Mixed fortunes for General Motors attack

The C5R of Fellows suffered extensive rear-end damage after locking a brake on the entry to the second Mulsanne chicane and spinning into a tyre barrier. At the time, halfway through the second of Wednesday's pair of two-hour qualifying sessions, Fellows had been chasing the provisional class pole held by Oliver Gavin's Saleen.

"Unfortunately, it never rains, but it pours," said Corvette programme boss Doug Fehan. "We had a really hot set-up, one that Ron Fellows really liked and we were ready for some good laps. The night was perfect with cool air. For some unexplained reason, the brake on the right rear locked up as he came through the chicane and it swapped ends on him. It hurt us to lose so much time in this session tonight."

Cadillac came to Le Mans with realistic expectations after a disappointing debut last year. The design has been extensively redesigned since 2000, with Nigel Stroud taking over from US builder Riley & Scott, but DAM'S continues to run the race team. The pair of cars qualified 11th and 12th, but team boss Jean-Paul Driot says there is more qualifying speed in the Northstars.

"We had some good qualifying runs in both cars," said Driot. "But on our fastest laps, we were blocked and couldn't take time off our previous best. With a little luck, we'll show some improvement on Thursday."

Chevrolet's Corvette C5Rs line up 27th and 29th, with two two-hour qualifying sessions remaining.