Le Mans 2017: Thursday
Live Text
Sort by
Newest first
LMP2
Albuquerque improves to a 3m30.057s in the #32 United Autosports Ligier. That's in 18th.
GTE PRO
Stanaway goes top with a 3m51.038s in the #95 Aston - that's the first lap so far to beat last year's pole time of 3m51.185s.
LMP2
It's becoming an increasingly major talking point in LMP2, which is meant to be a pro-am category, that there are effectively all-pro line-ups. The regulations require each entry to have at least one silver-graded drivers. The silvers out there are a mixed bag, some more traditional and true amateurs, but there is also a premium on drivers rated in that category who are not really in that spirit. But those are the rules, so there's no problem with teams fielding the best eligible line-ups.
LMP2
Thiriet is lapping in he #26 G-Drive/TDS ORECA that is on top in the class. Thiriet has been one of the quicker silver drivers. Currently, though, the fastest of the silver-graded drivers is Laurent in the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA after setting the time that put the car third.
GTE PRO
3m51.619s for Turner in the #97 Aston - that's P3 in class.
Twitter
Information
A warning for Moore in the #34 Tockwith Ligier to respect track limits in the neighbourhood of the Porsche Curves.
LMP2
Collard is now out in the #28 TDS ORECA. This is set to be the 46-year-old's 22nd Le Mans.
GTE PRO
Stanaway now out of the pits on a mission to improve in the #95 Aston – it's in seventh at the moment, and its fastest lap so far of 3m52.117s dates from last night.
GTE AM
And to complete the set as we head for the final half hour, here's how the GTE Am ranks look.
Driver Change
And to complete that round of driver swaps for Toyota, we now have Nakajima in the #8 example.
GTE PRO
Turner on his out-lap in the #97 Aston. Let's see what he can do. Its 3m51.860s was set in the previous session by Adam and the car is now fourth in class.
With 34 minutes remaining, there is still plenty of time for some improvements even though it's dark.
GTE PRO
Ford's sudden burst of pace has shaken up the GTE Pro order.
Driver Change
A couple more driver changes with provisional polesitter Kobayashi back in the #7 Toyota and it's Lapierre now in the #9 sister car.
Lotterer has just pitted with a slow puncture and quickly returned to the track.
Twitter
Crash
Makowiecki appears to have spun the #91 Porsche at Mulsanne Corner.
GTE AM
So Fernando Rees thinks there is more pace on the table in GTE Am – none of the likely contenders out there at the moment, though, apart from Dries Vanthoor in the #84 Ferrari that's currently fifth in class.
Twitter
LMP2
The aforementioned ORECA domination at the top of the LMP2 field is still led by the #26 TDS-run G-Drive car.
LMP2
Barthez is out in the #23 Panis Barthez Ligier. He's a safe pair of hands (a great pun there when talking about the World Cup winning goalkeeper...)
LMP1
Here are your LMP1 runners - now occupying the top six places - as we head into the final 40 minutes of the session.
Twitter
LMP2
Panciatici puts the #35 Signatech ORECA up to ninth with a lap of 3m27.794s.
Driver Change
We have a driver change in the ByKolles with Bonanomi getting a run now.
GTE PRO
Just over a second separates the top nine cars in GTE Pro. But only three of them have beaten the quickest lap from the previous session…
LMP2
The #47 Villorba Corse car of Lacorte is continuing to crawl home. It's in the final sector.
Squint, and you might just make out a stopped Porsche in the background.
Green flag
The Dallara has been cleared and the circuit is green again.
Crash
The #2 Porsche of Hartley has now stopped.
LMP2
We're only one car away from having a sweep of the top 14 places by the 14 ORECAs in the field. ORECAs currently fill the top 13, and only the #21 DragonSpeed car is preventing that lockout.
Slow Zone
We still have slow zones in effect
LMP2
Panciatici improves to a 3m28.802s in the #35 Signatech ORECA. That car is still 11th.
It's no fun for Hartley to be touring in at that speed. Karun Chandhok had a fly-by-wire problem yesterday and got stuck in a safe engine mode that only allowed him to do 75-80km/h for the best part of a lap. With cars hurtling past at high speed and some blind corners, he did not find that an enjoyable experience. Hartley will have the same feeling.
Slow Zone
While the #47 Dallara is being recovered we have a slow zone in place.
Crash
The #47 Villorba Corse Dallara, driven by Lacorte, has reportedly stopped by the second Mulsanne chicane.
Crash
There has been some sort of problem for Hartley in the #2 Porsche as he is crawling along the track.
Yellow flag
Yellow flags at the second Mulsanne chicane. It's not clear why yet.
Information
Just an hour left remaining on the clock in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying. Here's how the running's gone so far in this third session:
LMP1: There have only been three cars to improve during the first half of this final qualifying session. Nakajima has made it a Toyota 1-2 with a 3m17.128s to close to within 2.3s of the pacesetting #7. The second change is a marginal improvement from Lapierre in the #9 Toyota but that remains fifth behind the two Porsches. The ByKolles has risen to sixth overall with a 3m24.744s from Webb, but that effort is almost 10s slower than Kobayashi.
LMP2: Alex Lynn put the #26 G-Drive ORECA, run by TDS, on top spot early in the session by lapping two-tenths faster than Vitaly Petrov's time, set in the earlier session, in the #25 Manor. Thomas Laurent's time in the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA from earlier today remainS an unbeaten third, but behind him Mathias Beche improved the pace of the #13 Rebellion to secure fourth.
GTE Pro: It’s American muscle to the fore as Ryan Briscoe sits on provisional pole in the #69 Ford GT with a 3m51.232s he set with just over an hour to run, eclipsing the previous benchmark of 3m51.484s set by Antonio Garcia in the #63 Corvette. Michael Christensen ran the third fastest lap of the day, a 3m51.847s. Only six cars have gone faster than last night’s quickest time, a 3m52.117s by the #95 Aston.
GTE Am: Fernando Rees put the Larbre Competition Corvette on provisional pole with a 3m52.843s just before handing over to his Am team-mates to complete their mandatory night laps. Pedro Lamy is second in the AMR-run #98 Vantage on 3m53.233s. Townsend Bell spent much of the first hour on top of the timesheets and his 3m53.312s remains good enough for third.
LMP1: There have only been three cars to improve during the first half of this final qualifying session. Nakajima has made it a Toyota 1-2 with a 3m17.128s to close to within 2.3s of the pacesetting #7. The second change is a marginal improvement from Lapierre in the #9 Toyota but that remains fifth behind the two Porsches. The ByKolles has risen to sixth overall with a 3m24.744s from Webb, but that effort is almost 10s slower than Kobayashi.
LMP2: Alex Lynn put the #26 G-Drive ORECA, run by TDS, on top spot early in the session by lapping two-tenths faster than Vitaly Petrov's time, set in the earlier session, in the #25 Manor. Thomas Laurent's time in the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA from earlier today remainS an unbeaten third, but behind him Mathias Beche improved the pace of the #13 Rebellion to secure fourth.
GTE Pro: It’s American muscle to the fore as Ryan Briscoe sits on provisional pole in the #69 Ford GT with a 3m51.232s he set with just over an hour to run, eclipsing the previous benchmark of 3m51.484s set by Antonio Garcia in the #63 Corvette. Michael Christensen ran the third fastest lap of the day, a 3m51.847s. Only six cars have gone faster than last night’s quickest time, a 3m52.117s by the #95 Aston.
GTE Am: Fernando Rees put the Larbre Competition Corvette on provisional pole with a 3m52.843s just before handing over to his Am team-mates to complete their mandatory night laps. Pedro Lamy is second in the AMR-run #98 Vantage on 3m53.233s. Townsend Bell spent much of the first hour on top of the timesheets and his 3m53.312s remains good enough for third.
By: Matt Beer
Published:
Page:
