We find two Ferraris in the lead after the qualifying sessions disputed this Wednesday, in the Sarthe.
The two Ferraris dominated the two Toyotas, favorites for the 91st edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the premier category of Hypercars, during qualifying on Wednesday at the Sarthe circuit. The N.50, driven by the Italian Antonio Fuoco, the Spaniard Miguel Molina and the Dane Nicklas Nielsen, took the best time with 3 min 25 sec 213/1000 achieved by the Italian. It is ahead of the other Scuderia car entered in Hypercar, the N.51, second on the time sheet. The two Toyotas rank 3rd and 4th on the eve of the Hyperpole, which will determine Thursday from 8:00 p.m. (6:00 p.m. GMT) the first places on the starting grid of the Le Mans classic.
At the end of these qualifying sessions, the eight fastest cars in each of the three categories (Hypercar, LMP2 and LMGTE Am) qualified for the Hyperpole. In this game, the two Peugeot 9X8s failed to take their ticket, finishing 10th and 11th. In addition to Ferrari and Toyota, two of the four Porsches entered in Hypercar as well as the two Cadillacs present in the premier category will compete for pole position in the most famous endurance race.
Second free practice session to follow
Earlier in the day, the first free practice had placed Toyota in the lead, the N.8 ahead of the N.7, far ahead of the Ferraris, only 8th and 12th. A second free practice session — the first at night — will be held on Wednesday between 10:00 p.m. and midnight (8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. GMT). In recent editions, the 24 Hours of Le Mans has often turned into a duel at the top between the two cars of the Japanese brand. The competition has greatly expanded this year with the arrival of Cadillac, Peugeot, Porsche and above all Ferrari, back in the premier category after 50 years of absence.
The classification of the qualifying tests:
1. Antonio Fuoco – Miguel Molina – Nicklas Nielsen (ITA-ESP-DEN/Ferrari 499P N.50/Hypercar)
2. Alessandro Pier Guidi – James Calado – Antonio Giovinazzi (ITA-GBR-ITA/Ferrari 499P N.51/Hypercar)
3. Mike Conway – Kamui Kobayashi – José Maria Lopez (GBR-JPN-ARG/Toyota GR010 – Hybrid N.7/Hypercar)
4. Sébastien Buemi – Ryo Hirakawa – Brendon Hartley (SUI-JPN-NZL/Toyota GR010 – Hybrid N.8/Hypercar)
5. Dane Cameron – Michael Christensen – Frédéric Makowiecki (USA-DEN-FRA/Porsche 963 N.5/Hypercar)
6. Sébastien Bourdais – Renger Van Der Zande – Scott Dixon (FRA-NED-NZL/Cadillac V-Series.R N.3/Hypercar)
7. Earl Bamber – Alex Lynn – Richard Westbrook (NZL-GBR-GBR/Cadillac V-Series.R N.2/Hypercar)
8. Felipe Nasr – Mathieu Jaminet – Nicholas Tandy (BRA-FRA-GBR/Porsche 963 N.75/Hypercar)
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16. David Heinemeier-Hansson – Oliver Rasmussen – Pietro Fittipaldi (DEN-DEN-BRA/Jota N.28/1ers en LMP2)
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39. Lilou Wadoux – Alessio Rovera – Luis Perez Companc (FRA-ITA-ARG/Ferrari 488 GTE EVO N.83/1st in LMGTE AM)
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