Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s Alex Lynn backed up the overall quickest time from qualifying on Wednesday to win the overall pole Thursday evening (June 12) for the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a lap at 150.031 mph. It is the first pole for Cadillac since Chip Ganassi Racing got pole with Earl Bamber at Fuji Speedway last year and the first-ever overall pole in the FIA World Endurance Championship for JOTA.
Lynn’s lap was .167 seconds faster than teammate Earl Bamber, meaning that Cadillac’s WEC team swept the front row. Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Mathieu Jaminet was third, followed by BMW M Team WRT’s Dries Vanthoor. Nick Tandy in the No. 4 Porsche from Porsche Penske Motorsport’s IMSA division, was fifth.
Hyperpole No. 2
With the light fading and the temperatures dropping, the conditions were improving by the moment. With only 15 minutes to set a time, teams were only really guaranteed a maximum of three timed laps.
Lynn was quickest early on in the session, but he was passed by both of the factory Porsches. Jaminet was particularly strong in the No. 5 Porsche.
On his final lap, Lynn lost a bunch of time in the middle sector of the lap. However, he had an excellent run through Indianapolis, Arnage and through the Porsche Curves. He picked up nearly nine-tenths of a second on Jaminet’s then-pole lap to put himself on top with two minutes to go.
From there, the remaining eight drivers on course took their shots at Lynn. None of them could beat the gold and white Cadillacs.
Early on in the session, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Sebastien Buemi locked up and went off-course at Mulsanne corner on his first timed lap. While Buemi did not hit anything, he ended up with a puncture and had to pit. He was unable to drive the multiple miles back to the pits, change the tire, complete an out lap and start another timed lap before time expired. As a result, the No. 8 Toyota will start 10th.
FIA World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans Hypercar Hyperpole No. 2 Results
LMP2 saw AO by TF’s Louis Deletraz go fastest on the first lap at speed, but the second lap was much different. While Deletraz did improve, United Autosports’ Ben Hanley put himself on top in his ORECA 07-Gibson.
However, the pole went to TDS Racing’s Mathias Beche. Beche turned in a lap at 141.732 mph after time expired to win the LMP2 pole.
Beche won the pole by .271 seconds over Inter Europol Competition’s Tom Dillmann. Deletraz was third, then Hanley and Pietro Fittipaldi in the second United Autosports entry.
LMGT3 saw Alessio Rovera go fastest on the first time around out of the pits in his Vista AF Corse Ferrari. He even improved on the second time by the line.
However, it was not enough. The Heart of Racing’s Mattia Drudi turned in a lap at 130.939 mph, the fastest LMGT3 lap of the entire week, to take the class pole for Aston Martin.
Drudi’s lap was .296 seconds faster than Rovera. Team WRT’s Valentino Rossi qualified third, but was more than two seconds slower than Drudi. Iron Lynx’s Maxime Martin, who Rossi shadowed for much of the session, was fourth, while Manthey 1st Phorm’s Richard Lietz was fifth.
FIA World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2/LMGT3 Hyperpole No. 2 Results
Hyperpole No. 1
The early portion of the Hypercar session was based around putting heat in the tires and just trying to get something in the bank. Despite that, Porsche Penske Motorsport’s Julien Andlauer went fastest early on as the only driver under three minutes and 24 seconds.
Most of the class chose to come in and change tires partway through the session. It was here that trouble hit Andlauer. Coming to start his final lap after a stop, the right rear wheel came off the car. Luckily, the issue occurred right before pit in, so Andlauer could get in and have his Porsche 963 looked over.
Just as this happened, the times started to drop. Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s Will Stevens put his Cadillac on top of the chart. That time was then beaten by Signatech Alpine’s Paul-Loup Chatin.
At the very end of the session, Action Express Racing’s Jack Aitken set the fastest lap at 150.345 mph in his Cadillac. The lap was .399 seconds faster than Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s Sebastien Bourdais. BMW M Team WRT’s Robin Frijns was third, then Ferrari AF Corse’s Miguel Molina. Signatech Alpine’s Mick Schumacher was fifth.
Andlauer, despite losing his wheel, held on for ninth. Since no red flag was triggered by the wheel, he keeps his time. Raffaele Marciello in the second BMW got the last spot in Hyperpole No. 2.
The surprise here is that two of the Ferraris, the factory No. 51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi (11th) and the AF Corse No. 83 of Yifei Ye (13th) failed to advance. They’re joined by Chatin, Wayne Taylor Racing’s Ricky Taylor (who had two laps disallowed due to track limit violations) and The Heart of Racing’s Marco Sorensen.
FIA World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans Hypercar Hyperpole No. 1 Results
In the LMP2/LMGT3 session, the session was red-flagged after eight minutes and 34 seconds when Vista AF Corse’s Francesco Castellacci spun out entering the Porsche Curves and got stuck in the gravel. Given the length of the Circuit de la Sarthe, teams were just starting to finish their first laps at speed. Only 15 of the 24 teams in the session had set a time.
At the time of the stoppage, United Autosports’ Oliver Jarvis was fastest in LMP2. Castellacci’s teammate Simon Mann was fastest in LMGT3.
Once the session resumed, teams only had enough time to do an out lap, then two laps at speed. As a result, it was a rush.
LMP2 saw Dane Cameron put “Spike” on provisional pole. He was then usurped by United Autosports’ Renger van der Zande. However, with a little over a minute to go, Inter Europol Competition’s Nick Yelloly set a lap at 142.000 mph to win the round.
Yelloly was .641 seconds faster than Cameron. Van der Zande was third, then TDS Racing’s Clement Novalak and AF Corse’s Antonio Felix da Costa. RLR MSport’s Patrick Pilet was the last driver to advance in eighth.
In LMGT3, Team WRT’s Kelvin van der Linde backed up teammate Ahmad Al Harthy‘s pace from Wednesday with a lap at 130.070 mph to go fastest in the round. He was .301 seconds faster than TF Sport’s Charlie Eastwood. Manthey 1st Phorm’s Riccardo Pera was third, then The Heart of Racing’s Zacharie Robichon and Iron Lynx’s Lin Hodenius. United Autosports’ Sean Galael just barely advanced at the last second.
FIA World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2/LMGT3 Hyperpole No. 1 Results
FIA World Endurance Championship 24 Hours of Le Mans Starting Lineup
With the starting grid set, the 93rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled to go green at 10 a.m. ET Saturday morning. Coverage will air live on Motor Trend and on Max starting at 9 a.m. ET and go through the finish on Sunday.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
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