The 62 cars competing in the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 11-15) took part in two three hour sessions for Test Day.
The #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P was fastest in the first session, with a time of 3:27.010 set by Robert Kubica. This was a good start for the Italian team, which finished ahead of the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Toyota Gazoo Racing (3:28.000) and the #38 Cadillac V-Series.R of Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA (3:28.491). The #51 Ferrari of Ferrari-AF Corse and the #311 Cadillac also made the top 5.
The first car to take to the track was the #15 BMW of BMW M Team WRT driven by Raffaele Marciello. With 22 cars on track at the start, the teams wanted to use these first three hours of running to begin their preparation for the race . The #45 Oreca 07-Gibson of Algarve Pro Racing, plagued by engine problems, remained immobilized in its pit for a long time and was only able to complete eight laps.
At 10:45 a.m., the #34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca driven by Luca Ghiotto went off the track between the Porsche and karting corners (the driver was unharmed). Race Control took advantage of this incident to conduct a simulation of the safety car procedure.
The #007 and #009 Aston Martin Valkyries of the Aston Martin THOR Team, newcomers to the Hypercar category, completed the highest number of laps (40) in the morning session. The goal for the British brand: racking up the miles to gain experience and validate the car’s reliability. The roar of the V12 could well be the soundtrack to this 93rd edition.
Thirty-six drivers will make their debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Test Day. The rules require them to complete a minimum of ten laps, including five timed laps, to prepare for the specific challenges of the event. This rule also applies to those who have not participated in the race since 2020.
The top 5 of the general classification at the end of the first session:
1. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse – Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson – 3’27”010
2. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – 3’28”000
3. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Earl Bamber / Sébastien Bourdais / Jenson Button – 3’28”491
4.Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – 3’28”843
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #311 Cadillac Whelen – Jack Aitken / Felipe Drugovich / Frederik Vesti – 3’28”923
The best times in the other two categories:
LMP2: Oreca 07-Gibson #16 RLR M Sport – Michael Jensen / Ryan Cullen / Patrick Pilet (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’36”593
LMGT3: Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team – Petru Umbrarescu / José María López / Clemens Schmid – 3’57”109 By Melissa Warren
