Alpine led the first phase of the qualifying that will determine the starting positions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the world’s most important endurance race. On Wednesday (the 10th), Ferdinand Habsburg put the French team at the top of the time sheets by clocking the best lap at 3m23.135s, advancing to the Hyperpole of the Hypercar class on Thursday.
The second position belonged to the Team JOTA Cadillac, which saw Louis Deletraz finish 0.013 seconds behind Habsburg’s time. Jordan Taylor, in a WTR Cadillac, registered the third-fastest time, followed by René Rast in fourth with BMW. The top five also included the second Team JOTA Cadillac, piloted by Sébastien Bourdais.
Kevin Magnussen placed the other BMW on the grid in sixth, while Alex Riberas, of Aston Martin, was seventh fastest. Sébastien Buemi placed Toyota in eighth, while Tom Gamble, with Aston Martin, was ninth. Fred Makowiecki, from Alpine, completed the list of the ten fastest in the opening qualifying session.
Five other cars are guaranteed a shot at pole. Daniel Juncadella, of Genesis, advanced to 11th position, while Mike Conway put the other Toyota on Hyperpole in 12th. Pipo Derani, of Genesis, was 13th, while Ferrari closed the qualifying list, with Nicklas Nielsen in 14th and Alessandro Pier Guidi in 15th.
In LMP2, the Duqueine Team was fastest as Doriane Pin posted 3m34.662s. CLX Motorsport appeared in second with Ian Aguilera, who was half a second slower than the session leader. Inter Europol was third with Bijoy Garg, followed by Louis Rousset, fourth with Forestier Racing by Panis. Ryan Cullen, of Vector Sport, the same team as Pietro Fittipaldi, was fifth.
Another Brazilian involved in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class, Daniel Schneider, is also classified for Thursday to determine the starting positions. The United Autosport driver finished 15th in this opening qualifying session and secured the last place for Hyperpole.
Peter Dempsey put the Corvette from Racing Team Turkey by TF on the top in LMGT3 by posting 3m55.744s, followed by Eric Powell, in second with a Proton Ford Mustang. Eduardo Barrichello’s partner, Gray Newell, with a Heart of Racing Aston Martin, was third, followed by James Cottingham, fourth with a Manthey Porsche. Darren Leung, partner of Augusto Farfus in a Team WRT BMW, rounds out the top five.
The other two Brazilians in LMGT3 did not qualify and already have defined grid positions. Custódio Toledo, driving a Ferrari for AF Corse, starts 20th after qualifying the car. Daniel Serra, who saw Takeshi Kimura advance to qualifying, will start 21st, also with a Ferrari, but this one for Kessel.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans will be contested this Saturday, starting at 11h.
