Le Mans pole for Forestier Racing by Panis in LMP2 and Heart of Racing Aston Martin in LMGT3
In the LMP2 prototypes, Tom Dillmann was the class act, booking Inter Europol Competition a place in Hyperpole 2, with the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR just a tenth behind.
The casualties in the first session were the two United Autosports cars (#22 and #222), the #26 Vector Sport, the #9 Proton Competition, and the #37 CLX Motorsport entry, which found itself in the wars when Theodor Jensen hit the barriers after overcooking it on the exit of the second chicane on the Mulsanne Straight.
In the GT category, Heart of Racing carried its Free Practice pace into Hyperpole 1 to ensure Aston Martin would be represented in the top ten.
In fact, seven of the eight LMGT3 manufacturers secured places in the final shootout, with only McLaren missing out.
One of the drives of the session came from Guernseyman Sebastian Priaulx, who hauled the #77 Ford Mustang LMGT3 into seventh when, at one stage, both Blue Oval entries were languishing at the foot of the timesheets and looked destined for an early bath.
Francesco Castellacci, in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, got too greedy with the track limits heading into Tertre Rouge, caught the grass on the outside left, and pirouetted off the circuit. The spin upset his rhythm and prevented him from breaking into the top ten.
Also missing out on the final showdown were Logan Sargeant in the #88 Ford Mustang, the #61 and #62 Mercedes-AMG entries, and the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3.
Hyperpole 2
The final five minutes stirred the emotions, with eight of the ten cars dipping below the previous pole time in a frenetic finale.
The #28 IDEC Sport entry struck first, with Job van Uitert at the wheel. His rapid run would eventually be shuffled down the order, but as the session unfolded he was the final driver to complete his lap. The Flying Dutchman ultimately secured second place, although he could not match the pace of the car ahead.
Esteban Masson, aboard the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis machine, was on rails, setting a scorching 3:32.855 to claim LMP2 pole position. Cue jubilant scenes in the Panis camp and celebrations for team owner Olivier Panis.
It was panic stations at the #78 Akkodis ASP Team garage. The mechanics struggled to close the driver’s door, costing Jack Hawksworth valuable track time. The brilliant Brit refused to let it ruin his evening, setting the fourth-fastest time behind team-mate José María López in the sister #87 Lexus.
Vista AF Corse, with the #21 Ferrari, will line up on the front row in second, while Mattia Drudi secured a sublime pole position for Heart of Racing and Aston Martin with a 3:52.433.
He was the only driver to dip below the 3:53 barrier.
LMP2 after Hyperpole
1. Oreca 07-Gibson #29 Forestier Racing by Panis – Louis Rousset / Esteban Masson / Oliver Gray – 3’32’’855
2. Oreca 07-Gibson #28 IDEC Sport – Paul Lafargue / Valerio Rinicella / Job Van Uitert – 3’33’’242
3. Oreca 07-Gibson #24 Nielsen Racing – David Heinemeier Hansson / Edward Pearson / Jack Doohan – 3’33’’510
4. Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition – Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nicholas Yelloly – 3’33’’578
5. Oreca 07-Gibson #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR – George Kurtz / Alexander Quinn / Laurin Heinrich (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’33’’628
6. Oreca 07-Gibson #30 Duqueine Team – Doriane Pin / Julien Andlauer / Richard Verschoor – 3’33’’702
7. Oreca 07-Gibson #14 TDS Racing – Tobias Lutke / Mathias Beche / Kévin Estre (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’33’’715
8. Oreca 07-Gibson #99 AO by TF – PJ Hyett / James Allen / Dane Cameron (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’34’’280
9. Oreca 07-Gibson #183 AF Corse – François Perrodo / Matthieu Vaxiviere / Ben Barnicoat (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3’34’’692
10. Oreca 07-Gibson #343 Inter Europol Competition – Bijoy Carg / Reshad De Gérus / Nico Müller – 3’35’’038
LMGT3 after Hyperpole
1. Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27 Heart Of Racing – Ian James / Zacharie Robichon / Mattia Drudi – 3’52’’433
2. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #21 Vista AF Corse – François Heriau / Simon Mann / Alessio Rovera – 3’53’’412
3. Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team – Petru Umbrărescu / Clemens Schmid / José María López – 3’53’’614
4. Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 Akkodis ASP Team – Tom Van Rompuy / Hadrien David / Jack Hawksworth – 3’53’’869
5. BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #32 Team WRT – Darren Leung / Sean Gelael / Augusto Farfus – 3’54’’401
6. BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo #69 Team WRT – Anthony McIntosh / Parker Thompson / Daniel Harper – 3’54’’655
7. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo #74 Kessel Racing – Dustin Blattner / Lorenzo Patrese / Dennis Marschall – 3’54’’677
8. Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #23 Heart Of Racing – Gray Newell / Eduardo Barrichello / Jonny Adam – 3’54’’888
9. Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #91 Manthey DK Engineering – James Cottingham / Timur Boguslavskiy / Ayhancan Güven – 3’55’’610
10. Ford Mustang LMGT3 #77 Proton Competition – Eric Powell / Ben Tuck / Sebastian Priaulx – 3’55’’666 By Melissa Warren
