Qualifying report

Le Mans 24h: Cadillac snatches pole away from BMW by 0.005s... then gets penalty

A late effort by Jack Aitken nearly yielded pole position to Cadillac for the French classic by the tiniest of margins – he was demoted to 10th due to a rules breach

BMW has taken pole position for the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours with Dries Vanthoor after Cadillac's effort, quicker by five-thousandths of a second, was rendered null and void by the stewards.

Hypercar

In Hyperpole 1, Earl Bamber’s early 3m23.722s effort in the #38 Cadillac led the way halfway through, as Genesis held second place with Mathieu Jaminet in the #19 car, in 3m23.965s. The Aston Martins were struggling at the bottom of the classification, with Ross Gunn’s #007 entry 1.2s off the pace, while Marco Sorensen’s #009 car was 1.9s down on the leader. The #20 BMW, the #51 Ferrari and the #12 Cadillac – which had set the fastest opening sector – were also at risk of elimination.

There were improvements aplenty in the final minutes of the session, with Sheldon van der Linde taking a comfortable lead in the #20 BMW, half a second faster than the reference. However, he was narrowly – but swiftly – outpaced by Bamber’s new marker in 3m23.187s… and the #17 Genesis with Mathys Jaubert in 3m23.126s.

Cadillac’s New Zealander might have had the last word in 3m23.091s, but Alpine’s Charles Milesi surged ahead in the #35 entry, setting a 3m23.018s. Less than three tenths covered the top seven cars.

The Toyotas ended up at the bottom of the timesheet, with Kamui Kobayashi (#7) and Ryo Hirakawa (#8) respectively 1.25s and 1.56s down on Milesi. The sister #36 Alpine (Jules Gounon), the #50 Ferrari (Antonio Fuoco) and the #007 Aston Marin also failed to make the cut for Hypercar 2, with only the top 10 cars qualified.

#35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424: Antonio Felix Da Costa, Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg

Photo by: JEP

Dries Vanthoor set the early pace in Hyperpole 2. The #15 BMW achieved the first sub-3m23s lap of the week, a 3m22.745s. Robin Frijns made it a provisional BMW 1-2 with the #20 entry, albeit 1.2s off. With five minutes remaining, nobody else lapped within two seconds of the Belgian.

Vanthoor actually doubled down with a 3m22.564s, but Aitken achieved an excellent final sector to snatch pole position away by just 0.005s in the #38 Jota Cadillac – until his eventual penalty.

Panis grabs LMP2 pole

#29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca 07 Gibson: Louis Rousset, Esteban Masson, Oliver Gray

Photo by: Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo

Toyota youngster Esteban Masson put the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca 07 on pole position in the LMP2 class.

The Canadian-Frenchman set two laps that were good enough for the top spot, eventually ending up 0.387s clear of Job van Uitert in the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca.

Van Uitert led the early part of the 15-minute Hyperpole 2 session but gradually dropped down the order, before locking a spot on the LMP2 front row with a last-gasp effort of 3m33.242s.

The Dutchman’s time left former Formula 1 driver Jack Doohan in third place ahead of his debut appearance at Le Mans.

Nick Yelloly qualified last year’s class-winning #43 Inter Europol car in fourth, ahead of Alex Quinn’s CrowdStrike by APR entry.

Porsche GTP drivers Julien Andlauer and Kevin Estre ended up sixth and seventh for Duqueine and TDS Racing respectively, while the top 10 was completed by Matthieu Vaxiviere (AF Corse) and Reshad de Gerus (#343 InterEuropol)

Neither of the United Autosports cars made it to Hyperpole 2, joining the #26 Vector Sport, the #37 CLX Motorsport and the #9 Proton entries in the elimination zone.

CLX Motorsport had been second-fastest in the opening qualifying on Wednesday, but Michael Jensen could never quite recover from a spin early in the session, ending up 14th on the grid.

Aston claims top spot in LMGT3

#27 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Ian James, Zacharie Robichon, Mattia Drudi

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Heart of Racing dominated qualifying for the LMGT3 category, with factory Aston Martin driver Mattia Drudi claiming pole position by almost a full second.

After his first flyer was deleted due to a track limits infringement, Drudi managed another blistering time of 3m52.433s to put the #27 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at the front of the LMGT3 grid. That was despite his second time being fractionally slower than his previous effort that was cancelled.

Alessio Rovera qualified a strong second in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3, beating the two ASP Lexus RC F GT3s of Jose Maria Lopez and Jack Hakwsworth.

The two WRT BMW M4 GT3s ended up fifth and sixth, Sean Gelael edging out the sister car of Parker Thompson.

Dennis Marschall was seventh in the Kessel Ferrari, while eighth place went to Jonny Adam in the #23 Heart of Racing Aston.

Timur Boguslaskiy was ninth-fastest in the #91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R, while Ben Tuck was 10th in the #77 Proton Ford.

Former Williams F1 driver Logan Sargeant missed the cut for Hyperpole 2 by just half a tenth, leaving the #88 Proton Ford Mustang GT3 11th on the grid.

Neither of the two Iron Lynx Mercedes AMG GT3s progressed to the pole shootout either, qualifying 12th and 13th respectively, while a spin for Francesco Castellacci contributed to the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 ending up 14th place.

However, the most notable absentee from Hyperpole 2 was the championship-leading #92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3, which ended up 15th and slowest with Riccardo Pera at the wheel.

Hypercar - Hyperpole 2 results

hp4

All Stats

Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	38	S. Bourdais E. Bamber J. Aitken	Cadillac V-Series.R	5	3'22.559		242.169
2	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	K. Magnussen R. Marciello D. Vanthoor	BMW M Hybrid V8	5	+0.005 3'22.564	0.005	242.163
3	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	12	L. Deletraz W. Stevens N. Nato	Cadillac V-Series.R	5	+0.519 3'23.078	0.514	241.550
4	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	A. Felix da Costa C. Milesi F. Habsburg	Alpine A424	5	+1.061 3'23.620	0.542	240.907
5	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	R. Frijns R. Rast S. Van Der Linde	BMW M Hybrid V8	5	+1.205 3'23.764	0.144	240.737
6	Cadillac WTR HYPERCAR	101	R. Taylor J. Taylor F. Albuquerque	Cadillac V-Series.R	6	+1.219 3'23.778	0.014	240.720
7	Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR	19	M. Jaminet P. Chatin D. Juncadella	Genesis GMR-001	5	+1.264 3'23.823	0.045	240.667
8	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	009	A. Riberas M. Sorensen R. De Angelis	Aston Martin Valkyrie	5	+2.170 3'24.729	0.906	239.602
9	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	5	+2.522 3'25.081	0.352	239.191
10	Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR	17	A. Lotterer P. Derani M. Jaubert	Genesis GMR-001	5	+3.557 3'26.116	1.035	237.990
View full results

Hypercar - Hyperpole 1 results

All Stats

Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	A. Felix da Costa C. Milesi F. Habsburg	Alpine A424	7	3'23.018		241.621
2	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	38	S. Bourdais E. Bamber J. Aitken	Cadillac V-Series.R	7	+0.073 3'23.091	0.073	241.535
3	Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR	17	A. Lotterer P. Derani M. Jaubert	Genesis GMR-001	6	+0.108 3'23.126	0.035	241.493
4	Cadillac WTR HYPERCAR	101	R. Taylor J. Taylor F. Albuquerque	Cadillac V-Series.R	7	+0.173 3'23.191	0.065	241.416
5	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	20	R. Frijns R. Rast S. Van Der Linde	BMW M Hybrid V8	6	+0.228 3'23.246	0.055	241.350
6	BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR	15	K. Magnussen R. Marciello D. Vanthoor	BMW M Hybrid V8	7	+0.262 3'23.280	0.034	241.310
7	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	12	L. Deletraz W. Stevens N. Nato	Cadillac V-Series.R	7	+0.294 3'23.312	0.032	241.272
8	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	7	+0.388 3'23.406	0.094	241.161
9	Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR	19	M. Jaminet P. Chatin D. Juncadella	Genesis GMR-001	6	+0.625 3'23.643	0.237	240.880
10	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	009	A. Riberas M. Sorensen R. De Angelis	Aston Martin Valkyrie	6	+0.973 3'23.991	0.348	240.469
11	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	007	H. Tincknell T. Gamble R. Gunn	Aston Martin Valkyrie	6	+0.986 3'24.004	0.013	240.454
12	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco N. Nielsen M. Molina	Ferrari 499P	7	+1.087 3'24.105	0.101	240.335
13	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	F. Makowiecki J. Gounon V. Martins	Alpine A424	6	+1.104 3'24.122	0.017	240.315
14	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	M. Conway K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota TR010 Hybrid	7	+1.250 3'24.268	0.146	240.143
15	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota TR010 Hybrid	6	+1.560 3'24.578	0.310	239.779
View full results

LMP2/GT3 - Hyperpole 2 results

hp2

All Stats

Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	Forestier Racing by Panis LMP2	29	L. Rousset E. Masson O. Gray	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	3'32.855		230.455
2	IDEC SPORT LMP2	28	P. Lafargue V. Rinicella J. Van Uitert	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.387 3'33.242	0.387	230.037
3	NIELSEN RACING LMP2	24	D. Heinemeier Hansson E. Pearson J. Doohan	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	+0.655 3'33.510	0.268	229.748
4	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	43	J. Smiechowski T. Dillmann N. Yelloly	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	+0.723 3'33.578	0.068	229.675
5	Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2	4	G. Kurtz A. Quinn L. Heinrich	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.773 3'33.628	0.050	229.621
6	DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2	30	D. Pin J. Andlauer R. Verschoor	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	+0.847 3'33.702	0.074	229.542
7	TDS Racing LMP2	14	T. Lutke M. Beche K. Estre	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	+0.860 3'33.715	0.013	229.528
8	AO by TF LMP2	99	P. Hyett J. Allen D. Cameron	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+1.425 3'34.280	0.565	228.922
9	AF Corse LMP2	183	F. Perrodo M. Vaxiviere B. Barnicoat	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	+1.837 3'34.692	0.412	228.483
10	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	343	B. Garg R. de Gerus N. Müller	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	+2.183 3'35.038	0.346	228.115
11	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James Z. Robichon M. Drudi	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	5	+19.578 3'52.433	17.395	211.044
12	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	21	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo	5	+20.557 3'53.412	0.979	210.158
13	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	R. Umbrarescu C. Schmid J. Lopez	Lexus RC F GT3	4	+20.759 3'53.614	0.202	209.977
14	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	T. Rompuy H. David J. Hawksworth	Lexus RC F GT3	5	+21.014 3'53.869	0.255	209.748
15	TEAM WRT LMGT3	32	D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	4	+21.546 3'54.401	0.532	209.272
16	TEAM WRT LMGT3	69	A. McIntosh P. Thompson D. Harper	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	5	+21.800 3'54.655	0.254	209.045
17	Kessel Racing LMGT3	74	D. Blattner L. Patrese D. Marschall	Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo	5	+21.822 3'54.677	0.022	209.026
18	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	23	G. Newell D. Barrichello J. Adam	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	4	+22.033 3'54.888	0.211	208.838
19	Manthey DK Engineering LMGT3	91	J. Cottingham T. Boguslavskiy A. Güven	Porsche 911 GT3 R	5	+22.755 3'55.610	0.722	208.198
20	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	E. Powell B. Tuck S. Priaulx	Ford Mustang GT3	5	+22.811 3'55.666	0.056	208.148
View full results

LMP2/GT3 - Hyperpole 1 results

hp1

All Stats

Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	43	J. Smiechowski T. Dillmann N. Yelloly	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	3'33.762		229.477
2	Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2	4	G. Kurtz A. Quinn L. Heinrich	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.127 3'33.889	0.127	229.341
3	Forestier Racing by Panis LMP2	29	L. Rousset E. Masson O. Gray	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.346 3'34.108	0.219	229.106
4	INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2	343	B. Garg R. de Gerus N. Müller	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.417 3'34.179	0.071	229.030
5	TDS Racing LMP2	14	T. Lutke M. Beche K. Estre	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.780 3'34.542	0.363	228.643
6	DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2	30	D. Pin J. Andlauer R. Verschoor	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.624 3'34.386		228.809
7	IDEC SPORT LMP2	28	P. Lafargue V. Rinicella J. Van Uitert	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+0.850 3'34.612	0.226	228.568
8	AF Corse LMP2	183	F. Perrodo M. Vaxiviere B. Barnicoat	Oreca 07 - Gibson	7	+1.027 3'34.789	0.177	228.380
9	AO by TF LMP2	99	P. Hyett J. Allen D. Cameron	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+1.083 3'34.845	0.056	228.320
10	NIELSEN RACING LMP2	24	D. Heinemeier Hansson E. Pearson J. Doohan	Oreca 07 - Gibson	7	+1.378 3'35.140	0.295	228.007
11	United Autosports LMP2	22	R. Lindh G. Saucy M. Jensen	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+1.748 3'35.510	0.370	227.616
12	United Autosports LMP2	222	D. Schneider B. Hanley O. Jarvis	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+1.926 3'35.688	0.178	227.428
13	VECTOR SPORT LMP2	26	R. Cullen V. Lomko P. Fittipaldi	Oreca 07 - Gibson	7	+2.220 3'35.982	0.294	227.118
14	CLX Motorsport LMP2	37	A. Closmenil I. Aguilera T. Jensen	Oreca 07 - Gibson	5	+3.657 3'37.419	1.437	225.617
15	Proton Competition LMP2	9	J. Ried K. Ohta H. King	Oreca 07 - Gibson	6	+3.156 3'36.918		226.138
16	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James Z. Robichon M. Drudi	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	5	+19.404 3'53.166	16.248	210.380
17	TEAM WRT LMGT3	32	D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	5	+19.575 3'53.337	0.171	210.226
18	Manthey DK Engineering LMGT3	91	J. Cottingham T. Boguslavskiy A. Güven	Porsche 911 GT3 R	6	+19.799 3'53.561	0.224	210.024
19	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	23	G. Newell D. Barrichello J. Adam	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	5	+19.961 3'53.723	0.162	209.879
20	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	78	T. Rompuy H. David J. Hawksworth	Lexus RC F GT3	5	+20.578 3'54.340	0.617	209.326
21	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	R. Umbrarescu C. Schmid J. Lopez	Lexus RC F GT3	5	+20.733 3'54.495	0.155	209.188
22	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	E. Powell B. Tuck S. Priaulx	Ford Mustang GT3	6	+20.766 3'54.528	0.033	209.158
23	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	21	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo	6	+20.890 3'54.652	0.124	209.048
24	Kessel Racing LMGT3	74	D. Blattner L. Patrese D. Marschall	Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo	5	+20.903 3'54.665	0.013	209.036
25	TEAM WRT LMGT3	69	A. McIntosh P. Thompson D. Harper	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	5	+20.937 3'54.699	0.034	209.006
26	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	S. Gattuso G. Levorato L. Sargeant	Ford Mustang GT3	6	+20.991 3'54.753	0.054	208.958
27	Team Qatar by Iron Lynx LMGT3	62	A. Ali Al-Khelaifi J. Hanses G. Alesi	Mercedes AMG GT3	6	+21.009 3'54.771	0.018	208.942
28	IRON LYNX LMGT3	61	M. Berry R. Andrade M. Martin	Mercedes AMG GT3	6	+21.241 3'55.003	0.232	208.736
29	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	54	T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon	Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo	6	+21.413 3'55.175	0.172	208.583
30	The Bend Manthey LMGT3	92	Y. Shahin R. Pera R. Lietz	Porsche 911 GT3 R	6	+21.552 3'55.314	0.139	208.460
View full results

Share Or Save This Story

Previous article Le Mans 24h: BMW beats Alpine in red-flagged FP3 as LMDh cars dominate

Next article Why Cadillac lost pole position for 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours

Le Mans 24h: Cadillac snatches pole away from BMW by 0.005s... then gets penalty

A late effort by Jack Aitken nearly yielded pole position to Cadillac for the French classic by the tiniest of margins – he was demoted to 10th due to a rules breach

Hypercar

Panis grabs LMP2 pole

Aston claims top spot in LMGT3

Hypercar - Hyperpole 2 results

hp4

Hypercar - Hyperpole 1 results

LMP2/GT3 - Hyperpole 2 results

hp2

LMP2/GT3 - Hyperpole 1 results

hp1

Share Or Save This Story

Top Comments

Latest news

Feature

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

Sign up for free

Edition

Theme

Socials

Filters

Comments

Current edition

Other editions

Advertisement

Le Mans 24h: Cadillac snatches pole away from BMW by 0.005s... then gets penalty

A late effort by Jack Aitken nearly yielded pole position to Cadillac for the French classic by the tiniest of margins – he was demoted to 10th due to a rules breach

Hypercar

Panis grabs LMP2 pole

Aston claims top spot in LMGT3

Hypercar - Hyperpole 2 results

hp4

Hypercar - Hyperpole 1 results

LMP2/GT3 - Hyperpole 2 results

hp2

LMP2/GT3 - Hyperpole 1 results

hp1

We want your opinion!

Share Or Save This Story

Top Comments

Latest news

Feature

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

Theme

Socials

Current edition

Other editions