Le Mans 24h: Toyota seals pole after Nakajima flyer
The #8 Toyota of Kazuki Nakajima, Sebastien Buemi and Fernando Alonso will start the Le Mans 24 Hours from pole as the Japanese manufacturer locked out the front row.
Polesitters Sébastien Buemi, Kazuki Nakajima, Fernando Alonso, Toyota Gazoo Racing with Miss 24 Heures du Mans
Toyota Racing
Nakajima, who had set the initial qualifying benchmark of 3m17.270s in Wednesday's first session, blitzed his previous best by close to two seconds with his first flying lap in the final part of qualifying on Thursday evening.
That effort was less than six tenths slower than Kamui Kobayashi's record 3m14.791s lap from 2017, which was set in far more favourable weather than the overcast and drizzly conditions that were a factor for much of the final part of qualifying.
"It was more or less at the maximum with no traffic, so I can't complain," said Nakajima. "The track conditions were much better than yesterday and the lap was more or less as we expected. I was pushing hard to try to beat [Kobayashi's] record, so maybe I could have done better in places."
Nakajima's lap and the failure of any driver in the #7 Toyota to improve on Kobayashi's fastest lap means the #8 he will share with Formula E frontrunner Buemi and two-time Formula 1 world champion Alonso ended up securing pole by exactly two seconds.
Improvements from both Rebellions at the start of the final two-hour session looked to have secured the leading privateer outfit a second-row lockout, only for the faster #3 car to have its time removed.
Thomas Laurent set a time 0.875s slower than the second Toyota, but that lap was one of a number removed by officials after the session had ended as a result of Laurent missing the scrutineering light in the pitlane.
Stephane Sarrazin's 3m19.483s lap set in Wednesday's first qualifying session remained the #17 SMP car's fastest time, which was enough to split the two Rebellions after the #3's time was removed.
It also made it the fastest BR1 by 1.6s over the DragonSpeed entry that qualified sixth.
The #11 SMP car shared by Vitaly Petrov, Mikhail Aleshin and 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button was a further three tenths back and will start seventh courtesy of Petrov's fastest time, ahead of the sole ByKolles entry.
Tom Dillmann had set a lap below the 3m21s barrier on Wednesday evening that would have given the ENSO CLM P1/01-Nissan sixth on the grid, but that time was disallowed for excessive fuel consumption.
The two Manor Ginettas were ninth and 10th fastest on best times at the end of the session before the #5 car had its time removed for the same scrutineering infringement as the #3 Rebellion.
Alex Brundle had dragged the #6 car up to ninth in Thursday's earlier qualifying session, and the car eventually ended up with a fastest time of 3m23.757s that left it 8.380s off the ultimate pace and a little more than a second off the next slowest car.
Leo Roussel had hoisted the sister car just over a second behind the #6, but it the dropped to 14th in the classification behind four LMP2 cars when its fastest time was removed.
IDEC Sport keeps LMP2 pole
Paul-Loup Chatin claimed pole position in LMP2 for IDEC Sport after fellow Oreca entrant TDS Racing lost its best time for failing to stop at the scrutineering light.
Chatin's time of 3m24.842s had been shaded by 2013 event winner Loic Duval in the #28 TDS car, only for the stewards' intervention to bump the car he shared with Matthieu Vaxiviere and Francois Perrodo back to fourth.
Chatin also claimed a new record for the fastest-ever LMP2 lap of Le Mans, a little over half a second faster than last year's pole time set by Alex Lynn.
The 2014 European Le Mans Series champion shaved a tenth off his Wednesday benchmark in the session's opening runs, which proved enough to keep the IDEC car ahead of Nathanael Berthon's #31 DragonSpeed Oreca, also running on Michelins, by just 0.041s.
Jean-Eric Vergne also lapped under last year's pole time in the #26 G-Drive Racing Oreca, but was only fourth quickest until the sister TDS car's time was wiped, promoting him to third, albeit a further three tenths behind Chatin in the best of the Dunlop-shod cars.
Duval's 3m25.240s from first qualifying on Wednesday was good enough for fourth, while the top five was completed by Will Stevens in the best of the Ligiers entered by Panis-Barthez Competition, another car running on Michelins.
The #47 Villorba Corse Dallara did not re-emerge after a suspension failure caused Giorgio Sernagiotto to crash heavily and bring out the red flags in qualifying two.
Porsche 1-2 in GTE Pro
Porsche sealed pole in GTE Pro courtesy of Gianmaria Bruni’s 3m47.504s effort from Wednesday evening, which went unbeaten throughout Thursday’s two sessions.
The top three in class remained unchanged from first qualifying, with the #91 Porsche 911 RSR leading the sister #92 Manthey-run car and the best of the Ganassi-run Ford GTs, the #66.
Alessandro Pier Guidi promoted the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo to fourth in the final session with a time of 3m49.494s, demoting the #68 Ford to fifth and denying the Blue Oval a lockout of the second row.
The best of the CORE autosport-run IMSA Porsches also improved in the hands of Patrick Pilet to take sixth, while Richard Westbrook lifted the #69 Ford up to seventh ahead of the #94 Porsche, which didn’t improve from Wednesday.
Completing the top 10 were the best of the Corvette C7.Rs, the #63 car of Antonio Garcia, and the second AF Corse Ferrari, whose best time was set by Sam Bird.
BMW’s pair of MTEK-run M8 GTEs slipped down to 12th and 13th places, while Aston Martin’s new Vantage GTEs failed to improve on their Wednesday times and will start 16th and 17th in class.
Porsche locked out the top three places in GTE Am, with Matteo Cairoli’s lap from first qualifying in the #88 Dempsey-Proton car proving enough for class pole.
Ben Barker put the #86 Gulf Racing machine up to second with a time 0.663s shy of Cairoli and some six tenths up on the second of Dempsey-Proton cars.
The #54 Spirit of Race Ferrari that had been third pre-session fell to fourth place, its best time having been set by ex-F1 star Giancarlo Fisichella in second qualifying.
Additional reporting by James Newbold
Flashback: Toyota's 2016 disaster
Qualifying results:
Cla | # | Drivers | Car | Class | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | Fernando Alonso Kazuki Nakajima Sébastien Buemi |
Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 3'15.377 | |
2 | 7 | Kamui Kobayashi Mike Conway Jose Maria Lopez |
Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 3'17.377 | 2.000 |
3 | 1 | Andre Lotterer Bruno Senna Neel Jani |
Rebellion R13 | LMP1 | 3'19.449 | 4.072 |
4 | 17 | Stéphane Sarrazin Matevos Isaakyan Egor Orudzhev |
BR Engineering BR1 | LMP1 | 3'19.483 | 4.106 |
5 | 3 | Mathias Beche Thomas Laurent Gustavo Menezes |
Rebellion R13 | LMP1 | 3'19.945 | 4.568 |
6 | 10 | Henrik Hedman Renger van der Zande Ben Hanley |
BR Engineering BR1 | LMP1 | 3'21.110 | 5.733 |
7 | 11 | Jenson Button Vitaly Petrov Mikhail Aleshin |
BR Engineering BR1 | LMP1 | 3'21.408 | 6.031 |
8 | 4 | Oliver Webb Dominik Kraihamer Tom Dillmann |
ENSO CLM P1/01 | LMP1 | 3'22.505 | 7.128 |
9 | 6 | Oliver Turvey Alex Brundle Oliver Rowland |
Ginetta G60-LT-P1 | LMP1 | 3'23.757 | 8.380 |
10 | 48 | Paul-Loup Chatin Memo Rojas Paul Lafargue |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'24.842 | 9.465 |
11 | 31 | Pastor Maldonado Nathanael Berthon Roberto Gonzalez |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'24.883 | 9.506 |
12 | 26 | Jean-Eric Vergne Roman Rusinov Andrea Pizzitola |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'25.160 | 9.783 |
13 | 28 | Loic Duval François Perrodo Matthieu Vaxiviere |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'25.240 | 9.863 |
14 | 5 | Leo Roussel Mike Simpson Charlie Robertson |
Ginetta G60-LT-P1 | LMP1 | 3'25.268 | 9.891 |
15 | 23 | Will Stevens Julien Canal Timothé Buret |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'25.376 | 9.999 |
16 | 36 | Nicolas Lapierre Pierre Thiriet Andre Negrao |
Alpine A470 | LMP2 | 3'26.681 | 11.304 |
17 | 39 | Vincent Capillaire Tristan Gommendy Jonathan Hirschi |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'26.701 | 11.324 |
18 | 22 | Paul di Resta Filipe Albuquerque Philip Hanson |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'26.772 | 11.395 |
19 | 38 | Ho-Pin Tung Stéphane Richelmi Gabriel Aubry |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'27.120 | 11.743 |
20 | 37 | Nabil Jeffri Weiron Tan Jazeman Jaafar |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'27.226 | 11.849 |
21 | 40 | Jose Gutierrez Enzo Guibbert James Allen |
Oreca 07 | LMP2 | 3'27.280 | 11.903 |
22 | 47 | Felipe Nasr Roberto Lacorte Giorgio Sernagiotto |
Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 3'27.993 | 12.616 |
23 | 29 | Jan Lammers Giedo van der Garde Frits van Eerd |
Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 3'28.111 | 12.734 |
24 | 32 | Juan Pablo Montoya William Owen Hugo De Sadeleer |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'28.159 | 12.782 |
25 | 35 | Viktor Shaytar Norman Nato Harrison Newey |
Dallara P217 | LMP2 | 3'28.629 | 13.252 |
26 | 34 | David Heinemeier Hansson Ricky Taylor Côme Ledogar |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'29.474 | 14.097 |
27 | 44 | Andrea Bertolini Tracy Krohn Nic Jönsson |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'33.585 | 18.208 |
28 | 33 | David Cheng Nicholas Boulle Pierre Nicolet |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'35.237 | 19.860 |
29 | 50 | Thomas Dagoneau Romano Ricci Erwin Creed |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'38.206 | 22.829 |
30 | 25 | Mark Patterson Tacksung Kim Ate de Jong |
Ligier JSP 217 | LMP2 | 3'39.518 | 24.141 |
31 | 91 | Gianmaria Bruni Richard Lietz Frédéric Makowiecki |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'47.504 | 32.127 |
32 | 92 | Michael Christensen Kevin Estre Laurens Vanthoor |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.097 | 33.720 |
33 | 66 | Stefan Mücke Olivier Pla Billy Johnson |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.181 | 33.804 |
34 | 51 | James Calado Alessandro Pier Guidi Daniel Serra |
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.494 | 34.117 |
35 | 68 | Sébastien Bourdais Joey Hand Dirk Müller |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.582 | 34.205 |
36 | 93 | Nick Tandy Patrick Pilet Earl Bamber |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.589 | 34.212 |
37 | 69 | Ryan Briscoe Scott Dixon Richard Westbrook |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'49.761 | 34.384 |
38 | 94 | Romain Dumas Timo Bernhard Sven Muller |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.089 | 34.712 |
39 | 63 | Jan Magnussen Antonio Garcia Mike Rockenfeller |
Chevrolet Corvette C7R | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.242 | 34.865 |
40 | 71 | Sam Bird Davide Rigon Miguel Molina |
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.246 | 34.869 |
41 | 67 | Harry Tincknell Tony Kanaan Andy Priaulx |
Ford GT | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.429 | 35.052 |
42 | 82 | Antonio Felix da Costa Augusto Farfus Alexander Sims |
BMW M8 GTE | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.579 | 35.202 |
43 | 81 | Nick Catsburg Martin Tomczyk Philipp Eng |
BMW M8 GTE | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.596 | 35.219 |
44 | 88 | Khaled Al Qubaisi Matteo Cairoli Giorgio Roda |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'50.728 | 35.351 |
45 | 64 | Marcel Fassler Oliver Gavin Tommy Milner |
Chevrolet Corvette C7R | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.952 | 35.575 |
46 | 52 | Pipo Derani Toni Vilander Antonio Giovinazzi |
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO | LMGTE PRO | 3'50.957 | 35.580 |
47 | 86 | Michael Wainwright Ben Barker Alex Davison |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'51.391 | 36.014 |
48 | 77 | Christian Ried Matt Campbell Julien Andlauer |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'51.930 | 36.553 |
49 | 54 | Giancarlo Fisichella Francesco Castellacci Thomas Flohr |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'51.956 | 36.579 |
50 | 97 | Jonathan Adam Maxime Martin Alex Lynn |
Aston Martin Vantage AMR | LMGTE PRO | 3'52.486 | 37.109 |
51 | 56 | Jörg Bergmeister Patrick Lindsey Egidio Perfetti |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'52.985 | 37.608 |
52 | 90 | Salih Yoluc Euan Hankey Charlie Eastwood |
Aston Martin Vantage | LMGTE AM | 3'53.070 | 37.693 |
53 | 80 | Erik Maris Christina Nielsen Fabio Babini |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'53.402 | 38.025 |
54 | 61 | Matt Griffin Mok Weng Sun Keita Sawa |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'53.409 | 38.032 |
55 | 84 | Jeff Segal Liam Griffin Cooper MacNeil |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'53.439 | 38.062 |
56 | 95 | Marco Sorensen Nicki Thiim Darren Turner |
Aston Martin Vantage AMR | LMGTE PRO | 3'53.523 | 38.146 |
57 | 98 | Pedro Lamy Paul Dalla Lana Mathias Lauda |
Aston Martin Vantage | LMGTE AM | 3'53.817 | 38.440 |
58 | 85 | Jeroen Bleekemolen Ben Keating Luca Stolz |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'54.000 | 38.623 |
59 | 99 | Patrick Long Tim Pappas Spencer Pumpelly |
Porsche 911 RSR | LMGTE AM | 3'54.720 | 39.343 |
60 | 70 | Olivier Beretta Motoaki Ishikawa Eddie Cheever III |
Ferrari 488 GTE | LMGTE AM | 3'54.951 | 39.574 |
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