A dramatic twist in qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans saw Jack Aitken stripped of a sensational pole position. Driving the No. 38 Cadillac V-Series.R for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, the British driver had clocked a staggering 3:22.559 during Hyperpole 2, setting a new record for the Hypercar era by a mere 0.005 seconds.
However, JOTA’s celebrations were short-lived. Race directors deleted the No. 38 car’s lap time after it failed to comply with regulations regarding entering the fast lane at the start of the session. As a result of the penalty, Aitken will drop all the way back to tenth on the grid.
Inheriting the pole position is the No. 15 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Dries Vanthoor, who posted a rock-solid 3:22.564. The German manufacturer continues its stellar run of form in the FIA WEC, following their recent 1-2 finish at the 6 Hours of Spa.
Despite Aitken’s penalty, Cadillac still secures a front-row start thanks to Will Stevens in the sister No. 12 JOTA machine, who stopped the clock at 3:23.078.
Third place went to the No. 35 Alpine A424 of Antonio Felix da Costa (3:23.620), followed by the second factory BMW, the No. 20 driven by Robin Frijns (3:23.764). Fifth quickest was the No. 101 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. Filipe Albuquerque attempted a strategic gamble by qualifying on Michelin Medium tires while the rest of the field used Softs, registering a 3:23.778.
Sixth went to a stellar Paul-Loup Chatin, marking a remarkable Le Mans debut for the Genesis GMR-001. The Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Valkyrie, driven by Roman De Angelis (3:31.089), finished seventh, emerging as the best of the LMH-regulated prototypes in a session heavily dominated by LMDh machinery.
The lone Ferrari to make it into Hyperpole 2, the No. 51 AF Corse 499P of James Calado (3:25.081), took the eighth spot. It proves to be an uphill battle for the Maranello squad as they chase a fourth consecutive victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Rounding out the top nine in the Hypercar class was the second of the debutant Genesis entries. Meanwhile, it was an absolute disaster for Toyota: neither of the GR010 Hybrids managed to advance to Hyperpole 2, languishing as the slowest of the 15 Hypercar crews in the opening segment.
The narrative repeated itself in the LMP2 class, where the fastest man on track was also penalized. Esteban Masson, piloting the No. 29 Oreca 07 Gibson for Forestier Racing by Panis, shattered last year’s pole time with a blistering 3:32.855. The Frenchman gapped Job van Uitert (No. 28 IDEC Sport) by 0.387 seconds, but the Panis car will have to hand over the top spot to its rival. The No. 29 was carrying a one-place grid penalty carried over from Wednesday’s initial qualifying for impeding the Garage 59 McLaren GT3.
Locking down the second row will be the No. 24 Nielsen Racing entry of Jack Doohan (3:33.510), closely followed by Nick Yelloly in the Inter Europol Competition machine—the defending race winners—just half a tenth behind. Fifth place went to Alex Quinn (CrowdStrike by APR). Notably, positions five through seven (completed by Julien Andlauer for Duqueine and Kevin Estre for TDS) feature a trio of LMP2 cars driven by factory Porsche IMSA GTP drivers starting line astern. There was heartbreak for United Autosports, as both cars failed to make the Hyperpole 2 cut (starting 11th and 12th), while Theodor Jensen (CLX Motorsport) crashed out at the second Mulsanne Chicane.
In the LMGT3 class, Mattia Drudi delivered a masterclass in dominance. The Italian driver smashed the previous category record to claim back-to-back Le Mans pole positions, putting down a 3:52.433 in the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo and leaving the rest of the field a full second adrift.
Securing the second spot was Alessio Rovera in the No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, followed by José María López in the No. 87 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3. The sister No. 78 Lexus of Jack Hawksworth will start fourth, despite frantic efforts by the crew early in the session to fix a door that refused to latch shut. The Team WRT BMW M4 line-up will occupy the third row (Gelael 5th, Thompson 6th), while former F1 driver Logan Sargeant was the first to be eliminated in Hyperpole 1 in his No. 88 Ford Mustang.
It was a session to forget for the No. 34 Racing Team Turkey Chevrolet Corvette. After topping Wednesday’s opening qualifying session, the American car was disqualified due to excessive wear on the rear diffuser strakes. Also missing the cut were the Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMGs and the No. 92 Manthey Porsche, winners of the last two editions, which paid the price for fielding Silver-graded driver Riccardo Pera against the factory aces of their rivals.