Le Mans 24 Hours: Ferrari Dominates Provisional Qualifying, Two Porsche 963 Advance to Hyperpole
Le Mans 24 Hours: In the qualifying round of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Ferrari dominated the top two spots with its pair of Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercars, while Penske also managed to place two Porsche 963s.
By Divyam Dubey
Le Mans 24 Hours: A total of 62 cars took part in qualifying at the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, and the session was marked by repeated red lights due to offs in various classes. Even more astonishing given the immense length of the Circuit de la Sarthe as a circuit was the fact that all three classes were very tight throughout, with Ferrari showing actual speed in the Hypercar class on their first ever outing at Le Mans. The two 499P Le Mans Hypercars made by the Italian automaker were the most impressive of the bunch, easily beating out the third- and fourth-placed Toyota GR010 HYBRIDs. Despite being somewhat delayed at the end of his lap by a GTE Am Aston Martin, Alessandro Pier Guidi posted a very respectable 3m25.412s in the #51 Ferrari with around 15 minutes to go. However, Antonio Fuoco's sister #50 vehicle quickly overtook him with a time of 3 minutes and 25.213 seconds.
Also Read: Le Mans 24 Hours: When & Where to Watch the Prestigious Endurance Race in India
Le Mans 24 Hours: Qualifying Results
Fans of 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button's Garage 56 entry will be disappointed to learn that Button does not compete in a specific class because the #24 NASCAR entry is considered a "Innovative Car," and teammate Mike Rockenfeller set a time several seconds faster than the entire LMGTE Am field in the car's most formidable rivals.
To decide the starting order for the race on Saturday afternoon, the top eight drivers in each class have qualified for Thursday night's 30-minute Hyperpole session.
| Hypercar | |
| Car No. | Team |
| 50 | Ferrari AF Corse |
| 51 | Ferrari AF Corse |
| 7 | Toyota Gazoo Racing |
| 8 | Toyota Gazoo Racing |
| 5 | Porsche Penske Motorsport |
| 75 | Porsche Penske Motorsport |
| 3 | Cadillac Racing |
| 2 | Cadillac Racing |
| LMP2 | |
| Car No. | Team |
| 28 | JOTA |
| 41 | Team WRT |
| 63 | Prema Racing |
| 48 | IDEC Sport |
| 10 | Vector Sport |
| 47 | COOL Racing |
| 923 | Racing Team Turkey |
| 9 | Prema Racing |
| GTE Am | |
| Car No. | Team |
| 83 | Richard Mille AF Corse |
| 54 | AF Corse |
| 33 | Corvette Racing |
| 25 | ORT by TF |
| 57 | Kessel Racing |
| 55 | GMB Motorsport |
| 21 | AF Corse |
| 74 | Kessel Racing |
Also Read: Le Mans 24 Hours: Rules, Format, Segments and Everything You Need to Know to Get Started
Le Mans 24 Hours: Porsche’s Performance
Porsche Penske with two Porsche 963s in the hyperpole, Penske Motorsport has a shot at the shootout for the pole position at this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Two hybrid prototypes from the factory team qualified in the top five and top eight, respectively. The sibling vehicle, No. 6, finished ninth and just outside the top eight positions. Only one of the eight Porsche 911 RSR entered in the GTE-Am class made it to the hyperpole on Friday.
