Practice report

Le Mans 24 Hours: Ferrari leads Porsche, BMW in tight FP3

Antonio Fuoco's #50 Ferrari was fastest in Free Practice 3 at the Le Mans 24 Hours, with five different manufacturers in the top five.

With Hyperpole the only pure-performance exercise still coming up – and involving just 24 of the 62 entries – everyone focused on race preparation with long runs during the three-hour Thursday afternoon session, which took place under overcast skies with gentle temperatures ranging from 20°C to 22°C.

Fuoco set the quickest time in 3m27.283s – nearly three seconds slower than the #15 BMW's qualifying effort at the hands of Dries Vanthoor on Wednesday, with the Belgian third quickest in FP3 in 3m27.432s.

Porsche took second place thanks to Kevin Estre's 3m27.391s effort in the #6 963, while Sebastien Bourdais lapped in 3m27.471s with the #3 Cadillac in fourth.

As a consequence, the top four was separated by fewer than two tenths of a second.

Toyota was the fifth manufacturer in the top five, with Kamui Kobayashi setting a 3m27.803s at the wheel of the #7 GR010 HYBRID.

Three Cadillac drivers were the next references, close to a second slower than the leading Porsche.

Alex Lynn was the most competitive of them in 3m28.245s, while his #2 team-mate Alex Palou had previously lapped in 3m28.442s. Meanwhile, Felipe Drugovich's #311 Action Express entry set a 3m28.345s.

The #8 Toyota took eighth place in 3m28.642s thanks to Brendon Hartley, despite an inconsequential trip through the gravel at pit entry for team-mate Sebastian Buemi.

Alpine, Lamborghini, BMW and Peugeot also lapped in 3m30.000s or less, with only Isotta Fraschini lagging far behind. The #11 car didn't manage any better than a 3m31.461s.

Meanwhile, Jota's #12 entry shared by Callum Ilott, Norman Nato and Will Stevens didn't run at all, as it is in the process of being built on a new monocoque following Ilott's crash in FP2 last night.

#59 United Autosports McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo: James Cottingham, Nicolas Costa, Gregoire Saucy

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

In LMP2, the #65 Panis Racing ORECA had an unusual session, topping the times in 3m37.217s before crashing twice. First, Rodrigo Sales spun and hit the wall at the exit of the Ford Chicane, then Scott Huffaker went off straight on at Indianapolis.

Cool Racing's #47 machine was 0.125s away from the reference, with AO by TF's #14 entry registering a deficit of just under half a second.

Similarly, the LMGT3 class was topped by United Autosports' #59 McLaren despite James Cottingham crashing it at Tertre Rouge after putting two wheels on the grass. The incident caused FP3's only red flag halfway through the session, with Frederik Schandorff stopping the #70 McLaren after Mulsanne corner seconds later.

The #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini was just six thousandths of a second off the top, with GR Racing's #86 Ferrari taking third place in the category.

Le Mans 24 Hours - FP3 results:

1 - 2
Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco M. Molina N. Nielsen	Ferrari 499P	38	3'27.283		236.650
2	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	6	K. Estre A. Lotterer L. Vanthoor	Porsche 963	35	+0.108 3'27.391	0.108	236.527
3	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	D. Vanthoor R. Marciello M. Wittmann	BMW M Hybrid V8	34	+0.149 3'27.432	0.041	236.480
4	CADILLAC RACING HYPERCAR	3	S. Bourdais R. van der Zande S. Dixon	Cadillac V-Series.R	27	+0.188 3'27.471	0.039	236.435
5	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	J. Lopez K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	43	+0.520 3'27.803	0.332	236.058
6	CADILLAC RACING HYPERCAR	2	E. Bamber A. Lynn A. Palou	Cadillac V-Series.R	37	+0.962 3'28.245	0.442	235.557
7	Whelen Cadillac Racing HYPERCAR	311	P. Derani J. Aitken F. Drugovich	Cadillac V-Series.R	38	+1.062 3'28.345	0.100	235.444
8	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	39	+1.359 3'28.642	0.297	235.108
9	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	4	M. Jaminet F. Nasr N. Tandy	Porsche 963	32	+1.407 3'28.690	0.048	235.054
10	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	N. Lapierre M. Schumacher M. Vaxiviere	Alpine A424	41	+1.596 3'28.879	0.189	234.842
11	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	32	+1.702 3'28.985	0.106	234.723
12	Lamborghini Iron Lynx HYPERCAR	19	R. Grosjean A. Caldarelli M. Cairoli	Lamborghini SC63	33	+1.759 3'29.042	0.057	234.659
13	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	P. Chatin F. Habsburg C. Milesi	Alpine A424	39	+2.090 3'29.373	0.331	234.288
14	PORSCHE PENSKE MOTORSPORT HYPERCAR	5	M. Campbell M. Christensen F. Makowiecki	Porsche 963	41	+2.137 3'29.420	0.047	234.235
15	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	S. Van Der Linde R. Frijns R. Rast	BMW M Hybrid V8	31	+2.613 3'29.896	0.476	233.704
16	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	94	S. Vandoorne P. di Resta L. Duval	Peugeot 9X8 2024	33	+2.717 3'30.000	0.104	233.588
17	AF Corse HYPERCAR	83	R. Kubica R. Shwartzman Y. Yifei	Ferrari 499P	39	+3.025 3'30.308	0.308	233.246
18	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	38	O. Rasmussen P. Hanson J. Button	Porsche 963	19	+3.100 3'30.383	0.075	233.163
19	Lamborghini Iron Lynx HYPERCAR	63	M. Bortolotti D. Kvyat E. Mortara	Lamborghini SC63	26	+3.170 3'30.453	0.070	233.085
20	Proton Competition HYPERCAR	99	N. Jani H. Tincknell J. Andlauer	Porsche 963	35	+3.222 3'30.505	0.052	233.028
21	PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR	93	J. Vergne M. Jensen N. Müller	Peugeot 9X8 2024	29	+3.704 3'30.987	0.482	232.495
22	Isotta Fraschini HYPERCAR	11	C. Bennett J. Vernay A. Serravalle	Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competizione LMH	29	+4.178 3'31.461	0.474	231.974
23	PANIS RACING LMP2	65	R. Sales M. Beche S. Huffaker	Oreca 07	24	+9.934 3'37.217	5.756	225.827
24	Cool Racing LMP2	47	N. Rao M. Bell F. Vesti	Oreca 07	29	+10.059 3'37.342	0.125	225.697
25	AO by TF LMP2	14	P. Hyett L. Deletraz A. Quinn	Oreca 07	33	+10.420 3'37.703	0.361	225.323
26	AF Corse LMP2	183	F. Perrodo B. Barnicoat N. Varrone	Oreca 07	33	+10.493 3'37.776	0.073	225.247
27	VECTOR SPORT LMP2	10	R. Cullen P. Pilet S. Richelmi	Oreca 07	32	+10.696 3'37.979	0.203	225.038
28	IDEC SPORT LMP2	28	P. Lafargue J. Van Uitert R. de Gerus	Oreca 07	22	+10.722 3'38.005	0.026	225.011
29	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	34	J. Smiechowski V. Lomko C. Novalak	Oreca 07	39	+10.971 3'38.254	0.249	224.754
30	United Autosports LMP2	22	O. Jarvis B. Garg N. Siegel	Oreca 07	38	+10.975 3'38.258	0.004	224.750
31	DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2	30	J. Falb J. Allen J. Simmenauer	Oreca 07	40	+11.019 3'38.302	0.044	224.705
32	Proton Competition LMP2	9	J. Ried M. Capietto B. Viscaal	Oreca 07	36	+11.055 3'38.338	0.036	224.668
33	Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2	45	G. Kurtz C. Braun N. Catsburg	Oreca 07	37	+11.419 3'38.702	0.364	224.294
34	UNITED AUTOSPORTS USA LMP2	23	B. Keating F. Albuquerque B. Hanley	Oreca 07	36	+11.787 3'39.070	0.368	223.917
35	DKR Engineering LMP2	33	A. Mattschull R. Binder L. Hörr	Oreca 07	33	+11.933 3'39.216	0.146	223.768
36	Cool Racing LMP2	37	L. Fluxá M. Jakobsen R. Miyata	Oreca 07	37	+12.112 3'39.395	0.179	223.585
37	NIELSEN RACING LMP2	24	F. Scherer D. Heinemeier Hansson K. Simpson	Oreca 07	34	+12.655 3'39.938	0.543	223.033
38	Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2	25	M. Kaiser O. Caldwell R. De Angelis	Oreca 07	32	+13.685 3'40.968	1.030	221.994
39	United Autosports LMGT3	59	J. Cottingham N. Costa G. Saucy	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	13	+30.275 3'57.558	16.590	206.491
40	IRON LYNX LMGT3	60	C. Schiavoni M. Cressoni F. Perera	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	34	+30.281 3'57.564	0.006	206.485
41	GR RACING LMGT3	86	M. Wainwright D. Serra R. Pera	Ferrari 296 GT3	35	+30.403 3'57.686	0.122	206.379
42	D'Station Racing LMGT3	777	S. Hoshino E. Bastard M. Sorensen	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	31	+30.438 3'57.721	0.035	206.349
43	United Autosports LMGT3	95	H. Hamaguchi N. Pino M. Sato	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	35	+31.332 3'58.615	0.894	205.576
44	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	R. Hardwick Z. Robichon B. Barker	Ford Mustang GT3	27	+31.498 3'58.781	0.166	205.433
45	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	55	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3	37	+31.647 3'58.930	0.149	205.305
46	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	T. Kimura E. Masson J. Hawksworth	Lexus RC F GT3	34	+31.668 3'58.951	0.021	205.287
47	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	A. Robin T. Boguslavskiy K. van der Linde	Lexus RC F GT3	33	+31.732 3'59.015	0.064	205.232
48	TEAM WRT LMGT3	46	A. Al Harthy V. Rossi M. Martin	BMW M4 GT3	36	+31.732 3'59.015	0.000	205.232
49	Spirit of Race LMGT3	155	J. Laursen C. Laursen J. Taylor	Ferrari 296 GT3	32	+31.829 3'59.112	0.097	205.149
50	Manthey EMA LMGT3	91	Y. Shahin M. Schuring R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	35	+31.945 3'59.228	0.116	205.049
51	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3	37	+31.946 3'59.229	0.001	205.048
52	TF Sport LMGT3	82	H. Koizumi S. Baud D. Juncadella	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	34	+31.998 3'59.281	0.052	205.004
53	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	G. Roda M. Pedersen D. Olsen	Ford Mustang GT3	31	+32.035 3'59.318	0.037	204.972
54	TEAM WRT LMGT3	31	D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3	33	+32.100 3'59.383	0.065	204.916
55	JMW Motorsport LMGT3	66	G. Petrobelli L. ten Voorde S. Yoluc	Ferrari 296 GT3	33	+32.189 3'59.472	0.089	204.840
56	Manthey PureRxcing LMGT3	92	A. Malykhin J. Sturm K. Bachler	Porsche 911 GT3 R	33	+32.238 3'59.521	0.049	204.798
57	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James D. Mancinelli A. Riberas	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	33	+32.423 3'59.706	0.185	204.640
58	IRON DAMES LMGT3	85	S. Bovy M. Gatting R. Frey	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2	26	+32.456 3'59.739	0.033	204.612
59	Proton Competition LMGT3	44	J. Hartshorne B. Tuck C. Mies	Ford Mustang GT3	31	+32.774 4'00.057	0.318	204.341
60	TF Sport LMGT3	81	T. Van Rompuy R. Andrade C. Eastwood	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	29	+34.291 4'01.574	1.517	203.058
61	HERTZ TEAM JOTA HYPERCAR	12	W. Stevens N. Nato C. Ilott	Porsche 963	0
62	INCEPTION RACING LMGT3	70	B. Iribe O. Millroy F. Schandorff	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	4
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