
Hyperpole was split into two sessions with the 15-car first session whittled down to 10 for the second leg.
Surprisingly, only one of the three AF Corse Ferrari 499P prototypes made it through to the top 10 shootout. The #51 wound up 11th while the #83 was 13th.
RESULTS: 24 Hours of Le Mans Qualifying
Toyota stunned with the third quickest time in the first leg. However, their day was undone on the first flying lap in the decisive second session when Sebastien Buemi locked up and went off the road in the #8 Toyota GR010 and suffered a puncture.
Buemi failed to set a time meaning he, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa will start 10th.
Porsche Penske Motorsport led the way initially with the #5 963 heading the #4 sister car. They were split by the #15 BMW Team WRT entry before Cadillac’s last-ditch efforts.
Lynn shot to the top of the time sheets on his final lap. It was a remarkable comeback for the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R from half a second down in the second sector to go three tenths of a second faster than the #5 Porsche 963.
Bamber threatened to best Lynn, all but matching his time to the second sector but ultimately fell just shy in the #38 teammate car by 0.167s.
“I think every time you have the opportunity to drive this kind of car around Le Mans with low fuel, new tyres, is an honour, first of all,” said Lynn.
“It’s a pleasure to be here in front of you all tonight. Honestly, I’m truly honoured to be able to put in a performance like that in front of everyone and deliver the car to Cadillac how they deserve – in the first position.
“It’s a special feeling. I can’t describe it. It’s such a magical circuit, a wonderful place, and a place I really love to try and perform my best. We’ll enjoy this tonight. Good sleep and reset.”
Practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans continues at 7am AEST on Friday with a final one-hour session before the race.
Results: 24 Hours of Le Mans Hypercar Hyperpole
Pos | Num | Team | Car | Class | QP | HP1 | HP2 | Diff | Gap |
1 | 12 | Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA | Cadillac V-Series.R | Hypercar | 3:22.847 | 3:23.641 | 3:23.166 | ||
2 | 38 | Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA | Cadillac V-Series.R | Hypercar | 3:23.467 | 3:23.141 | 3:23.333 | 0.167 | 0.167 |
3 | 5 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Porsche 963 | Hypercar | 3:23.544 | 3:23.979 | 3:23.475 | 0.309 | 0.142 |
4 | 15 | BMW M Team WRT | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Hypercar | 3:22.887 | 3:24.061 | 3:23.659 | 0.493 | 0.184 |
5 | 4 | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Porsche 963 | Hypercar | 3:24.584 | 3:23.547 | 3:23.983 | 0.817 | 0.324 |
6 | 20 | BMW M Team WRT | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Hypercar | 3:23.805 | 3:23.250 | 3:24.009 | 0.843 | 0.026 |
7 | 50 | Ferrari AF Corse | Ferrari 499P | Hypercar | 3:23.514 | 3:23.273 | 3:24.213 | 1.047 | 0.204 |
8 | 311 | Cadillac Whelen | Cadillac V-Series.R | Hypercar | 3:23.890 | 3:22.742 | 3:24.380 | 1.214 | 0.167 |
9 | 36 | Alpine Endurance Team | Alpine A424 | Hypercar | 3:23.945 | 3:23.462 | 3:24.398 | 1.232 | 0.018 |
10 | 8 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR010 – Hybrid | Hypercar | 3:23.988 | 3:23.546 | No Time | ||
11 | 51 | Ferrari AF Corse | Ferrari 499P | Hypercar | 3:23.163 | 3:24.143 | 0.997 | 0.255 | |
12 | 35 | Alpine Endurance Team | Alpine A424 | Hypercar | 3:24.667 | 3:24.153 | 0.987 | 0.01 | |
13 | 83 | AF Corse | Ferrari 499P | Hypercar | 3:23.994 | 3:24.327 | 1.161 | 0.174 | |
14 | 101 | Cadillac WTR | Cadillac V-Series.R | Hypercar | 3:24.030 | 3:24.811 | 1.165 | 0.484 | |
15 | 9 | Aston Martin Thor Team | Aston Martin Valkyrie | Hypercar | 3:24.869 | 3:25.258 | 2.092 | 0.447 |
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