Porsche Takes Pole Position in the 24 Hours of Le Mans after a Tight Qualifying Session

Kevin Estre took Porsche to pole position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a time of 3m24.634s, beating Sebastien Bourdais' Cadillac by just 0.148s. This achievement occurred during Thursday's Hyperpole session, marked by several incidents that altered the course of the qualifying.

The Hyperpole session began with a half-hour delay due to barrier repairs following a heavy crash in a support race. When it finally started, Bourdais set the initial pace with a time of 3m25.294s in the Chip Ganassi Cadillac #3. He later improved his time to 3m24.816s, provisionally taking pole.

The competition was halted again when Dries Vanthoor had an accident at Indianapolis, leaving the BMW M Hybrid V8 #15 out of contention. After the resumption, with only eight minutes remaining, Bourdais decided not to go out, believing his time would be enough for pole.

However, Alex Lynn improved his time in the Cadillac #2, and although it seemed to secure a 1-2 for Cadillac, Kevin Estre managed to surpass both times with his Porsche Penske 963 #6, taking the pole for the German brand.

The qualifying ended with the Ganassi Cadillacs in second and third positions, followed by the factory Ferraris in fourth and fifth. The Alpine A424, driven by Paul-Loup Chatin, finished sixth, just over a second off Estre's time.

The day was also marked by several incidents. The Hyperpole session was delayed due to barrier repairs between Mulsanne and Indianapolis, following a heavy crash of the Ligier JS P320 LMP3 by Louis Rossi in a previous race. Rossi's accident, although not replayed nor detailed, caused significant damage to both the vehicle and the barriers.

Additionally, the Jota team could not participate in the Hyperpole session due to the reconstruction of their Porsche 963 LMDh #12, which suffered irreparable damage in a night practice crash on Wednesday.