BMW surprised in the initial qualifying session of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, leading the table with a time of 3m24.465s recorded by Dries Vanthoor in the M Hybrid V8 #15. This lap displaced Sébastien Bourdais in the Cadillac #3 by 0.177s, leaving Antonio Fuoco in the Ferrari #50 in third position.
Wednesday's qualifying was a 60-minute session aimed at selecting the eight cars from each category for Thursday's final session. Although Porsche, Ferrari, and Toyota were the favorites, BMW dominated the first session, being two seconds faster than Brendon Hartley's previous best time.
The session ended abruptly due to an error by Kamui Kobayashi in the Toyota GR010 HYBRID #7, who went off the track and got stuck in the gravel. The red flag was waved with less than three minutes remaining, consolidating BMW's position at the top.
Kobayashi managed to secure the fourth position for Toyota with a time of 3m24.754s. The Alpine A424 #35 of Paul-Loup Chatin finished in fifth place, while Alex Lynn ensured that both Ganassi Cadillacs made it to the final by securing the sixth position.
The Ferrari #51 of Alessandro Pier Guidi and the Porsche #6 Penske of Kevin Estre completed the top eight. The Jota #12 of Callum Ilott and the second Alpine of Nicolas Lapierre narrowly missed out on Q2.
In LMP2, Malthe Jakobsen of Cool Racing led with a time of 3m46.530s, followed by Louis Deletraz of AO by TF Pro-Am and Ben Hanley of United Autosports. Mathias Beche in the ORECA #65 of Panis Racing occupied the fourth position.
In LMGT3, Ben Barker in the Ford Mustang GT3 #77 led with 3m55.243s, followed by Frederik Schandorff in the McLaren #70 Inception and Daniel Juncadella in the Corvette Z06 GT3 #82 of TF Sport. Frank Perera in the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 #60 and Klaus Bachler in the Porsche 911 GT3 R #92 completed the top five.
The surprises and changes in positions promise an exciting final qualifying session on Thursday, where teams will fight for the pole position for the iconic endurance race.
First Qualifying Le Mans 2024
| Position | Team | Drivers | N° | Car | Tire | Laps | Best Lap | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1º | BMW M Team WRT | Vanthoor D., Marciello R., Wittmann M. | 15 | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Michelin | 8 | 3:24.465 | - |
| 2º | Cadillac Racing | Bourdais S., Van Der Zande R., Dixon S. | 3 | Cadillac V-Series.R | Michelin | 8 | 3:24.642 | +0.177 |
| 3º | Ferrari AF Corse | Fuoco A., Molina M., Nielsen N. | 50 | Ferrari 499P | Michelin | 8 | 3:24.731 | +0.266 |
| 4º | Alpine Endurance Team | Chatin P., Habsburg-Lothringen F., Milesi C. | 35 | Alpine A424 | Michelin | 15 | 3:24.872 | +0.407 |
| 5º | Cadillac Racing | Bamber E., Lynn A., Palou A. | 2 | Cadillac V-Series.R | Michelin | 13 | 3:24.993 | +0.528 |
| 6º | Ferrari AF Corse | Pier Guidi A., Calado J., Giovinazzi A. | 51 | Ferrari 499P | Michelin | 11 | 3:25.049 | +0.584 |
| 7º | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Estre K., Lotterer A., Vanthoor L. | 6 | Porsche 963 | Michelin | 11 | 3:25.051 | +0.586 |
| 8º | Hertz Team Jota | Stevens W., Nato N., Ilott C. | 12 | Porsche 963 | Michelin | 15 | 3:25.145 | +0.680 |
| 9º | Alpine Endurance Team | Lapierre N., Schumacher M., Vaxiviere M. | 36 | Alpine A424 | Michelin | 12 | 3:25.278 | +0.813 |
| 10º | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Campbell M., Christensen M., Makowiecki F. | 5 | Porsche 963 | Michelin | 13 | 3:25.307 | +0.842 |
| 11º | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Buemi S., Hartley B., Hirakawa R. | 8 | Toyota GR010 - Hybrid | Michelin | 12 | 3:25.446 | +0.981 |
| 12º | AF Corse | Kubica R., Shwartzman R., Ye Y. | 83 | Ferrari 499P | Michelin | 13 | 3:25.766 | +1.301 |
| 13º | Lamborghini Iron Lynx | Bortolotti M., Kvyat D., Mortara E. | 63 | Lamborghini SC63 | Michelin | 12 | 3:25.973 | +1.508 |
| 14º | Proton Competition | Jani N., Tincknell H., Andlauer J. | 99 | Porsche 963 | Michelin | 14 | 3:25.992 | +1.527 |
| 15º | Peugeot TotalEnergies | Vergne J., Jensen M., Müller N. | 93 | Peugeot 9X8 | Michelin | 11 | 3:26.195 | +1.730 |
| 16º | BMW M Team WRT | Van Der Linde S., Frijns R., Rast R. | 20 | BMW M Hybrid V8 | Michelin | 8 | 3:26.223 | +1.758 |
| 17º | Hertz Team Jota | Rasmussen O., Hanson P., Button J. | 38 | Porsche 963 | Michelin | 15 | 3:26.290 | +1.825 |
| 18º | Whelen Cadillac Racing | Derani L., Aitken J., Drugovich F. | 311 | Cadillac V-Series.R | Michelin | 12 | 3:26.311 | +1.846 |
| 19º | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Jaminet M., Nasr F., Tandy N. | 4 | Porsche 963 | Michelin | 11 | 3:26.362 | +1.897 |
| 20º | Peugeot TotalEnergies | Vandoorne S., Di Resta P., Duval L. | 94 | Peugeot 9X8 | Michelin | 11 | 3:27.251 | +2.786 |
| 21º | Lamborghini Iron Lynx | Grosjean R., Caldarelli A., Cairoli M. | 19 | Lamborghini SC63 | Michelin | 14 | 3:27.655 | +3.190 |
| 22º | Isotta Fraschini | Bennett C., Vernay J., Serravalle A. | 11 | Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C | Michelin | 13 | 3:29.865 | +5.400 |
| 23º | Cool Racing | Fluxa L., Jakobsen M., Miyata R. | 37 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 12 | 3:32.827 | +8.362 |
| 24º | AO By TF | Hyett P., Delétraz L., Quinn A. | 14 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 12 | 3:33.134 | +8.669 |
| 25º | United Autosports USA | Keating B., Albuquerque F., Hanley B. | 23 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 10 | 3:33.430 | +8.965 |
| 26º | Panis Racing | Sales R., Beche M., Huffaker S. | 65 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 13 | 3:33.827 | +9.362 |
| 27º | IDEC Sport | Lafargue P., Van Uitert J., De Gérus R. | 28 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 14 | 3:34.215 | +9.750 |
| 28º | Vector Sport | Cullen R., Pilet P., Richelmi S. | 10 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 13 | 3:34.262 | +9.797 |
| 29º | DKR Engineering | Mattschull A., Binder R., Hörr L. | 33 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 13 | 3:34.330 | +9.865 |
| 30º | United Autosports | Jarvis O., Garg B., Siegel N. | 22 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 14 | 3:34.480 | +10.015 |
| 31º | AF Corse | Perrodo F., Barnicoat B., Varrone N. | 183 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 12 | 3:34.767 | +10.302 |
| 32º | Nielsen Racing | Scherer F., Heinemeier Hansson D., Simpson K. | 24 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 13 | 3:34.794 | +10.329 |
| 33º | Inter Europol Competition | Smiechowski J., Lomko V., Novalak C. | 34 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 13 | 3:34.885 | +10.420 |
| 34º | Proton Competition | Ried J., Capietto M., Viscaal B. | 9 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 10 | 3:34.963 | +10.498 |
| 35º | Duqueine Team | Falb J., Allen J., Simmenauer J. | 30 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 13 | 3:35.070 | +10.605 |
| 36º | Cool Racing | Rao N., Bell M., Vesti F. | 47 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 15 | 3:35.360 | +10.895 |
| 37º | Algarve Pro Racing | Kaiser M., Caldwell O., De Angelis R. | 25 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 12 | 3:35.474 | +11.009 |
| 38º | Crowdstrike Racing by APR | Kurtz G., Braun C., Catsburg N. | 45 | Oreca 07 - Gibson | Goodyear | 12 | 3:39.222 | +14.757 |
| 39º | Proton Competition | Hardwick R., Robichon Z., Barker B. | 77 | Ford Mustang LMGT3 | Goodyear | 4 | 3:55.263 | +30.798 |
| 40º | Inception Racing | Iribe B., Millroy O., Schandorff F. | 70 | McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo | Goodyear | 8 | 3:55.406 | +30.941 |
| 41º | TF Sport | Koizumi H., Baud S., Juncadella D. | 82 | Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R | Goodyear | 13 | 3:56.105 | +31.640 |
| 42º | Iron Lynx | Schiavoni C., Cressoni M., Perera F. | 60 | Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 | Goodyear | 14 | 3:56.153 | +31.688 |
| 43º | Manthey Pureracing | Malykhin A., Sturm J., Bachler K. | 92 | Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 | Goodyear | 12 | 3:56.189 | +31.724 |
| 44º | Heart of Racing Team | James I., Mancinelli D., Riberas A. | 27 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 | Goodyear | 13 | 3:56.243 | +31.778 |
| 45º | JMW Motorsport | Petrobelli G., ten Voorde L., Yoluc S. | 66 | Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | Goodyear | 7 | 3:56.443 | +31.978 |
| 46º | D'Station Racing | Hoshino S., Bastard E., Sørensen M. | 777 | Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 | Goodyear | 12 | 3:56.500 | +32.035 |
| 47º | Iron Dames | Bovy S., Gatting M., Frey R. | 85 | Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 | Goodyear | 11 | 3:56.530 | +32.065 |
| 48º | Akkodis ASP Team | Kimura T., Masson E., Hawksworth J. | 87 | Lexus RC F LMGT3 | Goodyear | 13 | 3:56.561 | +32.096 |
| 49º | United Autosports | Cottingham J., Costa N., Saucy G. | 59 | McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo | Goodyear | 13 | 3:56.710 | +32.245 |
| 50º | Team WRT | Al Harthy A., Rossi V., Martin M. | 46 | BMW M4 LMGT3 | Goodyear | 13 | 3:56.738 | +32.273 |
| 51º | Vista AF Corse | Flohr T., Castellacci F., Rigon D. | 54 | Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | Goodyear | 13 | 3:56.780 | +32.315 |
| 52º | Proton Competition | Hartshorne J., Tuck B., Mies C. | 44 | Ford Mustang LMGT3 | Goodyear | 11 | 3:56.836 | +32.371 |
| 53º | Team WRT | Leung D., Gelael S., Farfus A. | 31 | BMW M4 LMGT3 | Goodyear | 13 | 3:56.947 | +32.482 |
| 54º | Manthey EMA | Shahin Y., Schuring M., Lietz R. | 91 | Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 | Goodyear | 11 | 3:57.026 | +32.561 |
| 55º | Proton Competition | Roda G., Pedersen M., Olsen D. | 88 | Ford Mustang LMGT3 | Goodyear | 13 | 3:57.221 | +32.756 |
| 56º | TF Sport | Van Rompuy T., Andrade R., Eastwood C. | 81 | Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R | Goodyear | 12 | 3:57.296 | +32.831 |
| 57º | United Autosports | Hamaguchi H., Pino N., Sato M. | 95 | McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo | Goodyear | 13 | 3:57.313 | +32.848 |
| 58º | Spirit of Race | Laursen J., Laursen C., Taylor J. | 155 | Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | Goodyear | 13 | 3:57.349 | +32.884 |
| 59º | Akkodis ASP Team | Robin A., Boguslavskiy T., Van der Linde K. | 78 | Lexus RC F LMGT3 | Goodyear | 12 | 3:57.441 | +32.976 |
| 60º | Vista AF Corse | Heriau F., Mann S., Rovera A. | 55 | Ferrari 296 LMGT3 | Goodyear | 12 | 3:58.282 | +33.817 |
| 61º | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Lopez J., Kobayashi K., De Vries N. | 7 | Toyota GR010 - Hybrid | Michelin | 12 | +5.702 |
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