24h Le Mans
Robert Kubica puts the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P on top spot in the final warm-up session before the 93rd 24 Hours of Le Mans which starts this afternoon.
Thunderstorms, heavy rain and even hailstones fell on Le Mans and the surrounding areas last night - bringing the temperature down slightly - giving a slightly cooler feel to the Saturday morning proceedings. The 15 minute warm-up - the last chance to shakedown the cars, bed in brakes, scrub tyres, radio check and make sure everything is all set for the start of the race at 16:00 local time. The final dress rehearsal for the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was here.
The #83 AF Corse Ferrari set the pace in the brief session - with Robert Kubica managing to clock a 03:26.908 and four laps in the process. Always in the hunt - many are tipping the striking yellow machine to be a dark horse.
The #50 factory Ferrari 499 in the hands of Antonio Fuoco was just 0.123 behind in second while the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 - Hybrid sporting its retro nineties inspired livery took third - one of its most competitive showings of the week.
Aston Martin Thor Racing with the #009 Valkyrie sealed fourth as the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA rounded out the top five. Pole Sitters - the #12 Cadillac from Hertz Team JOTA were just behind - keeping pace in sixth.
The #311 Cadillac made an excursion into polystyrene branding at the bottom of the hill after the Dunlop Bridge - a brief Full Course Yellow (FCY) with 11 minutes on the clock remaining was quickly resolved and the only incident of note during the Warm-up.
It was as IDEC Sport one, two in LMP2 with the #28 just ahead of the #18 car. LMP2 prototype pole sitters, the #19 TDS Racing car was third ahead of the #16 RLR M Sport ORECA and #16 RLR M Sport car.
Kessel Racing with their#57 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 strutted their stuff at Circuit de la Sarthe to seal top spot in the GT class ahead of Vista AF Corse in the #54 Ferrari 296 LMGT3. It was to be TF Sport with their #81 Corvette in third ahead of the Akkodis ASP Team who have been at the sharp end most sessions put their #78 Lexus in fourth with the #46 Team WRT BMW in fifth.
1. Ferrari 499P #83 AF Corse – Robert Kubica / Yifei Ye / Philip Hanson - 03:26.908
2. Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina - 03:27.031
3. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / Nyck de Vries - 03:29.294
4. Aston Martin Valkyrie #009 Aston Martin THOR Team – Alex Riberas / Marco Sørensen / Roman De Angelis - 03:29.343
5. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Earl Bamber / Sébastien Bourdais / Jenson Button - 03:30.607
Next up on track - we begin the countdown to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. Whatever you are doing and wherever you are - be sure to join us for the start of the race at 16:00 local time.
