Pescarolo Sport on Provisional Pole
Pescarolo Sport ended the first day of qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours sitting atop the timesheets thanks to Soheil Ayari recording a lap of 4m01.197s moments before the chequered flag fell at midnight to bring the second of the pair of two-hour qualifying sessions to a close. Demonstrating how much the track had dried, took more than 12s off the fastest lap set in the first session
This demoted the Allan McNish/Emanuele Pirro/Frank Biela Champion Racing Audi R8 to second, with the Scottish driver's lap of 4m02.027s standing as its quickest tour.
With a sheen of moisture still coating the track as midnight approached, and dry weather forecast for Thursday, many of the teams elected to take a cautious approach and pack up early for the night rather than run the risk of damaging their cars.
Nicolas Minassian and the Creation Autosport if team elected to continue, though, with the French driver vaulting his way up the order to lap third fastest in 4m02.992s.
Fellow Audi driver Franck Montagny had spent half an hour awhile atop the timesheets in the Audi Playstation Oreca R8, but the Renault F1 test driver's lap of 4m05.770s was to prove good only for an eventual fourth overall, ahead of the third Audi, the Champion Racing R8 of Tom Kristensen/JJ Lehto/Marco Werner.
Japanese drivers impressed as darkness fell. First of all, 2004 Le Mans winner Seiji Ara moved to the top of the timesheets in the Jim Gainer International-run Dome, then team-mate Ryo Michigami chipped fractions of a second off that, but his lap of 4m08.745s was good for sixth after the late flurry of laps from his rivals.
LMP2 honours went to Intersport Racing's Lola-AER of Sam Hancock, Gregor Fisken and Liz Halliday, lapping eighth fastest overall in 4m11.719s. Rollcentre Racing was in the wars in this class, though, with the Michael Krumm/Harold Primat/Bobby Verdon-Roe catching fire in the pits.
There was considerable changing of position in GT1, with Vincent Vosse and colleagues Patrice Goueslard and Olivier Dupard outpacing the best that Aston Martin Racing and Corvette Racing could produce to top the class in the Larbre Competition Ferrari 550 Maranello with a best lap of 4m20.688s which was 13th fastest of all.
A late charge from the little-fancied Raymond Narac Porsche 911 GT3-RS driven by Narac, Romain Dumas and Sebastien Dumez took it to the top of the GT2 class, its best lap of 4m25.598s being good enough for 19th overall, usurping the Scuderia Ecosse Ferrari 360 Modena of Nathan Kinch, Andrew Kirkaldy and Anthony Reid.
Pos | # | Team | Drivers | Car | Class | Time | Gap |
.1 | 17 | Pescarolo Sport | Loeb S Helary E Ayari S |
Pescarolo Judd | LM1 | 4:01.197 | |
.2 | 2 | Champion Racing | Biela F Pirro E Mc Nish A |
Audi R8 | LM1 | 4:02.027 | + 0.830 |
.3 | 7 | Creation Autosportif |
Minassian N Campbellwalter Wallace A |
DBA Judd | LM1 | 4:02.992 | + 1.795 |
.4 | 4 | Audi Playstation Oreca |
Montagny F Gounon JM Ortelli S |
Audi R8 | LM1 | 4:05.770 | + 4.573 |
.5 | 3 | Champion Racing |
Lehto JJ Werner M Kristensen T |
Audi R8 | LM1 | 4:07.643 | + 6.446 |
.6 | 5 | Jim Gainer International |
Michigami R Ara S Kaneishi K |
Dome Mugen | LM1 | 4:08.745 | + 7.548 |
.7 | 9 | Team Jota - Zytek |
Hignett S Stack J Kurosawa H |
Zytek 04S | LM1 | 4:09.578 | + 8.381 |
.8 | 32 | Intersport Racing | Fisken G Halliday E Hancock S |
Lola AER | LM2 | 4:11.719 | + 10.522 |
.9 | 34 | Miracle Motorsports | Macaluso J James I Lally A |
Courage AER | LM2 | 4:12.754 | + 11.557 |
.10 | 16 | Pescarolo Sport |
Collard E Boullion JC Comas E |
Pescarolo Judd | LM1 | 4:13.526 | + 12.329 |
.11 | 37 | Paul Belmondo Racing | Belmondo P Andre D Sutherland R |
Courage C65 Fo | LM2 | 4:14.406 | + 13.209 |
.12 | 10 | Racing For Holland |
Lammers J Julian E Bosch J |
Dome Judd | LM1 | 4:15.816 | + 14.619 |
.13 | 50 | Larbre Competition | Goueslard P Dupard O Vosse V |
Ferrari 550Mar | GT1 | 4:20.688 | + 19.491 |
.14 | 8 | Rollcentre Racing | Verdoen Roe RG Krumm M Primat H |
Dallara Nissan | LM1 | 4:20.862 | + 19.665 |
.15 | 31 | Del Bello Noel |
Amorin N Iannetta R Pillon CH |
Courage - CG | LM2 | 4:21.562 | + 20.365 |
.16 | 59 | Aston Martin Racing |
Brabham D Sarrazin S Turner D |
Aston Martin D | GT1 | 4:22.600 | + 21.403 |
.17 | 61 | Cirtek Motorsport | Fomenko N Vasiliev A Bouchut CH |
Ferrari 550Mar | GT1 | 4:23.885 | + 22.688 |
.18 | 52 | BMS Scuderia Italia | Bartyan M Malucelli M Seiler T |
Ferrari 550Mar | GT1 | 4:24.686 | + 23.489 |
.19 | 76 | Raymon Narrac |
Dumas R Dumez S Narac R |
Porsche 911 GT | GT2 | 4:25.598 | + 24.401 |
.20 | 13 | Courage Competition | Cochet J Nakano S Jouanny B |
Courage Judd | LM1 | 4:26.247 | + 25.050 |
.21 | 36 | Paul Belmondo Racing | Gosselin CY Ojjeh K Sharpe A |
Courage C65 Fo | LM2 | 4:27.268 | + 26.071 |
.22 | 93 | Scuderia Ecosse | Kinch N Kirkaldy A Reid A |
Ferrari 360 Mo | GT2 | 4:28.724 | + 27.527 |
.23 | 18 | Rollcentre Racing | Short M Barbosa J Ickx V |
Dallara Judd | LM1 | 4:28.852 | + 27.655 |
.24 | 25 | RML |
Erdos T Newton M Hughes W |
Lola MG | LM2 | 4:28.869 | + 27.672 |
.25 | 33 | Intersport Racing |
Zlobin S Briere B Barazi J |
Courage AER | LM2 | 4:29.217 | + 28.020 |
.26 | 51 | BMS Scuderia Italia |
Pescatori C Gollin F Ramos M |
Ferrari 550Mar | GT1 | 4:30.973 | + 29.776 |
.27 | 58 | Aston Martin Racing |
Enge T Kox P Lamy P |
Aston Martin D | GT1 | 4:31.022 | + 29.825 |
.28 | 30 | Kruse Motorsport |
Bennett P Mitchell I Mullen T |
Courage Judd | LM2 | 4:31.127 | + 29.930 |
.29 | 35 | G-Force Racing | Hillebrand V Hahn F Pickering G |
Courage C65 Ju | LM2 | 4:31.453 | + 30.256 |
.30 | 71 | Alex Job Racing |
Hindery L Rockenfeller M Lieb M |
Porsche 911 GT3 Rsr | GT2 | 4:32.235 | + 31.038 |
.31 | 77 | Panoz Motor Sports |
Auberlen B Liddell R Maxwell SC |
Panoz Elan | GT2 | 4:32.904 | + 31.707 |
.32 | 90 | White Lightning Racing |
Bergmeister J Long P Bernhard T |
Porsche 911 GT | GT2 | 4:33.107 | + 31.910 |
.33 | 69 | JMB Racing |
De Fournoux Jr Daoudi S Matthews J |
Ferrari 575 GT | GT1 | 4:33.600 | + 32.403 |
.34 | 64 | Corvette Racing |
Gavin O Beretta O Magnussen J |
Corvette C6-R | GT1 | 4:36.209 | + 35.012 |
.35 | 63 | Corvette Racing | Fellows R O'connel J Papis M |
Corvette C6-R | GT1 | 4:36.309 | + 35.112 |
.36 | 85 | Spyker Squadron |
Coronel T Crevels D Van Merksteijn |
Spyker C8 Spyd | GT2 | 4:36.539 | + 35.342 |
.37 | 20 | Bruneau Pierre | Rostan M Haezebrouck P Bruneau P |
Pilbeam JPX | LM2 | 4:39.059 | + 37.862 |
.38 | 72 | Luc Alphand Aventures |
Policand J Campbell CH Alphand L |
Porsche 911 GT | GT2 | 4:41.065 | + 39.868 |
.39 | 24 | Rachel Welter | Terada Y Roussel P Binnie W |
Wr Peugeot | LM2 | 4:42.403 | + 41.206 |
.40 | 89 | Sebah Automotive | Nielsen L E Thyrring T Ehret P |
Porsche 911 GT | GT2 | 4:43.150 | + 41.953 |
.41 | 80 | Flying Lizard Motorsports |
Van Overbeek J Pechnik L Neiman S |
Porsche 911 GT | GT2 | 4:44.434 | + 43.237 |
.42 | 12 | Courage Competition | Schwager D Frei A Vann C |
Courage Judd | LM1 | 4:45.084 | + 43.887 |
.43 | 91 | T2M Motorsport |
Pompidou X Blanchemain JL Yamagishi Y |
Porsche 911 GT | GT2 | 4:47.922 | + 46.725 |
.44 | 95 | RaceSport Peninsula TVR | Hartshorne J Stanton R Johnson P |
TVR Tuscan T40 | GT2 | 4:48.379 | + 47.182 |
.45 | 83 | Seikel Motorsport | Collin P Felbermayr H Shep D |
Porsche 911 GT | GT2 | 4:49.404 | + 48.207 |
.46 | 23 | Gerard Welter | Bouvet JB Boulay S Julien R |
WR | LM2 | 4:51.163 | + 49.966 |
.47 | 39 | Chamberlain Synergy Motor | Evans R Berridge R Owen P |
Lola AER | LM2 | 4:51.514 | + 50.317 |
.48 | 92 | Cirtek Motorsport | Macari J Ericsson S Wilson R |
Ferrari 360 Mo | GT2 | 4:53.019 | + 51.822 |
.49 | 78 | Panoz Motor Sports |
Sellers B Franchitti M Bourdais P |
Panoz Elan | GT2 | 5:07.955 | + 1:06.758 |
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