The qualifying sessions that will allow access to tomorrow's hyperpole have just finished. The one-hour session, which saw all three classes on track at the same time competing for a place among the top eight in class, held many surprises.
BMW on the shields, Ferrari is there, Porsche disappointment
The BMW number 15 of the WRT team, with a super lap in the final minutes by Dries Vanthoor, achieved the best time in 3:24.465, less than two tenths behind the Cadillac number 3 with Sébastien Bourdais at the wheel. In third place was the first of the two Ferrari 499Ps with Antonio Fuoco, with 3:24.731.
In fourth place we find the only Toyota that managed to snatch a place among the eight, also author of the red flag at the end of the session due to a spin by Kobayashi, which did not allow the Porsche number 12 of Team Hertz Jota with Callum Ilott to become part of tomorrow's Hyperpole. Fifth place for an excellent Alpine, which had already shown itself in FP1 (read here the recap).
The last two useful places go to the second Ferrari 499P with Alessandro Pierguidi and to the only Porsche of the Penske team, which had done well up until now but was unable to find the right lap in qualifying. Eight cars less than six tenths is an incredible result which suggests that tomorrow evening the result will not be at all obvious.
LMGT3: Ford Mustang on top, Iron Dames and Rossi's BMW out
In the LMGT3 class, the Ford Mustang number 77 of the Proton Competition team stands out with a time of 3:55.263. Less than a tenth and a half behind, Inception Racing's McLaren number 70 confirmed its competitiveness after FP1, with a time of 3:55.406. In third place was the Corvette Z06 of the TF Sport team with a time of 3:56.105, with an advantage of 50 thousandths over the Lamborghini Iron Lynx number 60.
The Manthey Pureracing Porsche follows in fifth place, with the Heart of Racing Aston Martin in sixth. In the last two useful places are the Ferrari 296 of the JMW Motorsport team and the other Aston Martin of the D'Aston Racing team. In ninth place, and therefore out of contention for the Hyperpole, the Iron Dames and the BMW number 46 which only finished in twelfth place.
LMP2: COOL Racing displaces AO Racing from the top
Even in the LMP2 class the fight to enter the first eight available places is very close, with the COOL Racing team which, with a time of 3:32.827, displaces Oreca of Team AO by TF from the top, which until then had led both FP1 and the first stages of qualifying, still finishing just 3 tenths behind. United Autosport USA confirms itself in third place, also 3 tenths behind those ahead of it. Fourth, fifth and sixth positions are occupied respectively by Panis Racing with 3:33.827, IDEC Sport with 3:34.215 and Vector Sport with 3:34.262. DKR Engineering and United Autosport close the ranking.
The day is not over yet because in a few hours, exactly at 10pm, a crucial free practice session will begin for those who want to have ambitions of victory in this 24h of Le Mans. The 62 crews will try their hand at night driving, where they will be able to test and refine the set-up in preparation for Saturday night.
Crediti foto: Luca Cappelli