Qualifying report
WEC 24 Hours of Le Mans
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
Ben Vinel Rachit Thukral
Edited: Jun 11, 2026, 9:21 PM
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#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Sebastien Bourdais, Earl Bamber, Jack Aitken
Photo by: JEP
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.
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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.
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Will Stevens was second with a 3m23.078s in the #12 Cadillac, followed by the #35 Alpine (Antonio Felix da Costa), the #20 BMW (Frijns), the #101 WTR Cadillac (Filipe Albuquerque) and the #19 Genesis (Paul-Loup Chatin), the latter three within 0.06s.
Aston Martin and Ferrari were well off the pace with Roman de Angelis and James Calado respectively, though the #17 Genesis propped up the initial order with Andre Lotterer.
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
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