Le Mans 24h: Toyota tops first qualifying despite scare
Kamui Kobayashi put Toyota on provisional pole for the Le Mans 24 Hours by topping Wednesday night's first qualifying session by just under half a second from the best of the SMP Racing machines.
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Jose Maria Lopez with front damage after crash
Rainier Ehrhardt
Kobayashi set a 3m17.161s a little over 10 minutes in the two-hour night session to grab the early advantage for the #7 TS050 Hybrid, beating SMP driver Egor Orudzhev's best time in the #11 SMP Racing BR Engineering BR1 by 0.472s.
But there was drama later on for the #7 machine, which suffered a violent head-on smash with the #31 DragonSpeed LMP2 at the Ford Chicane while Mike Conway was at the wheel.
Roberto Gonzalez had spun the #31 machine and was attempting to rejoin when he and Conway made contact that sent the #7 machine into the air, although both drivers were unhurt.
Third-fastest was the best of the Rebellion R-13s, with Thomas Laurent posting the #3 car's best time of 3m19.603s after a trip to the gravel at the second Mulsanne chicane.
The FIA World Endurance Championship points-leading #8 Toyota was only fourth-fastest with a time 2.676s slower than that of its sister car.
Fernando Alonso set the car's fastest time with just five minutes left on the clock, a 3m19.837s, two tenths behind Laurent.
#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota TS050: Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, Fernando Alonso
Photo by: Nikolaz Godet
Ben Hanley's early effort in the customer DragonSpeed BR1 was good enough for a provisional fifth on the grid, three seconds off the pace and a tenth up on the #1 Rebellion of Neel Jani. That came prior to a lengthy spell in the garage for the #10 car due to gearbox trouble.
The second SMP BR1 of Stoffel Vandoorne was seventh, ahead of the ByKolles ENSO CLM P1/01 whose best time was set by Tom Dillmann.
LMP2: Maldonado puts DragonSpeed ahead
Despite the incident with the #7 Toyota, the #31 DragonSpeed Oreca was quickest in LMP2 thanks to a 3m26.804s effort from ex-Formula 1 driver Pastor Maldonado.
Nicolas Lapierre was second, 0.131s behind at the wheel of the #36 Signatech Alpine Oreca, followed by the best of the Ligiers, the #22 United Autosports car of Filipe Albuquerque.
Practice pacesetter IDEC Sport and Duqueine Engineering ensured it was an all-Michelin top five, with the #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing car the best of the Dunlop-shod runners in sixth.
GTE: Ford leads Porsche
GTE Pro was topped by Ford thanks to a last-ditch lap by Harry Tincknell in the #67 GT.
Tincknell set a time of 3m49.530s to move to the summit a couple of minutes before the end of the session, eclipsing Nick Tandy in the #93 Porsche 911 RSR by a scant 0.028s.
#67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT: Andy Priaulx, Harry Tincknell, Jonathan Bomarito
Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt
With around 20 minutes left on the clock, Antonio Garcia had posted a 3m49.467s in the #63 Corvette C7.R, only for it to be disallowed because he improved under yellow flags.
Aston Martin was third-fastest, as Alex Lynn's early best time of 3m50.037s in the #97 Vantage GTE was edged in the closing stages, while the remaining three Porsches - led by Frederic Makowiecki in the #91 car - filled out the top six places in class.
Aston's second car was next up followed by the best respective entries from Ferrari and BMW, while Corvette's top car ended up 11th after Garcia's time was scrubbed.
A spin for Olivier Pla at the exit of the final Porsche Curve in the #66 Ford left that car 17th and last.
The #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche led the way in GTE Am courtesy of Matteo Cairoli's best lap of 3m52.454s, which was enough to top the class by 0.296s from Jorg Bergmeister in the #56 Project 1 Porsche.
Julien Andlauer made it an all-Porsche top three in the #88 Dempsey-Proton machine with a late improvement ahead of the #98 Aston Martin.
The #99 Proton Porsche, severely damaged in Tracy Krohn's practice crash earlier in the day, did not appear on track in first qualifying.
Session results:
Cla | # | Drivers | Car | Class | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Mike Conway Kamui Kobayashi Jose Maria Lopez |
Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 3'17.161 | |
2 | 17 | Stéphane Sarrazin Egor Orudzhev Sergey Sirotkin |
BR Engineering BR1 | LMP1 | 3'17.633 | 0.472 |
3 | 3 | Thomas Laurent Nathanael Berthon Gustavo Menezes |
Rebellion R13 | LMP1 | 3'19.603 | 2.442 |
4 | 8 | Sébastien Buemi Kazuki Nakajima Fernando Alonso |
Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 3'19.632 | 2.471 |
5 | 10 | Henrik Hedman Ben Hanley Renger van der Zande |
BR Engineering BR1 | LMP1 | 3'20.200 | 3.039 |
6 | 1 | Neel Jani Andre Lotterer Bruno Senna |
Rebellion R13 | LMP1 | 3'20.297 | 3.136 |
7 | 11 | Vitaly Petrov Mikhail Aleshin Stoffel Vandoorne |
BR Engineering BR1 | LMP1 | 3'20.934 | 3.773 |
8 | 4 | Tom Dillmann Oliver Webb Paolo Ruberti |
ENSO CLM P1/01 | LMP1 | 3'25.246 | 8.085 |
9 | 31 | Roberto Gonzalez Pastor Maldonado Anthony Davidson |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'26.804 | 9.643 |
10 | 36 | Nicolas Lapierre Andre Negrao Pierre Thiriet |
Alpine A470 | LMP2 | 3'26.935 | 9.774 |
11 | 22 | Philip Hanson Filipe Albuquerque Paul di Resta |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'27.338 | 10.177 |
12 | 48 | Paul Lafargue Paul-Loup Chatin Memo Rojas |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'27.847 | 10.686 |
13 | 30 | Nico Jamin Pierre Ragues Romain Dumas |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'28.653 | 11.492 |
14 | 38 | Ho-Pin Tung Stéphane Richelmi Gabriel Aubry |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'28.738 | 11.577 |
15 | 28 | François Perrodo Matthieu Vaxiviere Loic Duval |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'28.840 | 11.679 |
16 | 29 | Frits van Eerd Giedo van der Garde Nyck de Vries |
Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 3'28.909 | 11.748 |
17 | 26 | Roman Rusinov Job Van Uitert Jean-Eric Vergne |
Aurus 01 | LMP2 | 3'29.107 | 11.946 |
18 | 25 | David Zollinger Andrea Pizzitola John Falb |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'29.126 | 11.965 |
19 | 37 | David Heinemeier Hansson Jordan King Ricky Taylor |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'29.498 | 12.337 |
20 | 32 | Ryan Cullen Alex Brundle |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'29.583 | 12.422 |
21 | 47 | Roberto Lacorte Giorgio Sernagiotto Andrea Belicchi |
Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 3'29.748 | 12.587 |
22 | 23 | Rene Binder Julien Canal Will Stevens |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'29.821 | 12.660 |
23 | 34 | Jakub Smiechowski James Winslow Nigel Moore |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'30.744 | 13.583 |
24 | 39 | Tristan Gommendy Vincent Capillaire Jonathan Hirschi |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'30.970 | 13.809 |
25 | 43 | John Farano Arjun Maini Norman Nato |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'31.017 | 13.856 |
26 | 20 | Anders Fjordbach Dennis Andersen Mathias Beche |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'32.945 | 15.784 |
27 | 49 | Miro Konopka Henning Enqvist Konstantin Tereshchenko |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'35.480 | 18.319 |
28 | 50 | Erwin Creed Romano Ricci Nicholas Boulle |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'38.663 | 21.502 |
29 | 67 | Andy Priaulx Harry Tincknell Jonathan Bomarito |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.530 | 32.369 |
30 | 93 | Patrick Pilet Earl Bamber Nick Tandy |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.558 | 32.397 |
31 | 97 | Alex Lynn Maxime Martin Jonathan Adam |
Aston Martin Vantage AMR | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.037 | 32.876 |
32 | 91 | Gianmaria Bruni Richard Lietz Frédéric Makowiecki |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.099 | 32.938 |
33 | 94 | Sven Muller Mathieu Jaminet Dennis Olsen |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.278 | 33.117 |
34 | 92 | Michael Christensen Kevin Estre Laurens Vanthoor |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.468 | 33.307 |
35 | 95 | Marco Sorensen Nicki Thiim Darren Turner |
Aston Martin Vantage AMR | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.812 | 33.651 |
36 | 71 | Davide Rigon Sam Bird Miguel Molina |
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.850 | 33.689 |
37 | 81 | Nick Catsburg Martin Tomczyk Philipp Eng |
BMW M8 GTE | LMGTE PRO | 3'51.476 | 34.315 |
38 | 69 | Ryan Briscoe Richard Westbrook Scott Dixon |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'51.821 | 34.660 |
39 | 63 | Jan Magnussen Antonio Garcia Mike Rockenfeller |
Chevrolet Corvette C7R | LMGTE PRO | 3'52.109 | 34.948 |
40 | 51 | Alessandro Pier Guidi James Calado Daniel Serra |
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | LMGTE PRO | 3'52.128 | 34.967 |
41 | 88 | Satoshi Hoshino Giorgio Roda Matteo Cairoli |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'52.454 | 35.293 |
42 | 64 | Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner Marcel Fassler |
Chevrolet Corvette C7R | LMGTE PRO | 3'52.490 | 35.329 |
43 | 56 | Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey Egidio Perfetti |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'52.750 | 35.589 |
44 | 89 | Pipo Derani Oliver Jarvis Jules Gounon |
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | LMGTE PRO | 3'52.997 | 35.836 |
45 | 68 | Joey Hand Dirk Muller Sébastien Bourdais |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'53.053 | 35.892 |
46 | 77 | Matt Campbell Christian Ried Julien Andlauer |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'53.408 | 36.247 |
47 | 82 | Augusto Farfus Antonio Felix da Costa Jesse Krohn |
BMW M8 GTE | LMGTE PRO | 3'53.498 | 36.337 |
48 | 98 | Paul Dalla Lana Pedro Lamy Mathias Lauda |
Aston Martin Vantage | LMGTE AM | 3'53.530 | 36.369 |
49 | 54 | Thomas Flohr Francesco Castellacci Giancarlo Fisichella |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'53.793 | 36.632 |
50 | 66 | Stefan Mücke Olivier Pla Billy Johnson |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'53.793 | 36.632 |
51 | 90 | Salih Yoluc Euan Hankey Charles Eastwood |
Aston Martin Vantage | LMGTE AM | 3'53.974 | 36.813 |
52 | 78 | Louis Prette Philippe Prette Vincent Abril |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'54.324 | 37.163 |
53 | 84 | Jeff Segal Rodrigo Baptista Wei Lu |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'54.513 | 37.352 |
54 | 70 | Motoaki Ishikawa Olivier Beretta Eddie Cheever III |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'54.737 | 37.576 |
55 | 86 | Michael Wainwright Benjamin Barker Thomas Preining |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'55.033 | 37.872 |
56 | 62 | Cooper MacNeil Toni Vilander Robert Smith |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'55.544 | 38.383 |
57 | 57 | Takeshi Kimura Kei Cozzolino Côme Ledogar |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'56.034 | 38.873 |
58 | 61 | Luis Perez Companc Matthew Griffin Matteo Cressoni |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'56.072 | 38.911 |
59 | 60 | Claudio Schiavoni Andrea Piccini Sergio Pianezzola |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'56.147 | 38.986 |
60 | 83 | Manuela Gostner Rahel Frey Michelle Gatting |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'56.333 | 39.172 |
61 | 85 | Ben Keating Jeroen Bleekemolen Felipe Fraga |
Ford GT | LMGTE AM | 3'56.579 | 39.418 |
62 | 99 | Tracy Krohn Nic Jönsson Patrick Long |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | ||
View full results |
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments