BMW will start from pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most important endurance race in world motorsport. In the final phase of qualifying held on Thursday afternoon (11) at the Circuit de la Sarthe, the team saw Dries Vanthoor clock a best lap of 3m22.564s, securing the pole for the race scheduled for this Saturday.
The result came moments after the classification ended. The German team had been the second-fastest on the track, but saw the Team JOTA Cadillac driven by Jack Aitken lose its best lap. The penalty occurred after the stewards determined that Aitken did not comply with an instruction from race control in the decisive Hyperpole phase.
The second position went to Will Stevens, the Team JOTA Cadillac driver who ended up 0.514 seconds behind Vanthoor. António Félix da Costa, in an Alpine, secured the French team’s third spot on the grid, and will share the second row with the other BMW, this one driven by Robin Frijns. Filipe Albuquerque, in a WTR Cadillac, rounds out the top five on the grid.
Genesis starts sixth after Paul-Loup Chatin earned a spot on the third row. Aston Martin saw Roman De Angelis take seventh, while James Calado was the eighth fastest with Ferrari. André Lotterer, teammate of Pipo Derani at Genesis, placed the team in ninth, and Jack Aitken with the other JOTA Cadillac failed to set the best lap and will close the top-10.
In LMP2, pole position went to Forestier Racing by Panis, which saw Esteban Masson clock 3m32.855 on his best lap. Second place went to IDEC Sport, with Job van Uitert, who was beaten by 0.387 seconds by Masson. Jack Doohan placed Nielsen Racing in third, followed by Nick Yelloly of Inter Europol. Alexander Quinn of CrowdStrike closes out the top five.
The Brazilian cars in the category did not advance to Hyperpole, but will start among the top 15. United Autosport car number 222, which has Daniel Schneider among the drivers, will start from 12th, one position ahead of Vector Sport, a team that features Pietro Fittipaldi among its lineup and will start 13th.
In LMGT3, Heart of Racing takes pole after Mattia Drudi posted 3m52.433 on an Aston Martin. Augusto Farfus placed the WRT BMW in second. Alessio Rovera of Vista AF Corse starts third with a Ferrari, while Ayhancan Guven, in a Manthey Porsche, completes the second row. José María López, in a Lexus from Akkodis, completes the top five.
The second Heart of Racing Aston Martin, which includes Brazilian Dudu Barrichello among the drivers, will start eighth this Saturday. Custódio Toledo, in a Ferrari from Richard Mille AF Corse, will start 19th, one position ahead of another Ferrari prepared by Kessel, which has Daniel Serra in its lineup.
The start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. this Saturday.
