead of Saturday’s rescheduled 24 hour race.

Qualifying took place in warm and sunny conditions. Below are the main headlines from the 45 minute session. 

LMP1
•    Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest time out of the LMP1 crews early on with a lap time of 3:17.089 in the No 7. Toyota TS050 Hybrid, 0.247s ahead of the No. 8 sister car with fellow Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima at the wheel
•    Third quickest was the No. 1 Rebellion R13 Gibson car, the car benefitting from a brand new engine after sitting out of the majority of FP2
•    Le Mans returnees, ByKolles Racing Team were fourth fastest with Frenchman Tom Dillmann setting a time of 3:24.468 in the No.4 Enso CLM/P1/01
•    Rounding out the top five is the No. 3 Rebellion car
•    All five cars will progress to tomorrow’s Hyperpole to determine grid positions for Saturday’s race

LMGTE Pro
•    It was an Aston Martin 1-2 out of the eight LMGTE Pro entries competing at Le Mans, the top six spots occupied by full-time WEC entrants
•    Marco Sorensen set the fastest time at the wheel of the No. 95 Aston Martin Vantage with a time of 3:50.872, 0.053s ahead of the sister No. 97 car
•    Third and fourth quickest in the session were the AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo entries (No. 51 and No. 71) 
•    After clocking the fifth and sixth fastest times, the two Porsche GT Team No. 91 and No 92 cars make up the final two slots in tomorrow’s Hyperpole 

LMP2
•    No. 29 Racing Team Nederland fastest out of the 24 LMP2 entries, with Nyck De Vries setting a time of 3:26.648
•    Jackie Chan DC Racing second quickest in another ORECA 07 Gibson car as Will Stevens clocked a time of 3:27.097 early in the session 
•    WEC LMP2 category leaders United Autosports third fastest after Paul Di Resta set a time of 3:27.148
•    Regular ELMS entry G-Drive Racing fourth quickest with a second United Autosports entry fifth overall 
•    Sixth fastest overall – and taking the final slot in tomorrow’s Hyperpole – is the WEC’s No. 33 High Class Racing entry.  The Danish team making a quick recovery after stopping on track during FP2 

LMGTE Am 
•    In LMGTE Am, the No. 98 Aston Martin Racing entry was on top with Ross Gunn setting the pace early on with a time of 3:52.778 in the Aston Martin Vantage 
•    TF Sport was second, the British squad 0.183s adrift of pace-setters Aston Martin Racing
•    Rounding out the top three in Am qualifying was Gulf Racing in the No. 86 Porsche 911 RSR 
•    The final three slots for LMGTE Am entries in Hyperpole were taken by Luzich Racing plus full-time WEC entries Dempsey-Proton Racing and Team Project 1 who finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively
•    Several lap times were deleted throughout the field due to abuse of track limits

Full results from qualifying can be found HERE.

FP3 will run at 20h00 CEST tonight before a final practice session at 10h00 tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow’s Hyperpole will get underway at 11h30.