Larbre ready to support Prodrive

The French team are competing with support from the works Prodrive squad this year, but they have said that they only made a bid for pole position because the factory cars were having problems in qualifying.

Larbre team boss Jack Leconte said: "The two works Aston Martins were having some trouble in qualifying, so we were given the green light to challenge for pole.

"Now we will see how the race unfolds for our two sister cars before we establish our race strategy."

1993 Le Mans winner Christophe Bouchut qualified the number 008 DBR9 on pole position, and Leconte was delighted that the team were able prove what they are capable of.

"We did everything we could to fly the flag for Aston Martin and are very proud of the result," he added.

"It was a fantastic performance. To secure pole position in the face of such competition from factory teams is an incredible achievement."