Incredible scenes marked the 94th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as BMW claimed pole position after an action-packed final Hyperpole session.
Jack Aitken, driving the #38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac, was quickest on the road, but a penalty carried over from earlier in the week dropped the car to tenth on the grid, promoting the German manufacturer to the top spot.
The American Cadillac brand looked set to secure back-to-back pole positions at Le Mans, but a penalty for not complying with the pit lane start procedure st the start of the evening dropped the #38 from first to tenth in the standings, handing BMW its first pole position of the Hypercar era at Le Mans.
Hypercar class
In Hyperpole 1, the 15 fastest cars from Wednesday’s qualifying session went head-to-head in low-fuel trim.
BMW were the first to circulate and immediately laid down the gauntlet with a provisional one-two. However, an influx of competitive laps from Cadillac, Genesis, Alpine and Toyota offered an early glimpse that sparks were about to fly.
Halfway through the session, with the sun disappearing behind the clouds and ambient temperatures dropping by the minute, every team dived into the pit lane to bolt on fresh soft tyres and extract every ounce of performance.
Charles Milesi delighted the French crowd by setting the fastest time in Hyperpole 1, with the ever-present Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac second and the #17 Genesis Magma Racing machine third.
The biggest story was Toyota’s shock elimination. Both GR010 HYBRIDs were dumped out in the opening session, managing only 14th and 15th fastest. Joining them on the casualty list were the #36 Alpine A424, the 2024-winning #50 Ferrari AF Corse entry and the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie.
In Hyperpole 2, BMW laid down the gauntlet as Dries Vanthoor scorched the timesheets with a 3:22.745 on the first runs. The Belgian Bullet then found even more pace, hustling the M Hybrid V8 around the 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe to shave a few more tenths from his benchmark.
BMW looked set for pole, but a textbook final lap from Jack Aitken aboard the #38 Cadillac snatched top spot by just five thousandths of a second, securing what appeared to be back-to-back poles for Cadillac at Le Mans. However, an infringement from earlier in the week resulted in a penalty that dropped the British driver and the American team to tenth on the grid.
The sister #12 Cadillac of Will Stevens inherited second place, while French hopes rest on the #35 Alpine A424 in third, ahead of the #20 BMW in fourth and the WTR-run Cadillac in fifth.
Genesis enjoyed a dream Le Mans debut by qualifying sixth and ninth overall. British fans will be cheering on the #009 Aston Martin from seventh, while the Italian tifosi will be left
hoping the #51 Ferrari can move forward after qualifying eighth.
The rapid #38 Cadillac, quickest on the road, will start from the middle of the Hypercar pack. Watch out for it tomorrow.
Top 10 Hypercar after Hyperpole:
1. BMW M Hybrid V8 #15 BMW M Team WRT – Kevin Magnussen / Raffaele Marciello / Dries Vanthoor – 3’22’’564
2. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Louis Delétraz / Will Stevens / Norman Nato – 3’23’’079
3.Alpine A424 #35 Alpine Endurance Team – António Félix Da Costa / Charles Milesi / Ferdinand Habsburg – 3’23’’620
4. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Robin Frijns / Rene Rast / Sheldon van der Linde – 3’23’’764
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #101 Cadillac WTR – Ricky Taylor / Jordan Taylor / Filipe Albuquerque – 3’23’’778
6. Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #19 Genesis Magma Racing – Mathieu Jaminet / Paul-Loup Chatin / Daniel Juncadella – 3’23’’823
7. Aston Martin Valkyrie #009 Aston Martin THOR Team – Alex Riberas / Marco Sørensen / Roman De Angelis – 3’24’’729
8. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – 3’25’’081
9. Genesis GMR-001-Hypercar #17 Genesis Magma Racing – André Lotterer / Luis Felipe Derani / Mathys Jaubert – 3’26’’116
10. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Sébastien Bourdais / Earl Bamber / Jack Aitken – 3’22’’559 By Melissa Warren
