Toyota locks out front row for the 24 Hours of Le Mans
Today was the fastest day Le Mans has ever seen as records were broken in all classes
With the overall lap record being obliterated in Q2 by Kamui Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota, the session began with a sense of wonder. The temperatures were getting cooler as night fell meaning the softer compound tyre could be used. Could we see the times tumble further yet?
Alex LynnThis is the fastet day in Le Mans history
Q3 was a bit crazy. The sense of wonder turned into a sense of reality as lap record after lap record was set in the LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am classes.
But nobody was touching that astonishing lap from Q2 and the #7 Toyota secured pole position for the 85th running on the 24 hours of Le Mans. You can take in that lap in all its glory right here:
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The gap to the #8 Toyota behind was 2.337 seconds and, after their Q2 engine change, they never looked like threatening for the top spot.
The #1 Porsche will line up 3rd on the grid for the race but there was drama for the #2 919 at Hartley slowed to a crawl out of Mulsanne before parking the car up the escape road at Indianapolis. It was a precautionary stop as the oil temperature was through the roof and after much back and forth over the radio to try and get the car in a sensible temperature range, they decided to call it a night.
Bykolles managed to place it 6th on the grid behind the #9 Toyota after an evening of skirting around just (and only just) ahead of the front running LMP2 runners. In the hands of Kraihamer they finished 5.5 seconds behind the #2 Porsche but just 1.2 seconds ahead of the leading LMP2 car. A sign of just how close the classes have become.
In an evening that saw the record books rewritten, even Bykolles got in on the action, with their lap to take 6th place the fastest ever by a privateer team.
Here are the top 3 as they will line up for the race
The top 3 in the LMP1 category and overall after the final qualifying session. [Image: FIA WEC]
The lap record in the LMP2 category was blown out the water in Q2 by Laurent in the #38 DC racing car before being bettered by Petrov in the #25 Manor. It was much the same story in Q3 as the timing sheets were constantly lit up for the whole class. The eventual pole sitter is the #26 G-Drive racing with a fastest lap of 3:25.352 in the hands of Alex Lynn.
As anticipated, the front end of this class is dominated those running Oreca chassis’ and you have to look to 8th in class to see that change.
Here are the top 3 LMP2 Qualifiers as they will line up on the grid
The top 3 in the LMP2 class ahead of the race [Image: FIA WEC]
For the GTE Pro guys, Q3 was a different animal to the previous sessions. Q1 and 2 had been predominantly lead by the Astons with the Ferraris nearby and the Fords, Corvettes and Porsches languishing at the back.
Suddenly, early on in the session the #92 Porsche of Christenson took the top spot and shortly after the #63 Corvette comes out of nowhere to replace them. At one point the #69 Ford Chip Ganassi held the top spot leading to further mumbles of sandbagging, but it wasn’t to last.
Richie Stanaway set a new class record of 3:51.038 in the #95 Aston but was soon overtaken by Turner in the #97 sister car with Calado in the #51 AF Course Ferrari 488 slotting between them.
Here are the top 3 in the GTE Pro class ahead of the race
The top 3 in the LM GTE Pro class [Image: FIA WEC]
There was also a flurry of activity at the front of the GTE Am class but just as the #98 AMR looked to be falling off the pace, Lamy took the top spot back with a time of 3:53.233.
In keeping with the rest of the session, this lasted for next to no time as the #50 Larbre Corvette sets a 3:53.843 which, for a period of time was quicker than a couple of cars at the back end of the Pro class until they got their act together!
This is how the front end of the Am class settled at the end of the session.
The top 3 in the Lm GTE Am class after qualifying [Image: FIA WEC]
So, the grid has been decided for the race, but as exciting as qualifying was, over the course of a 24 hour race, it stands for little, so it's all to play for!
And one final record - This is the first year that all cars have qualified under 4 minutes.
Here is the full grid for the race
The official classification after qualifying [Image: FIA]
#LeMans24 #WEC #Porsche #Ferrari #Toyota #Ford #Corvette #AstonMartin
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