Qualifying report

Le Mans 24 Hours: BMW stuns to top first qualifying as Kobayashi brings out red flags

BMW topped the opening qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours, which was cut short by an off for Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi.

A 60-minute session took place on Wednesday evening to determine the eight cars from each of the three categories that will progress to Thursday’s final shootout and fight for pole position for the blue riband round of the World Endurance Championship.

While Porsche, Ferrari and Toyota were seen as the favourites for provisional pole, BMW sprung a surprise by topping the first qualifying session, with Dries Vanthoor posting a best time of 3m24.465s in the #15 M Hybrid V8 with less than 10 minutes left on the clock.

That lap was enough to overthrow Sebastien Bourdais in the #3 Cadillac from the top of the order by 0.177s and demote the #50 Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco to third.

Vanthoor’s time was almost two seconds quicker than the best lap seen so far at La Sarthe in 2024, a 3m26.013s flyer with which Brendon Hartley had led the opening practice earlier on Wednesday.

Any chance of Vanthoor’s being toppled was ended by a rare mistake from Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID with minutes to go in the session, the Japanese driver running wide at the karting corner and getting beached in the gravel.

With under three minutes left on the board, the race control decided to red flag qualifying and declare the results, cementing BMW's position at the head of the order.

Kobayashi's fastest effort had been provisionally good enough to get the #7 Toyota into Hyperpole thanks to a 3m24.754s marker. However, race control deleted all of his lap times due to him causing the red flag. As a consequence he and team-mates Jose Maria Lopez and Nyck de Vries will start the race from the back of the Hypercar pack.

Watch: 2024 Le Mans Preview With Allan McNish – Will Porsche Take Their 20th Win?

Alpine inherited fourth thanks to an impressive effort of 3m24.872s by Paul-Loup Chatin in the #35 A424, while Alex Lynn ensured both Ganassi-entered Cadillacs progressed into the final part of qualifying by claiming fifth.

Next up was Alessandro Pier Guidi in the #51 Ferrari, while two Porsches narrowly made it into Hyperpole amid the red flag – the #8 factory Penske car of Kevin Estre, who survived a big off in the final 10 minutes of qualifying, and the #12 Jota of Callum Ilott, taking seventh and eighth respectively.

The second Alpine of Nicolas Lapierre narrowly missed out a spot in Q2, taking ninth on the grid.

The best of the Lamborghini SC63s was Mirko Bortolotti in 13th, two spots ahead of the fastest of the Peugeot 9X8s, the #93 car of Jean-Eric Vergne.

The most high-profile absence from Hyperpole was Hartley in the #8 Toyota, the Kiwi ending up only qualifying 11th despite lapping within a second of Vanthoor.

The #51 and #83 Ferrari 499Ps that ended up fifth and 12th in first qualifying were given 10s stop-and-hold penalties to be taken at their first pitstops during the race for not respecting pitlane procedures during the session.

In LMP2, Peugeot Hypercar reserve Malthe Jakobsen put the #37 Cool Racing ORECA-Gibson 07 at the top of the order with a best effort of 3m46.530s.

That was enough to usurp the early benchmark set by the WEC's 2023 LMP2 champion Louis Deletraz in the #14 AO by TF Pro-Am entry by just over three-tenths of a second, while Ben Hanley took third in the #23 United Autosports ORECA that is also entered in the sub-class.

#14 AO by TF Oreca 07: Gibson: Pj Hyett, Louis Deletraz, Alex Quinn

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Mathias Beche set a time that was exactly a second off the pace of Jakobsen as he grabbed fourth for the Panis Racing operation and its #65 ORECA, which is also entered in Pro-Am.

Proton, which has faced a tough start to the 2024 WEC following its switch from Porsche to Ford over the winter, led the times in the first-ever LMGT3 qualifying at Le Mans.

Ben Barker lapped the circuit in 3m55.243s in the #77 Ford Mustang GT3 to take provisional pole, leading the #70 Inception McLaren of Frederik Schandorff by 0.143s.

A late effort from Daniel Juncadella put the #82 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3 third in the classification, the factory racer ending up 0.842s slower than pacesetter Barker.

Frank Perera was fourth in the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan GT3, while Klaus Bachler claimed fifth in the points-leading #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Le Mans 24 Hours Qualifying Result

1 - 2
Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	D. Vanthoor R. Marciello M. Wittmann	BMW M Hybrid V8	8	3'24.465		239.911
2	CADILLAC RACING HYPERCAR	3	S. Bourdais R. van der Zande S. Dixon	Cadillac V-Series.R	8	+0.177 3'24.642	0.177	239.704
3	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco M. Molina N. Nielsen	Ferrari 499P	8	+0.266 3'24.731	0.089	239.600
4	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	P. Chatin F. Habsburg C. Milesi	Alpine A424	15	+0.407 3'24.872	0.141	239.435
5	CADILLAC RACING HYPERCAR	2	E. Bamber A. Lynn A. Palou	Cadillac V-Series.R	13	+0.528 3'24.993	0.121	239.294
6	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	11	+0.584 3'25.049	0.056	239.228
7	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	6	K. Estre A. Lotterer L. Vanthoor	Porsche 963	11	+0.586 3'25.051	0.002	239.226
8	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	12	W. Stevens N. Nato C. Ilott	Porsche 963	15	+0.680 3'25.145	0.094	239.116
9	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	N. Lapierre M. Schumacher M. Vaxiviere	Alpine A424	12	+0.813 3'25.278	0.133	238.961
10	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	5	M. Campbell M. Christensen F. Makowiecki	Porsche 963	13	+0.842 3'25.307	0.029	238.928
11	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	12	+0.981 3'25.446	0.139	238.766
12	AF Corse HYPERCAR	83	R. Kubica R. Shwartzman Y. Yifei	Ferrari 499P	13	+1.301 3'25.766	0.320	238.395
13	Lamborghini Iron Lynx HYPERCAR	63	M. Bortolotti D. Kvyat E. Mortara	Lamborghini SC63	12	+1.508 3'25.973	0.207	238.155
14	Proton Competition HYPERCAR	99	N. Jani H. Tincknell J. Andlauer	Porsche 963	14	+1.527 3'25.992	0.019	238.133
15	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	93	J. Vergne M. Jensen N. Müller	Peugeot 9X8 2024	11	+1.730 3'26.195	0.203	237.899
16	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	S. Van Der Linde R. Frijns R. Rast	BMW M Hybrid V8	8	+1.758 3'26.223	0.028	237.866
17	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	38	O. Rasmussen P. Hanson J. Button	Porsche 963	15	+1.825 3'26.290	0.067	237.789
18	Whelen Cadillac Racing HYPERCAR	311	P. Derani J. Aitken F. Drugovich	Cadillac V-Series.R	12	+1.846 3'26.311	0.021	237.765
19	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	4	M. Jaminet F. Nasr N. Tandy	Porsche 963	11	+1.897 3'26.362	0.051	237.706
20	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	94	S. Vandoorne P. di Resta L. Duval	Peugeot 9X8 2024	11	+2.786 3'27.251	0.889	236.686
21	Lamborghini Iron Lynx HYPERCAR	19	R. Grosjean A. Caldarelli M. Cairoli	Lamborghini SC63	14	+3.190 3'27.655	0.404	236.226
22	Isotta Fraschini HYPERCAR	11	C. Bennett J. Vernay A. Serravalle	Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competizione LMH	13	+5.400 3'29.865	2.210	233.738
23	Cool Racing LMP2	37	L. Fluxá M. Jakobsen R. Miyata	Oreca 07	12	+8.362 3'32.827	2.962	230.485
24	AO by TF LMP2	14	P. Hyett L. Deletraz A. Quinn	Oreca 07	12	+8.669 3'33.134	0.307	230.153
25	UNITED AUTOSPORTS USA LMP2	23	B. Keating F. Albuquerque B. Hanley	Oreca 07	10	+8.965 3'33.430	0.296	229.834
26	PANIS RACING LMP2	65	R. Sales M. Beche S. Huffaker	Oreca 07	13	+9.362 3'33.827	0.397	229.407
27	IDEC SPORT LMP2	28	P. Lafargue J. Van Uitert R. de Gerus	Oreca 07	14	+9.750 3'34.215	0.388	228.992
28	VECTOR SPORT LMP2	10	R. Cullen P. Pilet S. Richelmi	Oreca 07	13	+9.797 3'34.262	0.047	228.942
29	DKR Engineering LMP2	33	A. Mattschull R. Binder L. Hörr	Oreca 07	13	+9.865 3'34.330	0.068	228.869
30	United Autosports LMP2	22	O. Jarvis B. Garg N. Siegel	Oreca 07	14	+10.015 3'34.480	0.150	228.709
31	AF Corse LMP2	183	F. Perrodo B. Barnicoat N. Varrone	Oreca 07	12	+10.302 3'34.767	0.287	228.403
32	NIELSEN RACING LMP2	24	F. Scherer D. Heinemeier Hansson K. Simpson	Oreca 07	13	+10.329 3'34.794	0.027	228.375
33	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	34	J. Smiechowski V. Lomko C. Novalak	Oreca 07	13	+10.420 3'34.885	0.091	228.278
34	Proton Competition LMP2	9	J. Ried M. Capietto B. Viscaal	Oreca 07	10	+10.498 3'34.963	0.078	228.195
35	DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2	30	J. Falb J. Allen J. Simmenauer	Oreca 07	13	+10.605 3'35.070	0.107	228.082
36	Cool Racing LMP2	47	N. Rao M. Bell F. Vesti	Oreca 07	15	+10.895 3'35.360	0.290	227.774
37	Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2	25	M. Kaiser O. Caldwell R. De Angelis	Oreca 07	12	+11.009 3'35.474	0.114	227.654
38	Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2	45	G. Kurtz C. Braun N. Catsburg	Oreca 07	12	+14.757 3'39.222	3.748	223.762
39	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	R. Hardwick Z. Robichon B. Barker	Ford Mustang GT3	4	+30.798 3'55.263	16.041	208.505
40	INCEPTION RACING LMGT3	70	B. Iribe O. Millroy F. Schandorff	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	8	+30.941 3'55.406	0.143	208.378
41	TF Sport LMGT3	82	H. Koizumi S. Baud D. Juncadella	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	13	+31.640 3'56.105	0.699	207.761
42	IRON LYNX LMGT3	60	C. Schiavoni M. Cressoni F. Perera	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	14	+31.688 3'56.153	0.048	207.719
43	Manthey PureRxcing LMGT3	92	A. Malykhin J. Sturm K. Bachler	Porsche 911 GT3 R	12	+31.724 3'56.189	0.036	207.687
44	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James D. Mancinelli A. Riberas	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	13	+31.778 3'56.243	0.054	207.640
45	JMW Motorsport LMGT3	66	G. Petrobelli L. ten Voorde S. Yoluc	Ferrari 296 GT3	7	+31.978 3'56.443	0.200	207.464
46	D'Station Racing LMGT3	777	S. Hoshino E. Bastard M. Sorensen	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	12	+32.035 3'56.500	0.057	207.414
47	IRON DAMES LMGT3	85	S. Bovy M. Gatting R. Frey	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	11	+32.065 3'56.530	0.030	207.388
48	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	T. Kimura E. Masson J. Hawksworth	Lexus RC F GT3	13	+32.096 3'56.561	0.031	207.361
49	United Autosports LMGT3	59	J. Cottingham N. Costa G. Saucy	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	13	+32.245 3'56.710	0.149	207.230
50	TEAM WRT LMGT3	46	A. Al Harthy V. Rossi M. Martin	BMW M4 GT3	13	+32.273 3'56.738	0.028	207.206
51	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	13	+32.315 3'56.780	0.042	207.169
52	Proton Competition LMGT3	44	J. Hartshorne B. Tuck C. Mies	Ford Mustang GT3	11	+32.371 3'56.836	0.056	207.120
53	TEAM WRT LMGT3	31	D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3	13	+32.482 3'56.947	0.111	207.023
54	Manthey EMA LMGT3	91	Y. Shahin M. Schuring R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	11	+32.561 3'57.026	0.079	206.954
55	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	G. Roda M. Pedersen D. Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	13	+32.756 3'57.221	0.195	206.784
56	TF Sport LMGT3	81	T. Van Rompuy R. Andrade C. Eastwood	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	12	+32.831 3'57.296	0.075	206.719
57	United Autosports LMGT3	95	H. Hamaguchi N. Pino M. Sato	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	13	+32.848 3'57.313	0.017	206.704
58	Spirit of Race LMGT3	155	J. Laursen C. Laursen J. Taylor	Ferrari 296 GT3	13	+32.884 3'57.349	0.036	206.672
59	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	A. Robin T. Boguslavskiy K. van der Linde	Lexus RC F GT3	12	+32.976 3'57.441	0.092	206.592
60	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	55	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	12	+33.817 3'58.282	0.841	205.863
61	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	J. Lopez K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	12
62	GR RACING LMGT3	86	M. Wainwright D. Serra R. Pera	Ferrari 296 GT3	0
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