24h Le Mans
The 62 cars competing in the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans enjoyed another 15 minutes of track time, less than four hours before Zinedine Zidane is due to signal the start of the most hotly anticipated race for decades.
In just 15 minutes on the 13.626-km Le Mans racetrack, a maximum of four laps is realistically all that a team can hope to complete. That’s enough, however, to ensure that the cars are running smoothly and make the final tweaks with a view to the race itself.
The early morning clear skies had given way to thick cloud. Race Control had declared a “wet” track and ordered the rain lights to be switched on as a few spots began to fall. Cadillac Racing’s Scott Dixon reported that the main damp spot was in fact at Mulsanne.
While many of the cars pitted to change tyres mid-session – some even changing drivers – the #7 Toyota GR010-Hybrid and the #78 Lexus RC F LMGT3 had no option but to return to their neighbouring garages after Nyck de Vries in the Japanese Hypercar ran into the back of Kelvin van der Linde in the Akkodis ASP Team LMGT3.
The #12 Porsche 963 was out on the track with the other 61 cars. The Hertz Team Jota mechanics have performed a miracle in rebuilding the car from scratch after the original chassis was damaged in Callum Ilott’s accident in Wednesday night practice. The car was soon up to race pace as it clocked the fifth-quickest mark in the session.
Warm-up lap times, however, reflected the drivers' cagey approach on the slippery surface with only Robert Kubica in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P going under 3:30. AF Corse was also quickest in LMP2.
#83 Ferrari 499P | AF Corse | Kubica/Shwartzmann/Ye | 3:29.260
#51 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse | Pier Guidi/Calado/Giovinazzi | 3:30.690
#35 Alpine A424 | Alpine Endurance Team | Chatin/Habsburg-Lothringen/Milesi | 3:31.103
#6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor | 3:32.171
#12 Porsche 963 | Hertz Team Jota | Stevens/Nato/Ilott | 3:32.384
LMP2
#183 Oreca 07-Gibson | AF Corse | Perrodo/Barnicoat/Varrone | 3:36.884
LMGT3
#86 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | GR Racing | Wainwright/Serra/Pera | 3:58.325
