Porsche 1-2 at LeMans after first qualifying

No 1 Audi before Duval's wreck

Though this first day of running was marked with Loic Duval's violent incident in the No. 1 Audi, Porsche put itself at the top of the timesheets during the first qualifying session. In the LM P2 class, Morgan finished in the lead while Ferrari is shining in the LM GTE Pro and Am classes.

The free practice session that took place between 4 pm and 8 pm was marked by the violent incident that happened to Loic Duval at the wheel of the No. 1 Audi. The French driver, winner of the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans and World Endurance Championship title holder, had an accident at the exit of the Porsche Curves.

The ACO medical and technical services came to his aid immediately, taking him first to the Centre Medical du Circuit before transferring him to the Centre Hospitalier du Mans for examination.

His status, considered satisfactory, will not allow him to take part in the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Saturday June 14th and Sunday June 15th. Medical representatives submitted a report to the marshals disallowing him from racing after the accident he experienced.

Marc Gene, Audi reserve driver, entered until now in the No. 38 Zytek Z11SN-Nissan, has been authorized by the college of marshals to join the No. 1 Audi driver line-up as of tomorrow. At the same time, the college authorized the Jota Sport team to replace him with the Brit, Oliver Turvey as of tomorrow. Turvey will proceed with all administrative verifications before taking his place in the No. 38 Zytek during Thursday’s session.

Following the incident, the No. 1 Audi chassis is no longer usable. Audi Sport Team Joest presented a request to the technical marshals to be able to use a new tub, and presented this to the marshalls. They gave their authorization for Audi Sport Team Joest to rebuild the No. 1 car around this new tub. The team will present it tomorrow for technical inspection.

No. 8 Toyota

Strictly in terms of performances, this free practice session, cut short by almost an hour, was dominated by the No. 8 Toyota (Davidson, Lapierre, Buemi) with a time of 3:23:652.

At 10:00 p.m, after a two-hour break, the first qualifying session was underway. It was a session unfortunately cut short. It was 11:04 p.m. indeed when the No. 99 Aston Martin had an incident at the Karting curve, driven by the Brazilian Fernando Rees. Though it was not the driver’s fault, the debris left by the incident meant the session would not resume.

All the teams waited patiently to go after the pole position, but it was an assault that could not take place.

Polesitter so far – Porsche No. 20

At the close of the qualifying session, the No. 20 Porsche 919 Hybrid clocked the best time in 3:23:157 ahead of its sister car, the No. 14 (Dumas, Jani, Lieb) at seven tenths.

Next came the two Toyota TS 040 Hybrids followed by the two remaining Audis. The fastest LM P2 car was the No. 26 Morgan-Nissan (Rusinov, Pla, Canal) in 3:38:843.

In the LM GTE Pro class, best time for the official No. 51 Ferrari 458 Italia (Bruni, Vilander, Fisichella) in 3:54:754 and in the LM GTE Am class for another Ferrari, the No. 72 (Basov, Bertolini, Shaitar) with 3:56:787.

The 55 24 Hours of Le Mans competitors return to the track tomorrow starting at 7:00 p.m. for four hours of qualifying (7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. then 10:00 p.m. to midnight).\

The start of the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will be given Saturday, June 14th at 3:00 p.m.

Results

1. Webber/Hartley/Bernhard GER Porsche 919 Hybrid 3m 23.157s LMP1
2. Dumas/Jani/Lieb GER Porsche 919 Hybrid 3m 23.828s LMP1
3. Wurz/Sarrazin/Nakajima JPN Toyota TS040 Hybrid 3m 25.313s LMP1
4. Davidson/Lapierre/Buemi JPN Toyota TS040 Hybrid 3m 25.410s LMP1
5. Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer GER Audi Sport Joest R18 e-tron 3m 26.388s LMP1
6. Albuquerque/Bonanomi/Jarvis GER Audi Sport Joest R18 e-tron 3m 26.445s LMP1
7. Leimer/Belicchi/Kraihamer SUI Rebellion Lola B/12 Toyota 3m 33.117s LMP1
8. Prost/Heidfeld/Beche SUI Rebellion R-ONE Toyota 3m 31.922s LMP1
9. Rusinov/Pla/Canal RUS G-Drive Morgan Nissan 3m 38.843s LMP2
10. Panciatici/Webb/Chatin FRA Signatech Alpine A450b Nissan 3m 39.490s LMP2
11. Howson/Bradley/Imperatori HKG KCMG Oreca 03 Nissan 3m 39.586s LMP2
12. Brundle/Mardenborough/Shulzhitskiy FRA OAK Ligier JS Nissan 3m 39.822 LMP2
13. Lancaster/Mailleux/Frey SUI Race Performance Oreca 03 Judd 3m 39.993s LMP2
14. Berthon/Gonzalez/Chandhok IRL Murphy Oreca 03 Nissan 3m 41.502s LMP2
15. Kimber-Smith/McMurry/Dyson MAL Caterham Zytek Z11SN Nissan 3m 41.847s LMP2
16. Thiriet/Badey/Gommendy FRA Thiriet by TDS Ligier JS Nissan 3m 42.730ss LMP2
17. Cheng/Tung/Fong FRA OAK Asia Ligier JS Honda 3m 42.988s LMP2
18. Rast/Charouz/Capillaire FRA Sebastien Loeb Oreca 03 Nissan 3m 43.507s LMP2
19. Ladygin/Zlobin/Salo RUS SMP Oreca 03 Nissan 3m 43.618s LMP2
20. Dolan/Tincknell/Gene GBR Jota Zytek Z11SN Nissan 3m 45.928s LMP2
21. Klien/Hirsch/Brandela SUI Newblood Morand Morgan Judd 3m 46.018s LMP2
22. Minassian/Ladygin/Mediani RUS SMP Oreca 03 Nissan 3m 46.940s LMP2
23. Schell/Leutwiler/Roussel GER Pegasus Morgan Nissan 3m 46.046s LMP2
24. Ragues/Taylor/Ihara FRA Larbre Morgan Judd 3m 49.948s LMP2
25. Bruni/Vilander/Fisichella ITA AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia 3m 54.754s GTE Pro
26. Turner/Mucke/Senna GBR Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 3m 55.067s GTE Pro
27. Holzer/Makowiecki/Lietz GER Porsche Team Manthay 911 3m 55.516s GTE Pro
28. Magnussen/Garcia/Taylor USA Corvette Racing Chevrolet C7 R 3m 56.443s GTE Pro
29. Pilet/Bergmeister/Tandy GER Porsche Team Manthay 911 3m 56.584s GTE Pro
30. Bertolini/Shaitar/Basov RUS SMP Ferrari F458 Italia 3m 56.787s GTE Am
31. Perez/Cioci/Venturi ITA AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia 3m 56.919s GTE Am
32. Dempsey/Long/Foster GER Proton Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 3m 57.004s GTE Am
33. Macdowall/O'Young/Rees GBR Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 3m 57.258s GTE Pro
34. Parente/Griffin/Leo GBR Ram Racing Ferrari 458 Italia 3m 57.793s GTE Pro
35. Rigon/Calado/Beretta ITA AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia 3m 58.330s GTE Pro
36. Ried/Bachler/Al Qubaisi GER Proton Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 3m 59.291s GTE Am
37. Palttala/Collard/Perrodo BEL Prospeed Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 3m 59.394s GTE Am
38. Gavin/Milner/Westbrook USA Corvette Racing Chevrolet C7 R 3m 59.445s GTE Pro
39. Mowlem/Patterson/Hamilton GBR Ram Racing Ferrari F458 Italia 3m 59.794s GTE Am
40. Barthez/Pons/Ayari FRA Sofrev ASP Ferrari F458 Italia 3m 59.837s GTE Am
41. Dalla Lana/Lamy/Nygaard GBR Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 4m 00.017s GTE Am
42. MacNeil/Curtis/Bleekemolen BEL Prospeed Porsche 911 GT3 RSR 4m 1.226s GTE Am
43. Wyatt/Rugolo/Bird ITA AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia 4m 02.452s GTE Am
44. Nakano/Ehret/Rich JPN Taisan Ferrari F458 Italia 4m 03.066s GTE Am
45. Krohn/Jonsson/Collins USA Krohn Ferrari F458 Italia 4m 03.789s GTE Am
46. Al-Faisal/Neiman/Pumpelly GBR JMW Ferrari F458 Italia 4m 05.046s GTE Am
47. Poulsen/Heinemeier/Thiim GBR Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 4m 06.464s GTE Am
48. Mallegol/Bachelier/Blank ITA AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia 4m 11.533s GTE Am
49. Mann/Giammaria/Case ITA AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia 4m 22.744s GTE Am
50. Maris/Merlin/Helary FRA IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR No Time GTE Am
51. Narac/Armindo/Hallyday FRA IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 911 GT3 RSR No Time GTE Am
52. Montecalvo/Roda/Ruberti USA 8 Star Ferrari F458 Italia No Time GTE Am
53. Munemann/Latif/Winslow GBR Greaves Zytek Z11SN Nissan No Time LMP2
54. Ordonez/Reip/Motoyama JPN Nissan Motorsports ZEOD RC No Time Garage 56
55. Kristensen/Duval/di Grassi GER Audi Sport Joest R18 e-tron No Time LMP1