The Penske Motorsport Porsche set the pace during Test Day at the 92nd the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 62 competitors took full advantage of the allotted six hours of track time on Sunday to fine-tune their cars ahead of the first official free practice on Wednesday.
Rookie drivers completed their mandatory 10 laps to be eligible to take the start in the 2024 24 Hours while the rest of the entrants resolved last-minute technical problems, conducted fuel consumption tests and tweaked their car’s set-ups.
A great deal of work needed to be done in addition to juggling safety procedure tests planned by the sporting authorities and addressing possible session interruptions while giving the driver trios the time to complete their laps.
Former F1 driver Brendon Hartley kicked off the afternoon with an impressive pace (03:27.921 from his first lap) at the wheel of the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. Kévin Estre (#6 Porsche 963) clocked the fastest provisional time two laps later in 03:26.907.
Oliver Jarvis placed the #22 ORECA at the front of the LMP2 field with a time of 03:34.704. In the LMGT3 category, the 4-minute lap mark was crossed by a few competitors at the very beginning of the session.
The red flag was waved at 16:16 following Stéphane Richelmi’s incident in the Indianapolis corner at the wheel of Vector Sport’s #10 ORECA 07-Gibson. Meanwhile, the Akkodis ASP Team worked on the #78 Lexus plagued with clutch troubles.
The situation was even more serious for the #15 BMW Hypercar, forced to spend the first two hours stuck in the garage so the car’s P66/3 V8 could be replaced before retaking the track heading into the last hour.
Test Day facts
03:26.907. The fastest time of Test Day was clocked Sunday afternoon by Kévin Estre at the wheel of Porsche Penske Motorsport’s #6 Porsche 963 (an average of 237.13 kph). That is a significant improvement on last year when Antonio Giovinazzi registered a 03:29.504 lap in a Ferrari.
14. The number of Hypercars that beat the best time from last year’s Test Day. The top 4 are all in the same second, demonstrating remarkable progress made by the teams who competed in the 24 Hours Centenary as well as the potential of newcomers like BMW and Lamborghini.
03:59.883. The time placed Sébastien Baud and TF Sport’s #82 Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R at the top of the timesheet in the new LMGT3 category. Three cars finished below the 4-minute mark, and the second and third times are identical to the nearest thousandth. Heart of Racing’s #27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 and Team WRT’s #31 BMW M4 LMGT3 both clocked 03:59.92.
365. Porsche covered the most kilometres during Test Day (365, all six cars considered) which is more than the distance run in last year’s 24 Hours Centenary by the #51 Ferrari 499P winner (342). The only official Porsches (the #4, #5 and #6) covered 196 laps, more than half the German marque’s total, and the three official Ferraris (the #50, #51 and #83) ran 201 laps.
345.62. The fastest time in kph recorded during the six-hour Test Day and credited to Isotta Fraschini’s Tipo 6 LMH-C equipped with a 3L V6 turbo. That is more than the top speed registered by the Toyota GR010 Hybrid last year (342.3 kph).
75. The most laps covered in the Hypercar category during Test Day: the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid completed 35 laps in the morning, and the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 ran 40 in the afternoon.
The cars will retake the track on Wednesday at 14:00 for Free Practice 1, then Qualifying from 19:00 to 20:00 and Free Practice 2 from 22:00 to midnight. All times are local (GMT+2).
Test Day classification
1, #6, 3:29.205, 3:26.907, Porsche Penske Motorsport, HYPERCAR Porsche 963, Kévin ESTRE, André LOTTERER, Laurens VANTHOOR, Dane CAMERON
2, #4, 3:29.915, 3:27.142, Porsche Penske Motorsport, HYPERCAR, Porsche 963, Mathieu JAMINET, Felipe NASR, Nick TANDY, Dane CAMERON
3, #8, 3:29.823, 3:27.615, Toyota Gazoo Racing, HYPERCAR, Toyota GR010 – Hybrid, Sébastien BUEMI, Brendon HARTLEY, Ryo HIRAKAWA, Jose Maria LOPEZ, Ritomo MIYATA
4, #5, 3:29.885, 3:27.773, Porsche Penske Motorsport, HYPERCAR, Porsche 963, Matt CAMPBELL, Michael CHRISTENSEN, Frédéric MAKOWIECKI, Dane CAMERON
5, #50, 3:30.589, 3:28.014, Ferrari AF Corse, HYPERCAR, Ferrari 499P, Antonio FUOCO, Miguel MOLINA, Nicklas NIELSEN
6, #20, 3:29.433, 3:28.072, BMW M Team WRT, HYPERCAR, BMW M HYBRID V8, Sheldon VAN DER LINDE, Robin FRIJNS, René RAST, Nick YELLOLY, Jesse KROHN
7, #63, 3:29.639, 3:28.222, Lamborghini Iron Lynx, HYPERCAR, Lamborghini SC63, Mirko BORTOLOTTI, Daniil KVYAT, Edoardo MORTARA, Andrea CALDARELLI, Jordan PEPPER
8, #83, 3:29.732, 3:28.248, AF Corse, HYPERCAR, Ferrari 499P, Robert KUBICA, Robert SHWARTZMAN, Yifei YE
9, #7, 3:28.467, 3:28.827, Toyota Gazoo Racing, HYPERCAR, Toyota GR010 – Hybrid, Jose Maria LOPEZ, Kamui KOBAYASHI, Nyck DE VRIES, Sébastien BUEMI, Ritomo MIYATA
10, #12, 3:31.267, 3:28.487, Hertz Team JOTA, HYPERCAR, Porsche 963, Will STEVENS, Norman NATO, Callum ILOTT
11, #38, 3:31.269, 3:29.043, Hertz Team JOTA, HYPERCAR, Porsche 963, Oliver RASMUSSEN, Philip HANSON, Jenson BUTTON
12, #51, 3:30.367, 3:29.162, Ferrari AF Corse, HYPERCAR, Ferrari 499P, Alessandro PIER GUIDI, James CALADO, Antonio GIOVINAZZI
13, #94, 3:30.853, 3:29.326, Peugeot TotalEnergies, HYPERCAR, Peugeot 9X8, Stoffel VANDOORNE, Paul DI RESTA, Loïc DUVAL, Malthe JAKOBSEN
14, #311, 3:32.414, 3:29.360, Whelen Cadillac Racing, HYPERCAR, Cadillac V-Series.R, Luis Felipe DERANI, Jack AITKEN, Felipe DRUGOVICH
15, #15, 3:31.899, 3:29.580, BMW M Team WRT, HYPERCAR, BMW M HYBRID V8, Dries VANTHOOR, Raffaele MARCIELLO, Marco WITTMANN, Nick YELLOLY, Jesse KROHN
16, #2, 3:31.882, 3:29.617, Cadillac Racing, HYPERCAR, Cadillac V-Series.R, Earl BAMBER, Alex LYNN
17, #36, 3:32.505, 3:29.620, Alpine Endurance Team, HYPERCAR, Alpine A424, Nicolas LAPIERRE, Mick SCHUMACHER, Matthieu VAXIVIERE
18, #19, 3:31.964, 3:29.750, Lamborghini Iron Lynx, HYPERCAR, Lamborghini SC63, Andrea CALDARELLI, Matteo CAIROLI, Jordan PEPPER, Edoardo MORTARA, Danill KVYAT
19, #3, 3:37.422, 3:29.767, Cadillac Racing, HYPERCAR, Cadillac V-Series.R, Sébastien BOURDAIS, Renger VAN DER ZANDE, Tristan VAUTIER
20, #35, 3:32.728, 3:29.828, Alpine Endurance Team, HYPERCAR, Alpine A424, Paul-Loup CHATIN, Ferdinand HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN, Charles MILESI, Jules GOUNON
21, #93, 3:30.136, 3:29.888, Peugeot TotalEnergies, HYPERCAR, Peugeot 9X8, Jean-Eric VERGNE, Mikkel JENSEN, Nico MÜLLER, Malthe JAKOBSEN
22, #99, 3:30.423, 3:31.411, Proton Competition, HYPERCAR, Porsche 963, Neel JANI, Harry TINCKNELL, Julien ANDLAUER
23, #11, 3:35.758, 3:33.006, Isotta Fraschini, HYPERCAR, Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C, Carl Wattana BENNETT, Jean-Karl VERNAY, Antonio SERRAVALLE
24, #22, 3:37.176, 3:34.704, United Autosports, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Oliver JARVIS, Bijoy GARG
25, #25, 3:38.665, 3:35.981, Algarve Pro Racing, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Matthias KAISER, Olli CALDWELL, Roman Senna DE ANGELIS
26, #30, 3:39.629, 3:36.354, Duqueine Team, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, John FALB, James ALLEN, Jean-Baptiste SIMMENAUER
27, #23, 3:38.264, 3:36.623, United Autosports USA, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Ben KEATING, Filipe ALBUQUERQUE, Benjamin HANLEY
28, #183, 3:39.619, 3:36.750, AF Corse, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, François PERRODO, Ben BARNICOAT, Nicolas VARRONE
29, #65, 3:38.159, 3:36.898, Panis Racing, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Rodrigo SALES, Mathias BECHE, Scott HUFFAKER
30, #28, 3:37.044, 3:37.939, IDEC Sport, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Paul LAFARGUE, Job VAN UITERT, Reshad DE GÉRUS
31, #9, 3:41.348, 3:37.169, Proton Competition, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Jonas RIED, Maceo CAPIETTO, Bent VISCAAL
32, #34, 3:37.762, 3:37.385, Inter Europol Competition, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Jakub SMIECHOWSKI, Vladislav LOMKO, Clément NOVALAK
33, #14, 3:37.394, 3:38.689, AO by TF, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, PJ HYETT, Louis DELÉTRAZ, Alex QUINN
34, #45, 3:39.262, 3:37.456, Crowdstrike Racing by APR, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, George KURTZ, Colin BRAUN, Nicky CATSBURG
35, #10, 3:38.641, 3:37.802, Vector Sport, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Ryan CULLEN, Patrick PILET, Stéphane RICHELMI
36, #24, 3:41.007, 3:37.848, Nielsen Racing, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Fabio SCHERER, David HEINEMEIER HANSSON
37, #33, 3:43.812, 3:37.968, DKR Engineering, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Alexander MATTSCHULL, René BINDER, Laurents HÖRR
38, #37, 3:38.266, 3:38.216, COOL Racing, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Lorenzo FLUXA, Malthe JAKOBSEN, Ritomo MIYATA
39, #47, 3:40.299, 3:39.995, COOL Racing, LMP2, Oreca 07 – Gibson, Naveen RAO, Matthew BELL, Frederik VESTI
40, #82, 4:02.343, 3:59.883, TF Sport, LMGT3, Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R, Hiroshi KOIZUMI, Sébastien BAUD, Daniel JUNCADELLA
41, #27, 4:01.721, 3:59.920, Heart of Racing Team, LMGT3, Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3, Ian JAMES, Daniel MANCINELLI, Alex RIBERAS
42, #31, 4:00.929, 3:59.920, Team WRT, LMGT3, BMW M4 LMGT3, Darren LEUNG, Sean GELAEL, Augusto FARFUS
43, #78, 4:00.106, 4:01.366, Akkodis ASP Team, LMGT3, Lexus RC F LMGT3, Arnold ROBIN, Timur BOGUSLAVSKIY, Kelvin VAN DER LINDE
44, #60, 4:01.533, 4:00.121, Iron Lynx, LMGT3, Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2, Claudio SCHIAVONI, Matteo CRESSONI, Franck PERERA
45, #59, 4:01.173, 4:00.184, United Autosports, LMGT3, McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, James COTTINGHAM, Nicolas COSTA, Grégoire SAUCY
46, #95, 4:02.388, 4:00.278, United Autosports, LMGT3, McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, Hiroshi HAMAGUCHI, Nicolas PINO, Marino SATO
47, #85, 4:01.645, 4:00.378, Iron Dames, LMGT3, Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2, Sarah BOVY, Michelle GATTING, Rahel FREY
48, #46, 4:01.329, 4:00.417, Team WRT, LMGT3, BMW M4 LMGT3, Ahmad, AL HARTHY, Valentino ROSSI, Maxime MARTIN
49, #81, 4:03.966, 4:00.444, TF Sport, LMGT3, Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R, Tom VAN ROMPUY, Rui ANDRADE, Charlie EASTWOOD
50, #86, 4:02.573, 4:00.467, GR Racing, LMGT3, Ferrari 296 LMGT3, Michael WAINWRIGHT, Daniel SERRA, Riccardo PERA
51, #70, 4:01.194, 4:00.481, Inception Racing, LMGT3, McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo, Brendan IRIBE, Ollie MILLROY, Frederik SCHANDORFF
52, #44, 4:02.276, 4:00.587, Proton Competition, LMGT3, Ford Mustang LMGT3, John HARTSHORNE, Ben TUCK, Christopher MIES
53, #55, 4:03.590, 4:00.639, Vista AF Corse, LMGT3, Ferrari 296 LMGT3, François HERIAU, Simon MANN, Alessio ROVERA
54, #54, 4:01.771, 4:00.657, Vista AF Corse, LMGT3, Ferrari 296 LMGT3, Thomas FLOHR, Francesco CASTELLACCI, Davide RIGON
55, #87, 4:00.668, 4:05.108, Akkodis ASP Team, LMGT3, Lexus RC F LMGT3, Takeshi KIMURA, Esteban MASSON, Jack HAWKSWORTH
56, #777, 4:04.385, 4:01.125, D’Station Racing, LMGT3, Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3, Satoshi HOSHINO, Erwan BASTARD, Marco SØRENSEN
57, #66, 4:02.473, 4:01.186, JMW Motorsport, LMGT3, Ferrari 296 LMGT3, Giacomo PETROBELLI, Larry TEN VOORDE, Salih YOLUC
58, #88, 4:01.921, 4:01.379, Proton Competition, LMGT3, Ford Mustang LMGT3, Giorgio RODA, Mikkel PEDERSEN, Dennis OLSEN
59, #155, 4:02.544, 4:01.459, Spirit of Race, LMGT3, Ferrari 296 LMGT3, Johnny LAURSEN, Conrad LAURSEN, Jordan TAYLOR
60, #77, 4:02.567, 4:01.703, Proton Competition, LMGT3, Ford Mustang LMGT3, Ryan HARDWICK, Zacharie ROBICHON, Benjamin BARKER
61, #91, 4:03.128, 4:01.873, Manthey EMA, LMGT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3, Yasser SHAHIN, Morris SCHURING, Richard LIETZ
62, #92, 4:03.088, 4:02.224, Manthey Pure Rxcing, LMGT3, Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3, Aliaksandr MALYKHIN, Joel STURM, Klaus BACHLER By Melissa Warren
