Le Mans: Hartley Takes Sensational Pole for Toyota; Corvette Fastest in LMGTE Pro

Brendon Hartley is the king of Le Mans qualifying with a brilliant 3m24.408s lap in a thrilling finale to clinch the Hyperpole.

Toyota is 1-2 after the final shootout sees the New Zealander beat teammate Kamui Kobayashi in No.7 Toyota by just 0.177s

Alpine ELF Team ends up third after 3m24.850s lap by Nicolas Lapierre is lauded by a large fanbase for the “Les Bleues” squad. But the French ace loses his fastest tour for track limits.

Glickenhaus is fourth and fifth as all Hypercars are covered by just 1.9s. Four of the five Hypercars tops times during the 30-minute session.

LMGTE Pro category

Nick Tandy led a 1-2 result for Corvette Racing in the Hyperpole session Thursday night ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Tandy set a lap of 3:49.985 (132.538 mph) the No. 64 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to give the team its first pole since 2010.

That also was the last time Corvette Racing started Le Mans with two cars on the front row. Antonio Garcia sealed the effort in the No. 63 Mobil 1/SiriusXM Corvette C8.R with a time of 3:50.177 (132.414 mph). It continued a solid pre-race program for the mid-engine Corvettes, which are at Le Mans for the second time.

Corvette Racing; 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France; June 11-12, 2022; Corvette C8.R #63 driven by Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg; Corvette C8.R #64 driven by Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy, and Alexander Sims (Richard Prince/Chevrolet Photo).

Tandy, driving with FIA WEC full-season teammate Tommy Milner and Alexander Sims, claimed his first pole position at Le Mans. He was only 0.192 seconds clear of Garcia, who is driving with IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teammate Jordan Taylor and Nicky Catsburg.

Corvette Racing; Corvette C8.R at 24 hours of Le Mans at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France; June 11-12th; C8.R #3 driven by Antonio Garcia, Jordan Taylor, and Nicky Catsburg; C8.R #4 driven by Tommy Milner, Nick Tandy, and Alexander Sims (©Eric Klauser/Chevrolet)

The two Corvettes have shown impressive form since Sunday’s Test Day with the full benefit of running the WEC with the N. 64 Corvette being realized. The next goal is add another 1-2 finish… this time Sunday afternoon for the team’s ninth class win and first since 2015.

Porsche GT Team start from the second row of the grid as No.91 leads No.92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 as Frederic Makowiecki and Laurens Vanthoor set times.

AF Corse Ferrari fifth and sixth with No.52 of Antonio Fuoco just beating No.51 Spa winning car driven by James Calado

LMP2

In LMP2 the No.31 Le Mans LMP2 title defending car driven by Robin Frijns holds off challengers after a scintillating 3m28.394s lap.

#31 WRT / Oreca 07 – Gibson – 24 hours of Le Mans – Test Day – Circuit de la Sarthe – Le Mans – France –

This beats the No.41 Realteam by WRT car driven by Norman Nato by a huge 1.3s, while the No.22 United Autosports Oreca-Gibson is third with Filipe Albuquerque at the wheel.

#41 REALTEAM BY WRT / Oreca 07 – Gibson – 24 hours of Le Mans – – Circuit de la Sarthe – Le Mans – France –

No.38 JOTA entry places fourth ahead of Prema Orlen Team of Louis Deletraz and No.23 United Autosports car of Alex Lynn.

LMGTE Am

In the LMGTE Am class, the No.61 AF Corse Ferrari driven by Vincent Abril shades the Kessel Racing car of Mikkel Jensen to make it a Prancing Horse front-row lock-out.

#61 AF CORSE / Ferrari 488 GTE EVO – 24 hours of Le Mans – Circuit de la Sarthe – Le Mans – France –

Harry Tincknell secures third for Dempsey Proton Porsche heading Nicki Thiim in No.98 Northwest AMR Vantage.

3rd quick – Porsche 911 RSR, Dempsey-Proton Racing (#77), Christian Ried (D), Harry Tincknell (GB), Sebastian Priaulx (GB)

No.54 AF Corse places fifth with Nick Cassidy at wheel, while Iron Dames take sixth thanks to Rahel Frey.

Q2: Hyperpole Qualifying Results

Pos No. Drivers Car Class Time Behind Gap
1 8 Sébastien Buemi
Brendon Hartley
Ryo Hirakawa
Toyota GR010 – Hybrid HYPERCAR 3’24.408 0.000s 0.000s
2 7 Mike Conway
Kamui Kobayashi
Jose Maria Lopez
Toyota GR010 – Hybrid HYPERCAR 3’24.828 0.420 0.420
3 36 Andre Negrao
Nicolas Lapierre
Matthieu Vaxiviere
Alpine A480 HYPERCAR 3’24.850 0.442 0.022
4 709 Ryan Briscoe
Richard Westbrook
Franck Mailleux
Glickenhaus 007 LMH HYPERCAR 3’25.841 1.433 0.991
5 708 Olivier Pla
Romain Dumas
Pipo Derani
Glickenhaus 007 LMH HYPERCAR 3’26.359 1.951 0.518
6 31 Sean Gelael
Robin Frijns
René Rast
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’28.394 3.986 2.035
7 41 Rui Andrade
Ferdinand Habsburg
Norman Nato
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’29.697 5.289 1.303
8 22 Philip Hanson
Filipe Albuquerque
Will Owen
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.070 5.662 0.373
9 38 Roberto Gonzalez
Antonio Felix da Costa
Will Stevens
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.373 5.965 0.303
10 9 Robert Kubica
Louis Deletraz
Lorenzo Colombo
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’31.115 6.707 0.742
11 23 Alex Lynn
Oliver Jarvis
Josh Pierson
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’31.596 7.188 0.481
12 64 Tommy Milner
Nick Tandy
Alexander Sims
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R LMGTE PRO 3’49.985 25.577 18.389
13 63 Antonio Garcia
Jordan Taylor
Nick Catsburg
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R LMGTE PRO 3’50.177 25.769 0.192
14 91 Gianmaria Bruni
Richard Lietz
Frédéric Makowiecki
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE PRO 3’50.377 25.969 0.200
15 92 Michael Christensen
Kevin Estre
Laurens Vanthoor
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE PRO 3’50.522 26.114 0.145
16 52 Miguel Molina
Antonio Fuoco
Davide Rigon
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE PRO 3’51.779 27.371 1.257
17 51 Alessandro Pier Guidi
James Calado
Daniel Serra
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE PRO 3’51.816 27.408 0.037
18 61 Louis Prette
Conrad Grunewald
Vincent Abril
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’52.594 28.186 0.778
19 57 Takeshi Kimura
Frederik Schandorff
Mikkel Jensen
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’52.751 28.343 0.157
20 77 Christian Ried
Sebastian Priaulx
Harry Tincknell
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’53.006 28.598 0.255
21 98 Paul Dalla Lana
David Pittard
Nicki Thiim
Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGTE AM 3’53.578 29.170 0.572
22 54 Thomas Flohr
Francesco Castellacci
Nick Cassidy
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’53.757 29.349 0.179
23 85 Rahel Frey
Michelle Gatting
Sarah Bovy
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’53.869 29.461 0.112

Q1 Qualifying

Pos No. Drivers Car Class Time Behind Gap
1 7 Mike Conway
Kamui Kobayashi
Jose Maria Lopez
Toyota GR010 – Hybrid HYPERCAR 3’27.247 0.000 0.000
2 708 Olivier Pla
Romain Dumas
Pipo Derani
Glickenhaus 007 LMH HYPERCAR 3’27.355 0.108 0.108
3 709 Ryan Briscoe
Richard Westbrook
Franck Mailleux
Glickenhaus 007 LMH HYPERCAR 3’27.978 0.731 0.623
4 36 Andre Negrao
Nicolas Lapierre
Matthieu Vaxiviere
Alpine A480 HYPERCAR 3’29.656 2.409 1.678
5 31 Sean Gelael
Robin Frijns
René Rast
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’29.898 2.651 0.242
6 38 Roberto Gonzalez
Antonio Felix da Costa
Will Stevens
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.124 2.877 0.226
7 41 Rui Andrade
Ferdinand Habsburg
Norman Nato
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.440 3.193 0.316
8 23 Alex Lynn
Oliver Jarvis
Josh Pierson
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.568 3.321 0.128
9 22 Philip Hanson
Filipe Albuquerque
Will Owen
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.639 3.392 0.071
10 9 Robert Kubica
Louis Deletraz
Lorenzo Colombo
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.651 3.404 0.012
11 1 Lilou Wadoux
Sébastien Ogier
Charles Milesi
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’31.368 4.121 0.717
12 65 Julien Canal
Nico Jamin
Job Van Uitert
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’31.382 4.135 0.014
13 5 Dane Cameron
Emmanuel Collard
Felipe Nasr
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’31.462 4.215 0.080
14 32 Rolf Ineichen
Mirko Bortolotti
Dries Vanthoor
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’31.808 4.561 0.346
15 30 Richard Bradley
Guillermo Rojas
Reshad de Gerus
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’32.000 4.753 0.192
16 37 Ye Yifei
Ricky Taylor
Niklas Krütten
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’32.008 4.761 0.008
17 28 Oliver Rasmussen
Edward Jones
Jonathan Aberdein
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’32.138 4.891 0.130
18 48 Paul Lafargue
Paul-Loup Chatin
Patrick Pilet
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’32.285 5.038 0.147
19 34 Jakub Smiechowski
Alex Brundle
Esteban Gutierrez
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’32.549 5.302 0.264
20 24 Rodrigo Sales
Matthew Bell
Ben Hanley
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’32.956 5.709 0.407
21 35 Jean Baptiste Lahaye
Matthieu Lahaye
François Heriau
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’33.463 6.216 0.507
22 44 Miro Konopka
Bent Viscaal
Tristan Vautier
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’33.480 6.233 0.017
23 39 Eric Trouillet
Sébastien Page
David Droux
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’33.483 6.236 0.003
24 3 Laurents Hörr
Jean Glorieux
Alexandre Cougnaud
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’34.524 7.277 1.041
25 47 Sophia Flörsch
John Falb
Jack Aitken
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’36.371 9.124 1.847
26 83 François Perrodo
Nicklas Nielsen
Alessio Rovera
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’36.548 9.301 0.177
27 27 Cresp Christophe
Michael Jensen
Steven Palette
Ligier JSP 217 LMP2 3’38.136 10.889 1.588
28 43 David Heinemeier Hansson
Fabio Scherer
Pietro Fittipaldi
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’38.491 11.244 0.355
29 8 Sébastien Buemi
Brendon Hartley
Ryo Hirakawa
Toyota GR010 – Hybrid HYPERCAR 3’40.842 13.595 2.351
30 92 Michael Christensen
Kevin Estre
Laurens Vanthoor
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE PRO 3’50.999 23.752 10.157
31 63 Antonio Garcia
Jordan Taylor
Nick Catsburg
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R LMGTE PRO 3’51.132 23.885 0.133
32 91 Gianmaria Bruni
Richard Lietz
Frédéric Makowiecki
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE PRO 3’51.382 24.135 0.250
33 64 Tommy Milner
Nick Tandy
Alexander Sims
Chevrolet Corvette C8.R LMGTE PRO 3’51.491 24.244 0.109
34 51 Alessandro Pier Guidi
James Calado
Daniel Serra
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE PRO 3’51.502 24.255 0.011
35 52 Miguel Molina
Antonio Fuoco
Davide Rigon
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE PRO 3’51.614 24.367 0.112
36 98 Paul Dalla Lana
David Pittard
Nicki Thiim
Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGTE AM 3’52.559 25.312 0.945
37 57 Takeshi Kimura
Frederik Schandorff
Mikkel Jensen
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’53.489 26.242 0.930
38 54 Thomas Flohr
Francesco Castellacci
Nick Cassidy
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’53.690 26.443 0.201
39 85 Rahel Frey
Michelle Gatting
Sarah Bovy
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’54.081 26.834 0.391
40 74 Felipe Fraga
Sam Bird
Shane van Gisbergen
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE PRO 3’54.116 26.869 0.035
41 77 Christian Ried
Sebastian Priaulx
Harry Tincknell
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’54.224 26.977 0.108
42 61 Louis Prette
Conrad Grunewald
Vincent Abril
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’54.316 27.069 0.092
43 86 Michael Wainwright
Riccardo Pera
Benjamin Barker
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’54.323 27.076 0.007
44 56 Brendan Iribe
Ollie Millroy
Ben Barnicoat
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’54.510 27.263 0.187
45 46 Matteo Cairoli
Mikkel Pedersen
Nicolas Leutwiler
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’54.533 27.286 0.023
46 79 Cooper MacNeil
Julien Andlauer
Thomas Merrill
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’54.912 27.665 0.379
47 99 Andrew Haryanto
Alessio Picariello
Martin Rump
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’55.076 27.829 0.164
48 59 Alexander West
Côme Ledogar
Marvin Klein
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’55.162 27.915 0.086
49 21 Simon Mann
Christoph Ulrich
Toni Vilander
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’55.308 28.061 0.146
50 55 Duncan Cameron
Matthew Griffin
David Perel
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’55.617 28.370 0.309
51 75 Pierre Ehret
Christian Hook
Nicolas Varrone
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’55.672 28.425 0.055
52 66 Renger van der Zande
Mark Kvamme
Jason Hart
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’56.008 28.761 0.336
53 777 Satoshi Hoshino
Tomonobu Fujii
Charlie Fagg
Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGTE AM 3’56.437 29.190 0.429
54 88 Fred Poordad
Maxwell Root
Jan Heylen
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 3’56.516 29.269 0.079
55 33 Ben Keating
Henrique Chaves Jr.
Marco Sorensen
Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGTE AM 3’57.044 29.797 0.528
56 60 Claudio Schiavoni
Alessandro Balzan
Raffaele Giammaria
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 4’05.633 38.386 8.589
57 93 Michael Fassbender
Matt Campbell
Zacharie Robichon
Porsche 911 RSR LMGTE AM 4’07.907 40.660 2.274
58 80 Matteo Cressoni
Giancarlo Fisichella
Richard Heistand
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 4’23.223 55.976 15.316
59 10 Nico Müller
Ryan Cullen
Sébastien Bourdais
Oreca 07 LMP2
60 13 Philippe Cimadomo
Mathias Beche
Tijmen van der Helm
Oreca 07 LMP2 3’30.905 3.658
61 45 Thomas Steven
James Allen
Rene Binder
Oreca 07 LMP2
62 71 Franck Dezoteux
Pierre Ragues
Gabriel Aubry
Ferrari 488 GTE EVO LMGTE AM 3’54.139 26.892 23.234