The Japanese manufacturer laid down a marker for the 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours by clinching pole position in qualifying! The no. 7 TS040 Hybrid will start at the front of the field on Saturday and joining it on the front row will be the no. 14 Porsche 919 Hybrid. In LM P2, pole went to the no. 46 Ligier; in LM GTE Pro and Am, Ferrari scored a double with the nos 51 and 81 458 Italias.
The session started at 7:00 p.m. under full sunshine, the first qualifying was somewhat disturbed. Among the first to take to the track included the n°1 Audi Team Joest Audi rebuilt following the violent accident on Wednesday for Loïc Duval. The French driver was discharged from the Centre Hospitalier du Mans on Thursday, but was not allowed to take the wheel this weekend. He was therefore replaced by Spaniard Marc Gené, a reserve driver of the German marque. Gené, who was driver of ZytekZ11SN - Nissan no. 38, is now replaced by the British driver Oliver Turvey.
The two Porsche LM P1 machines took control right away. Alas, at 19:45, the accident of James Calado (Ferrari no. 71) in the Porsche curves brought the first red flag period of 25 minutes. Shortly after, it was the turn of Lucas di Grassi, driving the Audi No. 1 who had a spin betweeen Indianapolis and Arnage. The Brazilian brought his car back to the pits but was running so slowly that the young Leo Roussel (Morgan - Nissan no. 29) lost control while trying avoiding action at the pit entry. With the Porsche no. 79 also in the gravel trap at the Dunlop curve, the Race Director interrupted the session again for twelve minutes. Although there were only fifteen minutes before the break at 21:00 hours, Kazuki Nakajima (Toyota no. 7) set a time of 3:22.589, three tenths better than Timo Bernhard (Porsche no. 20) with a time of 3:22.908.
In LM P2, the best provisionsl time was set by the Ligier JS P2-Nissan no. 46 with a time of 3:38.094. In LM GTE Pro, the fastest time was set by the Corvette no. 73 (3:55.038) and in LM GTE Am, Ferrari 458 Italia n°61 set the best time with a lap in 3:56.917.
In the second session Toyota confirmed its domination thanks to no. 7 in the hands of Nakajima, Sarrazin and Wurz. The TS040 Hybrid clinched pole with a lap in 3:21.789. As a reminder, in 2013, the quickest Audi got round in 3:22.349. Porsche went for broke but no. 14 driven by Dumas, Jani and Lieb was unable to beat the Japanese car’s time. Toyota-Porsche, Toyota-Porsche have locked out the first two rows of the grid for the 82nd race, while Audi, the previous year’s winner, had to make do with the next three places.
And what a comeback for Ligier! The prestigious French make put on a stunning performance 29 years after its last appearance at Le Mans. Thanks to a lap in 3:37.609, no. 46 driven by Badey, Gommendy and Thiriet set the fastest time in the category in front of the no. 38 Zytek Z11SN - Nissan and another Ligier, OAK Racing no. 35.
In LM GTE Pro there is a mouth-watering battle in perspective. The no. 51 Ferrari of Bruni, Vilander and Fisichella was quickest, but the AF Corse car is under threat from the very promising no. 73 Corvette C7 in the hands of Garcia, Magnussen and Taylor and the no. 97 Aston Martin Vantage V8 of Mücke, Senna and Turner. As a result of his accident ,James Calado has been forbidden to drive this weekend by the doctors. He will be replaced in the no. 71 Ferrari by Pierre Kaffer. LM GTE Am saw the same Prancing Horse domination thanks to no. 81 driven by Bird, Rugolo and Wyatt.
Today Friday 13th June the public can visit the track and the pits from 10h00 to 18h00. The section of the circuit leading up to the Dunlop Footbridge will be the theatre of a brilliant display of the 10 Porsches in the special exhibition organised this year by the ACO. At 17h 30 the Driver's Parade will take place in the Le Mans town centre.
The start of the 82nd Le Mans 24 Hours will be given on Saturday 14th June at 15h00.
Classification Session 1,2,&3
Team/Car/Class/Time/Lap/Gap
1 7 Toyota Racing Toyota TS 040 - Hybrid LMP1 - H 3:25.313 8 3:22.589 19 3:21.789 4 3:21.789 2 14 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 - H 3:23.928 3 3:22.708 14 3:22.146 4 3:22.146 +0.357 3 8 Toyota Racing Toyota TS 040 - Hybrid LMP1 - H 3:25.410 4 3:23.661 18 3:22.523 8 3:22.523 +0.734 4 20 Porsche Team Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 - H 3:23.157 5 3:22.908 15 3:24.136 9 3:22.908 +1.119 5 3 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 - H 3:26.445 4 3:23.271 20 3:23.364 4 3:23.271 +1.482 6 2 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 - H 3:26.388 7 3:24.276 13 3:24.729 11 3:24.276 +2.487 7 1 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R18 e-tron quattro LMP1 - H 3:26.490 3 3:25.814 8 3:25.814 +4.025 8 12 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-One - Toyota LMP1 - L 3:34.922 4 3:31.180 7 3:29.763 7 3:29.763 +7.974 9 13 Rebellion Racing Rebellion R-One - Toyota LMP1 - L 3:33.117 5 3:31.608 16 3:33.050 3 3:31.608 +9.819 10 46 Thiriet By TDS Racing Ligier JS P2 - Nissan LMP2 3:42.730 4 3:38.094 16 3:37.609 7 3:37.609 +15.820 11 38 Jota Sport Zytek Z11SN - Nissan LMP2 3:45.928 5 3:44.842 12 3:37.674 2 3:37.674 +15.885 12 35 OAK Racing Ligier - Nissan LMP2 3:39.822 4 3:39.523 15 3:37.892 3 3:37.892 +16.103 13 26 G-Drive Racing Morgan - Nissan LMP2 3:38.843 4 3:41.446 14 3:38.000 17 3:38.000 +16.211 14 36 Signatech Alpine Alpine A450b - Nissan LMP2 3:39.490 2 3:38.769 7 3:38.089 16 3:38.089 +16.300 15 48 Murphy Prototypes Oreca 03R - Nissan LMP2 3:41.502 5 3:38.207 9 3:39.091 5 3:38.207 +16.418 16 47 KCMG Oreca 03R - Nissan LMP2 3:39.586 5 3:40.476 6 3:38.689 25 3:38.689 +16.900 17 43 Newblood By Morand Racing Morgan - Judd LMP2 3:46.018 4 3:39.135 16 3:41.066 8 3:39.135 +17.346 18 34 Race Performance Oreca 03R - Judd LMP2 3:39.993 4 3:44.486 12 3:40.819 9 3:39.993 +18.204 19 42 Caterham Racing Zytek Z11SN - Nissan LMP2 3:41.847 3 3:47.255 5 3:40.035 11 3:40.035 +18.246 20 24 Sebastien Loeb Racing Oreca 03R - Nissan LMP2 3:43.507 5 3:40.407 8 3:44.022 6 3:40.407 +18.618 21 37 SMP Racing Oreca 03R - Nissan LMP2 3:46.940 3 3:44.395 6 3:41.297 14 3:41.297 +19.508 22 27 SMP Racing Oreca 03R - Nissan LMP2 3:43.618 4 3:42.527 18 3:42.131 8 3:42.131 +20.342 23 29 Pegasus Racing Morgan - Nissan LMP2 3:49.046 3 3:42.438 10 3:42.438 +20.649 24 33 OAK Racing - Team Asia Ligier JS P2 - HPD LMP2 3:42.988 3 3:48.325 14 3:43.158 4 3:42.988 +21.199 25 50 Larbre Competition Morgan - Judd LMP2 3:53.948 7 3:47.015 10 3:43.843 4 3:43.843 +22.054 26 41 Greaves Motorsport Zytek Z11SN - Nissan LMP2 3:44.293 5 3:44.437 18 3:44.293 +22.504 27 0 Nissan Motorsports Global Nissan ZEOD RC CDNT 3:57.096 3 3:50.185 14 3:50.185 +28.396 28 51 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Pro 3:53.700 3 3:53.700 +31.911 29 81 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 4:02.452 9 3:57.665 13 3:54.665 2 3:54.665 +32.876 30 73 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette - C7 LMGTE Pro 3:56.443 5 3:55.038 17 3:54.777 15 3:54.777 +32.988 31 97 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Pro 3:55.067 3 3:56.516 4 3:54.891 13 3:54.891 +33.102 32 74 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette - C7 LMGTE Pro 3:59.445 3 3:57.160 4 3:55.190 7 3:55.190 +33.401 33 52 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Pro 3:57.793 5 3:56.642 4 3:55.347 2 3:55.347 +33.558 34 92 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Pro 3:55.516 3 3:57.356 4 3:55.694 5 3:55.516 +33.727 35 98 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Am 4:00.017 9 3:57.455 5 3:55.644 10 3:55.644 +33.855 36 91 Porsche Team Manthey Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Pro 3:56.584 3 3:57.682 15 3:55.745 3 3:55.745 +33.956 37 95 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Am 4:06.464 2 3:56.994 3 3:55.944 12 3:55.944 +34.155 38 61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 3:55.977 3 3:55.977 +34.188 39 72 SMP Racing Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 3:56.787 4 3:58.778 18 3:56.063 16 3:56.063 +34.274 40 88 Proton Competition Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 3:59.291 7 3:59.920 17 3:56.974 5 3:56.974 +35.185 41 77 Dempsey Racing - Proton Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE Am 3:57.004 4 3:58.373 4 3:57.230 9 3:57.004 +35.215 42 90 8 Star Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 3:57.217 7 3:57.217 +35.428 43 99 Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 LMGTE Pro 3:57.258 9 3:57.258 +35.469 44 60 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 3:57.274 12 3:57.274 +35.485 45 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 4:05.046 9 3:58.512 3 3:57.757 6 3:57.757 +35.968 46 53 RAM Racing Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 3:59.794 4 4:02.175 6 3:57.958 3 3:57.958 +36.169 47 71 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Pro 3:58.330 3 3:58.086 6 3:58.086 +36.297 48 76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR LMGTE Am 4:06.021 7 3:58.398 9 3:58.398 +36.609 49 79 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR LMGTE Am 4:01.226 3 3:59.012 6 3:59.012 +37.223 50 75 Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 GT3 RSR LMGTE Am 3:59.394 2 3:59.604 16 4:05.147 9 3:59.394 +37.605 51 58 Team Sofrev ASP Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 3:59.837 4 4:07.434 5 4:03.947 18 3:59.837 +38.048 52 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 4:03.789 8 4:01.686 6 4:01.006 15 4:01.006 +39.217 53 70 Team Taisan Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 4:03.066 5 4:01.446 17 4:04.512 13 4:01.446 +39.657 54 67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR LMGTE Am 4:03.903 3 4:03.277 20 4:03.277 +41.488 55 62 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia LMGTE Am 4:11.533 4 4:20.025 2 4:10.354 7 4:10.354 +48.565
