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Toyota has set the pace in the opening qualifying session for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans despite a bizarre shunt at the Ford Chicane.
The Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez, and Mike Conway Toyota TS050 Hybrid proved the pace setter, topping the session by four tenths from the #17 BR Engineering BR1 entry.
Kobayashi set the car’s fastest time to put it on provisional pole, but it was Conway at the wheel when the car was involved in an unusual collision.
Ending a lap, Conway was working his way through the Ford Chicane when the #31 DragonSpeed LMP2 entry was recovering from a spin.
Driving the wrong way through the chicane, the two cars made head on contact, lifting Conway into the air and damaging the left front of the car.
The DragonSpeed entry is driven by Roberto Gonzalez, and former F1 drivers Pastor Maldonado and Anthony Davidson, and proved the fastest of the LMP2 runners.
Third fastest for the session was the Rebellion R13 of Thomas Laurent, Nathanael Berthon, and Gustavo Menzes, one spot ahead of the Fernando Alonso-driven Toyota entry.
A late lap from Alonso left the entry fourth fastest for the session, 2.4s off the pace of the sister car.
The Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT of Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, and Jonathan Bomarito proved the fastest of the LMGTE Pro runners.
However their margin over the second placed Porsche of Earl Bamber, Nick Tandy, and Patrick Pilet was only 0.03s.
Ryan Briscoe, Richard Westbrook, and Scott Dixon ended the session 38th overall, and 10th in class.
The sister car of Olivier Pla left the road in the Porsche Curve, which saw the #66 Ford GT make contact with the tyre bundle.
It ended the session in 50th and the slowest of the LMGTE Pro class runners.
Leading the LMGTE Am class was Satoshi Hoshino, Giogio Roda, and Matteo Cairoli in a Porsche 911 RSR in 41st outright.
Australian Matt Campbell sits 46th overall in the car he’s sharing with Christian Ried and Julien Andlauer.
The build-up for the 24 Hour of Le Mans continues with Qualifying 2, scheduled to commence at 0300 AEST tomorrow.
Results: 24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying 1
| Pos | Num | Team | Car | Drivers | Class | Time | Diff |
| 1 | 7 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota TS050 – Hybrid | Mike CONWAY / Kamui KOBAYASHI / Jose Maria LOPEZ | LMP1 | 3:17.161 | |
| 2 | 17 | SMP Racing | BR Engineering BR1 – AER | Stéphane SARRAZIN / Egor ORUDZHEV / Sergey SIROTKIN | LMP1 | 3:17.633 | 0.472 |
| 3 | 3 | Rebellion Racing | Rebellion R13 – Gibson | Thomas LAURENT / Nathanaël BERTHON / Gustavo MENEZES | LMP1 | 3:19.603 | 2.442 |
| 4 | 8 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota TS050 – Hybrid | Sébastien BUEMI / Kazuki NAKAJIMA / Fernando ALONSO | LMP1 | 3:19.632 | 2.471 |
| 5 | 10 | DragonSpeed | BR Engineering BR1 – Gibson | Henrik HEDMAN / Ben HANLEY / Renger VAN DER ZANDE | LMP1 | 3:20.200 | 3.039 |
| 6 | 1 | Rebellion Racing | Rebellion R13 – Gibson | Neel JANI / André LOTTERER / Bruno SENNA | LMP1 | 3:20.297 | 3.136 |
| 7 | 11 | SMP Racing | BR Engineering BR1 – AER | Vitaly PETROV / Mikhail ALESHIN / Stoffel VANDOORNE | LMP1 | 3:20.934 | 3.773 |
| 8 | 4 | Bykolles Racing Team | Enso CLM P1/01 – Gibson | Tom DILLMANN / Oliver WEBB / Paolo RUBERTI | LMP1 | 3:25.246 | 8.085 |
| 9 | 31 | DragonSpeed | Oreca 07 – Gibson | Roberto GONZALEZ / Pastor MALDONADO / Anthony DAVIDSON | LMP2 | 3:26.804 | 9.643 |
| 10 | 36 | Signatech Alpine Matmut | Alpine A470 – Gibson | Nicolas LAPIERRE / André NEGRÃO / Pierre THIRIET | LMP2 | 3:26.935 | 9.774 |
| 11 | 22 | United Autosports | Ligier JSP217 – Gibson | Philip HANSON / Filipe ALBUQUERQUE / Paul DI RESTA | LMP2 | 3:27.338 | 10.177 |
| 12 | 48 | Idec Sport | Oreca 07 – Gibson | Paul LAFARGUE / Paul Loup CHATIN / Memo ROJAS | LMP2 | 3:27.847 | 10.686 |
| 13 | 30 | Duqueine Engineering | Oreca 07 – Gibson | Nicolas JAMIN / Pierre RAGUES / Romain DUMAS | LMP2 | 3:28.653 | 11.492 |
| 14 | 38 | Jackie Chan DC Racing | Oreca 07 – Gibson | Ho-Pin TUNG / Stéphane RICHELMI / Gabriel AUBRY | LMP2 | 3:28.738 | 11.577 |
| 15 | 28 | TDS Racing | Oreca 07 – Gibson | François PERRODO / Matthieu VAXIVIERE / Loïc DUVAL | LMP2 | 3:28.840 | 11.679 |
| 16 | 29 | Racing Team Nederland | Dallara P217 – Gibson | Frits VAN EERD / Giedo VAN DER GARDE / Nyck DE VRIES | LMP2 | 3:28.909 | 11.748 |
| 17 | 26 | G-Drive Racing | Aurus 01 – Gibson | Roman RUSINOV / Job VAN UITERT / Jean-Eric VERGNE | LMP2 | 3:29.107 | 11.946 |
| 18 | 25 | Algarve Pro Racing | Oreca 07 – Gibson | David ZOLLINGER / Andrea PIZZITOLA / John FALB | LMP2 | 3:29.126 | 11.965 |
| 19 | 37 | Jackie Chan DC Racing | Oreca 07 – Gibson | David HEINEMEIER-HANSSON / Jordan KING / Ricky TAYLOR | LMP2 | 3:29.498 | 12.337 |
| 20 | 32 | United Autosports | Ligier JSP217 – Gibson | Ryan CULLEN / Alex BRUNDLE / Will OWEN | LMP2 | 3:29.583 | 12.422 |
| 21 | 47 | Cetilar R. Villorba Corse | Dallara P217 – Gibson | Roberto LACORTE / Giorgio SERNAGIOTTO / Andrea BELICCHI | LMP2 | 3:29.748 | 12.587 |
| 22 | 23 | Panis Barthez Competition | Ligier JSP217 – Gibson | René BINDER / Julien CANAL / William STEVENS | LMP2 | 3:29.821 | 12.66 |
| 23 | 34 | Inter Europol Competition | Ligier JSP217 – Gibson | Jakub SMIECHOWSKI / James WINSLOW / Nigel MOORE | LMP2 | 3:30.744 | 13.583 |
| 24 | 39 | Graff | Oreca 07 – Gibson | Tristan GOMMENDY / Vincent CAPILLAIRE / Jonathan HIRSCHI | LMP2 | 3:30.970 | 13.809 |
| 25 | 43 | RLR M Sport / Tower Events | Oreca 07 – Gibson | John FARANO / Arjun MAINI / Norman NATO | LMP2 | 3:31.017 | 13.856 |
| 26 | 20 | High Class Racing | Oreca 07 – Gibson | Anders FJORDBACH / Dennis ANDERSEN / Mathias BECHE | LMP2 | 3:32.945 | 15.784 |
| 27 | 49 | ARC Bratislava | Ligier JSP217 – Gibson | Miro KONOPKA / Henning ENQVIST / Konstantin TERESCHENKO | LMP2 | 3:35.480 | 18.319 |
| 28 | 50 | Larbre Competition | Ligier JSP217 – Gibson | Erwin CREED / Romano RICCI / Nicholas BOULLE | LMP2 | 3:38.663 | 21.502 |
| 29 | 67 | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | Ford GT | Andy PRIAULX / Harry TINCKNELL / Jonathan BOMARITO | LMGTE Pro | 3:49.530 | 32.369 |
| 30 | 93 | Porsche GT Team | Porsche 911 RSR | Patrick PILET / Earl BAMBER / Nick TANDY | LMGTE Pro | 3:49.558 | 32.397 |
| 31 | 97 | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Maxime MARTIN / Alexander LYNN / Jonathan ADAM | LMGTE Pro | 3:50.037 | 32.876 |
| 32 | 91 | Porsche GT Team | Porsche 911 RSR | Richard LIETZ / Gianmaria BRUNI / Frédéric MAKOWIECKI | LMGTE Pro | 3:50.099 | 32.938 |
| 33 | 94 | Porsche GT Team | Porsche 911 RSR | Sven MÜLLER / Mathieu JAMINET / Dennis OLSEN | LMGTE Pro | 3:50.278 | 33.117 |
| 34 | 92 | Porsche GT Team | Porsche 911 RSR | Michael CHRISTENSEN / Kevin ESTRE / Laurens VANTHOOR | LMGTE Pro | 3:50.468 | 33.307 |
| 35 | 95 | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | Nicki THIIM / Marco SØRENSEN / Darren TURNER | LMGTE Pro | 3:50.812 | 33.651 |
| 36 | 71 | AF Corse | Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | Davide RIGON / Sam BIRD / Miguel MOLINA | LMGTE Pro | 3:50.850 | 33.689 |
| 37 | 81 | BMW Team MTEK | BMW M8 GTE | Nicky CATSBURG / Martin TOMCZYK / Philipp ENG | LMGTE Pro | 3:51.476 | 34.315 |
| 38 | 69 | Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA | Ford GT | Ryan BRISCOE / Richard WESTBROOK / Scott DIXON | LMGTE Pro | 3:51.821 | 34.66 |
| 39 | 63 | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | Jan MAGNUSSEN / Antonio GARCIA / Mike ROCKENFELLER | LMGTE Pro | 3:52.109 | 34.948 |
| 40 | 51 | AF Corse | Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | Alessandro PIER GUIDI / James CALADO / Daniel SERRA | LMGTE Pro | 3:52.128 | 34.967 |
| 41 | 88 | Dempsey – Proton Racing | Porsche 911 RSR | Satoshi HOSHINO / Giorgio RODA JR / Matteo CAIROLI | LMGTE Am | 3:52.454 | 35.293 |
| 42 | 64 | Corvette Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C7.R | Oliver GAVIN / Tommy MILNER / Marcel FÄSSLER | LMGTE Pro | 3:52.490 | 35.329 |
| 43 | 56 | Team Project 1 | Porsche 911 RSR | Jörg BERGMEISTER / Patrick LINDSEY / Egidio PERFETTI | LMGTE Am | 3:52.750 | 35.589 |
| 44 | 89 | Risi Competizione | Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | Pipo DERANI / Oliver JARVIS / Jules GOUNON | LMGTE Pro | 3:52.997 | 35.836 |
| 45 | 68 | Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA | Ford GT | Joey HAND / Dirk MÜLLER / Sébastien BOURDAIS | LMGTE Pro | 3:53.053 | 35.892 |
| 46 | 77 | Dempsey – Proton Racing | Porsche 911 RSR | Matt CAMPBELL / Christian RIED / Julien ANDLAUER | LMGTE Am | 3:53.408 | 36.247 |
| 47 | 82 | BMW Team MTEK | BMW M8 GTE | Augusto FARFUS / Antonio Felix DA COSTA / Jesse KROHN | LMGTE Pro | 3:53.498 | 36.337 |
| 48 | 98 | Aston Martin Racing | Aston Martin Vantage | Paul DALLA LANA / Pedro LAMY / Mathias LAUDA | LMGTE Am | 3:53.530 | 36.369 |
| 49 | 54 | Spirit of Race | Ferrari 488 GTE | Thomas FLOHR / Francesco CASTELLACCI / Giancarlo FISICHELLA | LMGTE Am | 3:53.793 | 36.632 |
| 50 | 66 | Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK | Ford GT | Stefan MÜCKE / Olivier PLA / Billy JOHNSON | LMGTE Pro | 3:53.793 | 36.632 |
| 51 | 90 | TF Sport | Aston Martin Vantage | Salih YOLUC / Euan HANKEY / Charles EASTWOOD | LMGTE Am | 3:53.974 | 36.813 |
| 52 | 78 | Proton Competition | Porsche 911 RSR | Louis PRETTE / Philippe PRETTE / Vincent ABRIL | LMGTE Am | 3:54.324 | 37.163 |
| 53 | 84 | JMW Motorsport | Ferrari 488 GTE | Jeffrey SEGAL / Rodrigo BAPTISTA / Wei LU | LMGTE Am | 3:54.513 | 37.352 |
| 54 | 70 | MR Racing | Ferrari 488 GTE | Motoaki ISHIKAWA / Olivier BERETTA / Edward CHEEVER | LMGTE Am | 3:54.737 | 37.576 |
| 55 | 86 | Gulf Racing | Porsche 911 RSR | Michael WAINWRIGHT / Benjamin BARKER / Thomas PREINING | LMGTE Am | 3:55.033 | 37.872 |
| 56 | 62 | WeatherTech Racing | Ferrari 488 GTE | Cooper MACNEIL / Toni VILANDER / Robert SMITH | LMGTE Am | 3:55.544 | 38.383 |
| 57 | 57 | Car Guy Racing | Ferrari 488 GTE | Takeshi KIMURA / Kei COZZOLINO / Côme LEDOGAR | LMGTE Am | 3:56.034 | 38.873 |
| 58 | 61 | Clearwater Racing | Ferrari 488 GTE | Luis PEREZ-COMPANC / Matthew GRIFFIN / Matteo CRESSONI | LMGTE Am | 3:56.072 | 38.911 |
| 59 | 60 | Kessel Racing | Ferrari 488 GTE | Claudio SCHIAVONI / Sergio PIANEZZOLA / Andrea PICCINI | LMGTE Am | 3:56.147 | 38.986 |
| 60 | 83 | Kessel Racing | Ferrari 488 GTE | Manuela GOSTNER / Rahel FREY / Michelle GATTING | LMGTE Am | 3:56.333 | 39.172 |
| 61 | 85 | Keating Motorsports | Ford GT | Ben KEATING / Jeroen BLEEKEMOLEN / Felipe FRAGA | LMGTE Am | 3:56.579 | 39.418 |
| 62 | 99 | Dempsey – Proton Racing | Porsche 911 RSR | Patrick LONG / Tracy KROHN / Niclas JÖNSSON | LMGTE Am |
