24h Le Mans
The wait is over - the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is less than a week away. To kick-off the on track proceedings, the opening Sunday is the Test Day with two Free Practice sessions, both consisting of three hours in duration - with teams able to eye the competition and stake their claim for success.
For most teams, today's running is to gain crucial kilometres ahead of the official Free Practice and Qualifying sessions later in the week. Unlike other circuits - Circuit de la Sarthe can only be driven once a year, so it is important for drivers to reacquaint themselves with the speed, track surface conditions and unique nature of the circuit. For teams, they will be getting their heads around tyre choices, aerodynamic balance and the ultimate set-up for qualifying as well as the blueprint for the race itself.
As the clock struck 10:00 local time, the Le Mans air was filled with the sound of endurance racing machines once again. The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar driven by Raffaele Marciello had the honour of leading the 62-car field out of the pitlane and onto the track for the very first time in 2025.
As the first hour rounded out, a Safety Car was sprung into action as the #34 InterEuropol Competition LMP2 car with Nicholas Boulle at the wheel collided with the barriers on the exit of the Porsche Curves - heading into Karting. Boulle walked out of the car unscathed and the car was quickly recovered and barriers repaired by the marshals and rescue team to enable the session to restart within 40 minutes. With an hour and thirty minutes left on the clock, it was back to business for the teams.
With a couple of support race sessions on track before the Le Mans entrants took to the circuit, the racing line was rubbered in nicely - allowing quick lap times from beginning. Porsche were the first to dip under the 3:30 barrier with the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 driven by Laurens Vanthoor who punched in a 03:29.002 within his first handful of laps. #7 Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi and #83 AF Corse star Yifei Ye followed suit - both ducking under the barrier in the opening 40 minutes.
Jack Aitken (#311 Cadillac Whelen) signalled his arrival at Le Mans with a 3:28 lap, but it was Robert Kubica who stole the attention of the crowd with a 03:27.010 lap to ignite the excitement in the session and week ahead. In total 16 of the 21 Hypercars dipped below the unofficial Test Day target of 03:30.
Late in the session Earl Bamber in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R was the man on the move as he leapfrogged the sister Whelen team machine into second place. The #8 Toyota turned the screw with Brendon Hartley showing his hand late - pipping the pair of Cadillacs with a 3:28 flat. The 2023 event winners - the #51 Ferrari 499P at the fall of the flag snatched fourth to split the two Amercian machines at the end of the session.
It was to be a nip and tuck affair in LMP2, with three teams trading times at the top of the classification. The #16 RLR M Sport machine led the charge with a 03:36.593, but a blanket of less half a second around the 13.626km venue also covered the #37 CLX Pure Racing and #43 InterEuropol Competition cars.
On the back foot, the #45 Algarve Pro Racing team had to curtail its opening run with engine problems - forcing them into repairs for the majority of the session. The team will look to make repairs ahead of the afternoon running.
The thunderous front-engined #87 Lexus from the Akkodis ASP Team topped the times for the majority of the session - leading from the front ahead of the Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 with the sister #78 Lexus rounding out the top three as the clock wound down to zero. The three cars were the only ones in the class to break the 03:58 target with the #87 Lexus punching in a 03:57.109.
Two cars were making their Le Mans debut today with the LMGT3 Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 and Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar strutting their stuff on Le Mans soil for the first time. Two brands, two icons of endurance racing - a new challenge for them both.
Aston Martin - winners outright in 1959 - have brought the V12 noise to the top-flight in endurance racing. Having won the GT class on multiple occasions, the gorgeous Valkyrie is the car with British hope pinned onto it. The session this morning was the first time race fans caught a glimpse of the green machine in action at Le Mans. The team are under no illusion that they face an uphill struggle against their more experienced rivals - but factory driver Harry Tincknell is confident of a strong showing here this week.
“We are all excited to be here - it’s a huge undertaking to get two cars here. The first half of the season has been a big development programme - that continues here. With every race and every test session, the car gets better and we are excited to see what we can do here. We have the potential for this car to be a legend of Le Mans when we look back in years to come hopefully. We are happy to be the underdogs and if we get to sun up with no penalties, no reliability issues we could be in a position to surprise people and be up the order. Let’s see.”
Both the 007 and 009 cars have run faultlessly this session with both sitting in the top 10 at one point - putting down over 65 laps in the process.
The Silver Arrows have arrived in force with three Mercedes prepared by Iron Lynx for an assault on the LMGT3 class. All three turned heads with their resplendent, striking silver colours. The cars are working through their development plan, with the trio amassing over 100 laps between them - but sat towards the bottom of the standings…for now.
Top 5 Classification
1. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse – Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson – 3:27.010
2. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – 3:28.000
3. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Earl Bamber / Sébastien Bourdais / Jenson Button – 3:28.491
4. Ferrari 499P #51 Ferrari-AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – 3:28.843
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #311 Cadillac Whelen – Jack Aitken / Felipe Drugovich / Frederik Vesti – 3:28.923
Fastest times in the LMP2 and LMGT3 categories:
LMP2 : Oreca 07-Gibson #16 RLR M Sport – Michael Jensen / Ryan Cullen / Patrick Pilet (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 3:36.593
LMGT3 : Lexus RC F LMGT3 #87 Akkodis ASP Team – Petru Umbrarescu / José María López / Clemens Schmid – 3:57.109
The Test Day continues with the second of two Free Practice sessions starting at 15:30 local time later today.
