Le Mans 2017: Wednesday
Live Text
Sort by
Newest first
Autosport
Thanks very much for joining us for our coverage of the first day of Le Mans 2017. We've got a Toyota one-two on the grid so far, but there's another two sessions tomorrow. Here is our full report on today's action 
Twitter
Twitter
Information
We can probably expect to see more pace from the GTE Pro field tomorrow, since the #95 Aston's provisional pole time of 3m52.117s is nearly a second away from last year's pole time (3m51.185s), albeit one set by a Ford GT now carrying more weight and producing less power. It's the opposite story in GTE Am, where Lauda's 3m55.134s is comfortably under last year's class pole of 3m56.827s.
Information
TOP 61 #7 Toyota2 #8 Toyota3 #2 Porsche4 #9 Toyota5 #1 Porsche6 #4 CLM
Twitter
Twitter
LMP2
So that confirms the pace step in the LMP2 class. The pole time last year was a 3m36.605s - this year it was a 3m29.333s!
Checkered flag
That's the end of first qualifying. And it's a Toyota one-two with the #7 car leading the #8 example.
LMP2
It looks done and dusted in LMP2, with Vaxiviere fastest in the #28 TDS ORECA ahead of Senna in the #31 Rebellion ORECA.
GTE PRO
Here's how GTE Pro looks now we've seen a more representative time from Ford:
LMP1
Lotterer in the #1 Porsche is the latest driver to be warned about track limits.
Driver Change
With just six minutes of the session remaining, Buemi makes his first appearance in the #8 Toyota in qualifying.
GTE PRO
Andy Priaulx has just improved the #67 Ford's time to 3m54.118s, which puts it fifth in class.
LMP2
The latest LMP2 order following Vaxiviere's fastest lap:
Stopwatch
Vaxiviere goes fastest in LMP2 in the #28 TDS ORECA, with Senna slotting into second in the #31 Rebellion ORECA.
LMP2
Lammers left the pits slowly in the #29 car
LMP2
Vergne is having a go at retaking pole position, but will need something spectacular in the final sector to have any chance.
Stopwatch
Petrov takes LMP2 pole in the #25 Manor ORECA. He's done a 3m30.502s.
LMP2
The #29 RTN Dallara is touring in slowly.
LMP1
Out of all of the LMP1 drivers, there is one that is yet to take to the track in this qualifying session: Buemi in the #8 Toyota. That could be a bit of a risk with the requirement of all drivers getting laps in the dark...
LMP2
Petrov is on a quick lap - this could be quick enough to take class pole.
Information
The team manager of the #29 RTN Dallara has been called to the stewards. Not sure why.
Twitter
LMP2
Polesitter Vergne is currently circulating in the #24 Manor ORECA. Petrov has just headed out in the #25 sister car.
LMP2
Belicchi goes up to 15th in the #47 Villorba Corse Dallara.
LMP2
Spot the spinning LMP2 car in the dark
Driver Change
Final few driver changes taking place now, with Sarrazin now in the table-topping #7 Toyota.
LMP2
Rusinov improves to a 3m31.945s in the #26 G-Drive ORECA. That car is now seventh.
Green flag
And Calko has managed to get going again. The difficulty was less recovering from the spin, more getting away from the barrier he'd got close to while trying to rejoin.
GTE AM
We'll complete the class-by-class set with the GTE Am leaders:
Yellow flag
Yellow flags at Tertre Rouge.
Crash
Calko has gone off on the approach Tertre Rouge after putting a wheel on the grass. He's attempting to get back going again.
GTE PRO
Aston, Ferrari, Porsche, Chevrolet is how the GTE Pro field ranks at the moment. The leading Fords are ninth and 10th:
LMP2
Senna goes ninth in the #31 Rebellion ORECA with a 3m32.626s lap.
Information
During this lull, Gary Watkins is trying to work out what to do with his birthday cake. In terms of storing it rather than eating it, we should add.
LMP2
The leading positions in the deep LMP2 field:
LMP1
The final drivers are now getting their laps with Lotterer and Hartley in the Porsches and Kunimoto has just jumped in the #9 Toyota.
LMP2
It's quiet at the front of LMP2, but there's a couple of improvements. Bradley put the #40 Graff ORECA 16th, with Calko slotting in behind him in the #ARC Bratislava Ligier and McMurry taking 19th in the #45 Algarve Pro Racing Ligier.
Information
Thanks to the delayed start to proceedings, we're already long past the halfway mark in this session (which finishes at 11pm BST). Here's a summary of what's happened so far:
LMP1: All of the fast times so far have come very early in the session, as expected. Currently it's a Toyota 1-2 with Kobayashi in the #7 machine on a 3m18.793s - 0.638 seconds ahead of Nakajima in the #8 car. In third is Bernhard in the #2 Porsche, almost a second off the pace. Completing the top five are Lapierre (#9 Toyota) and Jani (#1 Porsche) with 2.3s covering them all. The ByKolles is some 10s slower than Kobayashi.
LMP2: The Manor ORECAs hold first and second place, with Jean-Eric Vergne first with a 3m30.847s and Petrov just under a tenth behind. The #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing entry is third thanks to Laurent's lap, although the sister #37 machine has been stuck in the pits after an oil pressure spike was detected. The #27 SMP Dallara's session is over after it stopped with a fire, while the #34 Tockwith Ligier has also hit trouble. It has started moving again but still hasn't got it back and is slowly touring back now.
GTE Pro: the #95 AMR Aston Martin Vantage leads, courtesy of an early 3m52.117s lap by Marco Sorensen. Sam Bird fell just short with his early effort of 3m52.235s, which left the #71 AF Corse Ferrari second, just ahead of the sister #71 car whose 3m53.123s fastest lap was set by James Calado.
GTE Am: Aston Martin Racing leads GTE Am as well after Pedro Lamy set a 3m55.232s lap in the opening minutes, a commanding class lead that Mathias Lauda improved upon when he got in the car and went around in 3m55.134s. The #77 Porsche is second with a 3m55.692s set by Matteo Cairoli, and the #90 TF Sport Aston rounds out the top three on 3m55.953s.
LMP1: All of the fast times so far have come very early in the session, as expected. Currently it's a Toyota 1-2 with Kobayashi in the #7 machine on a 3m18.793s - 0.638 seconds ahead of Nakajima in the #8 car. In third is Bernhard in the #2 Porsche, almost a second off the pace. Completing the top five are Lapierre (#9 Toyota) and Jani (#1 Porsche) with 2.3s covering them all. The ByKolles is some 10s slower than Kobayashi.
LMP2: The Manor ORECAs hold first and second place, with Jean-Eric Vergne first with a 3m30.847s and Petrov just under a tenth behind. The #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing entry is third thanks to Laurent's lap, although the sister #37 machine has been stuck in the pits after an oil pressure spike was detected. The #27 SMP Dallara's session is over after it stopped with a fire, while the #34 Tockwith Ligier has also hit trouble. It has started moving again but still hasn't got it back and is slowly touring back now.
GTE Pro: the #95 AMR Aston Martin Vantage leads, courtesy of an early 3m52.117s lap by Marco Sorensen. Sam Bird fell just short with his early effort of 3m52.235s, which left the #71 AF Corse Ferrari second, just ahead of the sister #71 car whose 3m53.123s fastest lap was set by James Calado.
GTE Am: Aston Martin Racing leads GTE Am as well after Pedro Lamy set a 3m55.232s lap in the opening minutes, a commanding class lead that Mathias Lauda improved upon when he got in the car and went around in 3m55.134s. The #77 Porsche is second with a 3m55.692s set by Matteo Cairoli, and the #90 TF Sport Aston rounds out the top three on 3m55.953s.
By: Matt Beer
Published:
Page:
