Practice report

WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans

Le Mans 24h: Cadillac tops FP1 by a mile, with rivals 1.7s down

Earl Bamber put Cadillac on top in the first practice session for the Le Mans 24 Hours

Ben Vinel

Ben Vinel

Edited: Jun 10, 2026, 4:44 PM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Sebastien Bourdais, Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken

#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Sebastien Bourdais, Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Cadillac went fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours, comfortably leading BMW, Alpine, Toyota and Ferrari in the Hypercar classification.

After Aston Martin topped the Test Day in 3m26.293s on Sunday, Cadillac’s Jordan Taylor was the first driver to improve on that reference on Wednesday. Less than half an hour into the session, Taylor set a 3m25.348s with the #101 Wayne Taylor Racing entry he shares with brother Ricky and Filipe Albuquerque.

It took over two hours for anyone to match – and beat – that benchmark, as Earl Bamber drove the sister Jota-run #38 Cadillac to a 3m25.673s, before recording a 3m24.773s. He subsequently went even quicker with a 3m23.786s.

Read Also:

Only BMW lapped within two seconds of the lead car, with Rene Rast (#20) achieving a 3m25.533s at the end of the session – preventing a Cadillac 1-2-3 as Will Stevens lapped in 3m26.033s after the #12 machine encountered a brake pedal problem.

Ferdinand Habsburg brought the #35 Alpine up to fifth in 3m26.078s, more than 0.4s faster than the #8 Toyota (one of two cars not to improve relative to the Test Day, with the #007 Aston Martin), the #50 Ferrari, the #009 Aston Martin and the #17 Genesis.

Peugeot was slowest of all, with a 3.2s deficit to Cadillac, 0.9s to Alpine and 0.4s to Genesis.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, Philip Hanson

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, Philip Hanson

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

The main incidents from the session involved Hypercars. Ye Yifei lost control of Ferrari’s #83 car approaching Mulsanne corner and crashed. The Chinese driver made his way back to the pits, seemingly suffering little damage.

Moments later, veteran Frederic Makowiecki went wide on the approach to Tertre Rouge and substantially hit the outside wall on the left-hand side, with the #36 Alpine crabbing along before stopping trackside.

Doriane Pin fastest in LMP2

There was more action in the LMP2 category, with the #37 CLX Motorsport, #4 APR, #9 Proton and #183 AF Corse entries going off in the first sector, courtesy of Mikkel Jenson, George Kurtz, Harry King and Ben Barnicoat respectively, while the #14 TDS and #99 AO by TF entries had similar shenanigans at Raccordement with Tobias Luetke and PJ Hyett.

Mercedes Formula 1 junior Doriane Pin was fastest by far in LMP2, setting a 3m35.248s in the #30 Duqueine car, outpacing the #14 TDS entry by seven tenths, while IDEC Sport’s #28 car was nearly a full second off.

The GT3 class was as competitive as usual, with Akkodis ASP’s #78 Lexus narrowly edging both Team WRT BMWs, Iron Lynx’ #62 Mercedes and TF’s #34 Corvette – these four manufacturers lapped within 0.41s of one another on the 13.626km track. 

Read Also:

Le Mans 24 Hours - Free Practice 1 results

FP1

All Stats

Cla Team # Drivers Car Laps Time Interval km/h 1

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR

38 France S. Bourdais New Zealand E. Bamber United Kingdom J. Aitken Cadillac V-Series.R 41

3'23.786

240.711 2

Cadillac WTR HYPERCAR

101 United States R. Taylor United States J. Taylor Portugal F. Albuquerque Cadillac V-Series.R 38

+1.562

3'25.348

1.562 238.880 3

BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR

20 Netherlands R. Frijns Germany R. Rast South Africa S. Van Der Linde BMW M Hybrid V8 36

+1.747

3'25.533

0.185 238.665 4

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR

12 Switzerland L. Deletraz United Kingdom W. Stevens France N. Nato Cadillac V-Series.R 27

+2.247

3'26.033

0.500 238.086 5

Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR

35 Portugal A. Felix da Costa France C. Milesi Austria F. Habsburg Alpine A424 35

+2.292

3'26.078

0.045 238.034 6

Toyota Racing HYPERCAR

8 Switzerland S. Buemi New Zealand B. Hartley Japan R. Hirakawa Toyota TR010 Hybrid 44

+2.705

3'26.491

0.413 237.558 7

FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR

50 Italy A. Fuoco Denmark N. Nielsen Spain M. Molina Ferrari 499P 45

+2.708

3'26.494

0.003 237.554 8

Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR

009 Spain A. Riberas Denmark M. Sorensen Canada R. De Angelis Aston Martin Valkyrie 45

+2.790

3'26.576

0.082 237.460 9

Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR

17 Germany A. Lotterer Brazil P. Derani

M. Jaubert

Genesis GMR-001 34

+2.817

3'26.603

0.027 237.429 10

Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR

007 United Kingdom H. Tincknell United Kingdom T. Gamble United Kingdom R. Gunn Aston Martin Valkyrie 34

+2.919

3'26.705

0.102 237.312 11

Toyota Racing HYPERCAR

7 United Kingdom M. Conway Japan K. Kobayashi Netherlands N. de Vries Toyota TR010 Hybrid 42

+2.814

3'26.600

237.432 12

Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR

36 France F. Makowiecki France J. Gounon France V. Martins Alpine A424 39

+3.452

3'27.238

0.638 236.701 13

Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR

19 France M. Jaminet France P. Chatin Spain D. Juncadella Genesis GMR-001 37

+3.036

3'26.822

237.177 14

BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR

15 Denmark K. Magnussen Italy R. Marciello Belgium D. Vanthoor BMW M Hybrid V8 46

+3.059

3'26.845

0.023 237.151 15

FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR

51 Italy A. Pier Guidi United Kingdom J. Calado Italy A. Giovinazzi Ferrari 499P 44

+3.150

3'26.936

0.091 237.047 16

PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR

93 United Kingdom P. di Resta Belgium S. Vandoorne New Zealand N. Cassidy Peugeot 9X8 41

+5.139

3'28.925

1.989 234.790 17

AF Corse HYPERCAR

83 China Y. Yifei Poland R. Kubica United Kingdom P. Hanson Ferrari 499P 37

+3.540

3'27.326

236.601 18

PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR

94 France L. Duval Denmark M. Jakobsen France T. Pourchaire Peugeot 9X8 42

+3.561

3'27.347

0.021 236.577 19

DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2

30 France D. Pin France J. Andlauer Netherlands R. Verschoor Oreca 07 - Gibson 34

+11.462

3'35.248

7.901 227.893 20

TDS Racing LMP2

14 Canada T. Lutke Switzerland M. Beche France K. Estre Oreca 07 - Gibson 43

+12.172

3'35.958

0.710 227.144 21

IDEC SPORT LMP2

28 France P. Lafargue

V. Rinicella

Netherlands J. Van Uitert Oreca 07 - Gibson 38

+11.651

3'35.437

227.693 22

AO by TF LMP2

99 United States P. Hyett Australia J. Allen United States D. Cameron Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+12.438

3'36.224

0.787 226.864 23

United Autosports LMP2

22 Sweden R. Lindh Switzerland G. Saucy Denmark M. Jensen Oreca 07 - Gibson 32

+12.592

3'36.378

0.154 226.703 24

AF Corse LMP2

183 France F. Perrodo France M. Vaxiviere United Kingdom B. Barnicoat Oreca 07 - Gibson 41

+14.290

3'38.076

1.698 224.938 25

Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2

4 United States G. Kurtz

A. Quinn

Germany L. Heinrich Oreca 07 - Gibson 41

+12.617

3'36.403

226.677 26

INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2

43 Poland J. Smiechowski France T. Dillmann United Kingdom N. Yelloly Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+12.620

3'36.406

0.003 226.673 27

Forestier Racing by Panis LMP2

29

L. Rousset

E. Masson

O. Gray

Oreca 07 - Gibson 43

+12.852

3'36.638

0.232 226.431 28

Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2

25

M. Jensen

Italy E. Trulli United Kingdom J. Hughes Oreca 07 - Gibson 43

+13.110

3'36.896

0.258 226.161 29

VECTOR SPORT LMP2

26 Ireland R. Cullen Russian Federation V. Lomko Brazil P. Fittipaldi Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+13.350

3'37.136

0.240 225.911 30

NIELSEN RACING LMP2

24 Denmark D. Heinemeier Hansson

E. Pearson

Australia J. Doohan Oreca 07 - Gibson 39

+13.560

3'37.346

0.210 225.693 31

INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2

343 United States B. Garg France R. de Gerus Switzerland N. Müller Oreca 07 - Gibson 38

+13.481

3'37.267

225.775 32

RD Limited LMP2

48 United States F. Poordad France T. Vautier France R. Dumas Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+14.009

3'37.795

0.528 225.228 33

CLX Motorsport LMP2

37

A. Closmenil

I. Aguilera

T. Jensen

Oreca 07 - Gibson 38

+14.026

3'37.812

0.017 225.210 34

DKR Engineering LMP2

3 Canada J. Farano Spain S. Alvarez Netherlands R. van der Zande Oreca 07 - Gibson 36

+14.530

3'38.316

0.504 224.690 35

United Autosports LMP2

222 Brazil D. Schneider United Kingdom B. Hanley United Kingdom O. Jarvis Oreca 07 - Gibson 41

+14.758

3'38.544

0.228 224.456 36

Proton Competition LMP2

44 Austria H. Felbermayr Jr.

H. Felbermayr

L. Fluxá

Oreca 07 - Gibson 40

+15.048

3'38.834

0.290 224.158 37

Proton Competition LMP2

9 Germany J. Ried Japan K. Ohta

H. King

Oreca 07 - Gibson 10

+45.936

4'09.722

30.888 196.432 38

AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3

78 Belgium T. Rompuy

H. David

United Kingdom J. Hawksworth Lexus RC F GT3 30

+31.951

3'55.737

208.086 39

TEAM WRT LMGT3

32 United Kingdom D. Leung Indonesia S. Gelael Brazil A. Farfus BMW M4 GT3 Evo 41

+32.051

3'55.837

0.100 207.997 40

TEAM WRT LMGT3

69 United States A. McIntosh Canada P. Thompson

D. Harper

BMW M4 GT3 Evo 38

+32.052

3'55.838

0.001 207.997 41

Team Qatar by Iron Lynx LMGT3

62

A. Ali Al-Khelaifi

Germany J. Hanses France G. Alesi Mercedes AMG GT3 17

+32.118

3'55.904

0.066 207.938 42

Racing Team Turkey by TF LMGT3

34

P. Dempsey

Turkey S. Yoluc Ireland C. Eastwood Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 39

+32.361

3'56.147

0.243 207.724 43

AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3

87

R. Umbrarescu

Austria C. Schmid Argentina J. Lopez Lexus RC F GT3 36

+32.396

3'56.182

0.035 207.694 44

Heart of Racing Team LMGT3

27 United Kingdom I. James Canada Z. Robichon Italy M. Drudi Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 37

+32.429

3'56.215

0.033 207.665 45

TF Sport LMGT3

33 United States B. Keating United Kingdom J. Edgar Netherlands N. Catsburg Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 42

+32.525

3'56.311

0.096 207.580 46

IRON LYNX LMGT3

61 Australia M. Berry Portugal R. Andrade Belgium M. Martin Mercedes AMG GT3 41

+32.694

3'56.480

0.169 207.432 47

The Bend Manthey LMGT3

92 Australia Y. Shahin Italy R. Pera Austria R. Lietz Porsche 911 GT3 R 43

+32.710

3'56.496

0.016 207.418 48

Garage 59 LMGT3

58 Sweden A. West Germany F. Gehrsitz

B. Goethe

McLaren 720S GT3 Evo 38

+32.782

3'56.568

0.072 207.355 49

Kessel Racing LMGT3

57 Japan T. Kimura

C. Laursen

Brazil D. Serra Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 41

+32.794

3'56.580

0.012 207.344 50

Garage 59 LMGT3

10

A. Au

T. Fleming

Germany M. Kirchhofer McLaren 720S GT3 Evo 39

+33.034

3'56.820

0.240 207.134 51

Manthey DK Engineering LMGT3

91

J. Cottingham

Russian Federation T. Boguslavskiy Turkey A. Güven Porsche 911 GT3 R 42

+33.063

3'56.849

0.029 207.109 52

Vista AF Corse LMGT3

21 France F. Heriau France S. Mann Italy A. Rovera Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 38

+33.231

3'57.017

0.168 206.962 53

TF Sport LMGT3

2

J. Ibrahim

L. Nicolas Hanafin

B. Green

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 37

+33.255

3'57.041

0.024 206.941 54

Vista AF Corse LMGT3

54 Switzerland T. Flohr Italy F. Castellacci Italy D. Rigon Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 42

+33.315

3'57.101

0.060 206.889 55

Heart of Racing Team LMGT3

23

G. Newell

Brazil D. Barrichello United Kingdom J. Adam Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 35

+33.377

3'57.163

0.062 206.834 56

Kessel Racing LMGT3

74

D. Blattner

Italy L. Patrese Algeria D. Marschall Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 40

+33.445

3'57.231

0.068 206.775 57

Proton Competition LMGT3

88 Italy S. Gattuso Italy G. Levorato United States L. Sargeant Ford Mustang GT3 31

+33.943

3'57.729

0.498 206.342 58

RICHARD MILLE AF CORSE LMGT3

150 Brazil C. Toledo France L. Wadoux

R. Agostini

Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 38

+33.585

3'57.371

206.653 59

IRON LYNX LMGT3

79

J. Zelger

Italy M. Cressoni Netherlands L. Hodenius Mercedes AMG GT3 39

+33.597

3'57.383

0.012 206.643 60

Proton Competition LMGT3

77 United States E. Powell United Kingdom B. Tuck

S. Priaulx

Ford Mustang GT3 40

+33.666

3'57.452

0.069 206.583 61

13 Autosport LMGT3

13 Canada O. Fidani Germany L. Kern United Kingdom M. Bell Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 36

+34.120

3'57.906

0.454 206.188 62

Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3

59 France C. Mateu

M. Fossard

France V. Hasse-Clot Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 36

+34.329

3'58.115

0.209 206.008 View full results

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article Ferrari expecting “difficult” race at Le Mans: “We are not the favourites”

Next article Why Cadillac has a better chance of winning Le Mans this year

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Ben Vinel



‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore

Formula 1

Formula 1

Singapore GP

4 h

‘I’m sideways all the time’ – How Alpine’s feral F1 car plagued Pierre Gasly in Singapore



“Just a disaster” – How Isack Hadjar’s nightmare Singapore F1 weekend unfolded

Formula 1

Formula 1

Singapore GP

5 h

“Just a disaster” – How Isack Hadjar’s nightmare Singapore F1 weekend unfolded



You Ask The Questions: Emerson Fittipaldi

Formula 1

Azerbaijan GP

You Ask The Questions: Emerson Fittipaldi

Latest news



Christian Horner opens up on Red Bull F1 exit: “Perhaps it was perceived I had too much influence over the team”

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 20 min

Christian Horner opens up on Red Bull F1 exit: “Perhaps it was perceived I had too much influence over the team”



Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Indonesian GP

1 h

Jorge Martin: “I don’t feel I will struggle anymore” in MotoGP title run-in



"Extremely difficult": Calendar clashes threaten Marco Wittmann's DTM future

DTM

DTM DTM 1 h

"Extremely difficult": Calendar clashes threaten Marco Wittmann's DTM future



Christian Horner's inside story of how Red Bull built its own F1 engine

Formula 1

Christian Horner's inside story of how Red Bull built its own F1 engine

Feature

Discover prime content



How Ford is “hitting milestones” ahead of its WEC Hypercar push

WEC

By Gary Watkins

How Ford is “hitting milestones” ahead of its WEC Hypercar push



Why there’s no perfect solution to the WEC safety car conundrum

WEC

Fuji

By Gary Watkins

Why there’s no perfect solution to the WEC safety car conundrum



How an “informed gamble” enabled Toyota to beat Alpine in the Fuji 6 Hours

WEC

Fuji

By Gary Watkins

How an “informed gamble” enabled Toyota to beat Alpine in the Fuji 6 Hours



The debate on whether WEC prioritised 'entertainment' over 'sport' in Austin

WEC

COTA

By Gary Watkins

The debate on whether WEC prioritised 'entertainment' over 'sport' in Austin

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.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe