The No. 06 Porsche Penske Hypercar driver by Kevin Estre claimed pole position in the Hypercar shoot out ahead of this weekends 24 hour race at the legendary Le Mans. The Frenchman best the No. 02 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R by a fractional 0.148s. Cadillac Racing had an incredible showing in Hyperpole securing P2 and P3 for the start of the 24 hour campaign. Only 7 hypercars participated in the Hyperpole shootout under the modified Le Mans WEC weekend format.
Ferrari AF Corse positioned themselves in the top 5 with a P4 and P5 starting position for the Italian side. With 24 hours of racing qualifying position becomes less important so Ferrari will look to return to winning ways for the 24 Hours of Le Mans; one the two most prestigious races on the calendar. It was a disastrous day for Toyota Gazoo Racing finishing P11 and P23. Toyota gazoo Racing finds themsevles in unfamiliar terroritory where race strategy will play an even larger role than expected to make a run for the top finishing positions. Given that in a 24 hour race anything is possible you can be rest assured that Toyota Gazoo Racing will do whatever is necessary to make sure they are in the fight for the win at the end of the race.
LMP2
“Spike” from AO Racing wowed the masses by securing pole in LMP2 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Louis Deletraz secured in class pole setting a 3m33.217s lap in qualifying. AO Racing claiming pole in the infancy of the start of their Hypercar program speaks to the team’s level of expertise. Competing with manufacturers who have been staples in this sport for years in the second year of the program is an amazing feat. Spike achieved pole by a margin of 0.6s well ahead of the P2 starter Idec Sport P2 car. If AO Racing can convert this early success into a race win; AO Racing will have solidified themselves as a key player in the field.
GT3
In the GT3 class Inception Racing who have been quiet all season pulled out an in class pole position. The finish was the first ever pole position for a McLaren in the World Endurance Championship. Brendan iribe led the way setting a best in class 3m58.120s which left him almost 1 second clear of the field. At this Inception Racing has the field figured out. However, come race time its anyone’s games.
24 Hours of Le Mans Qualifying Report