Метка: 24 Hours of Le Mans test day

Lopez’s Toyota return at Le Mans «like I had never left»

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical boss David Floury revealed that the Argentinian was «up to speed immediately» on his return to the cockpit of the Le Mans Hypercar at last weekend’s Le Mans Test Day for the first time since the 2023 World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain.

«By the look of the lap times it was like he drove the car yesterday,» said Floury. «No big issues and clearly motivated like hell — he has worked very hard to get up to speed with all the car systems.

«We can already see that he is on top of things; we are quite confident that there will be no issues in the race.»

Lopez’s comments after ending up 10th in the second of the three-hour Test Day sessions on Sunday ahead of race week for the blue riband WEC round echoed those of Floury.

«It came back like I’d never left,» said Lopez, who switched over from the Auto Sport Promotion Lexus LMGT3 after Conway had to withdraw with the injuries sustained in a cycling accident last Thursday.

«I was thinking because I was coming from a slower car… but it’s in the brain, as soon as you jump in, it’s like ‘bang’. Lap two I was already very good.»

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Lopez revealed that he was training together with Conway at the time of the accident and that he wasn’t expecting to get the call to return to the line-up of the #7 Toyota, which he drove in the WEC with Conway and Kamui Kobayashi from 2017 until his replacement by Nyck de Vries for this season.

Toyota chose to bring him back into the Hypercar line-up rather than promoting reserve and test driver Ritomo Miyata because of his experience.

Miyata will make his first Le Mans start this year with the Cool Racing LMP2 squad.

Lopez wouldn’t be drawn on whether his return to the #7 Toyota could be extended to cover the Interlagos 6 Hours WEC round in July.

«I hope for Mike it is only a one-off; Mike is like a brother to me,» he said.

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Estre leads Porsche 1-2 on test day

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Kevin Estre led the way in the #6 Porsche 963 LMDh with a 3m26.907s set in the second of the two three-hour sessions on Sunday to head the times by just over two tenths from Felipe Nasr in the sister #4 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry. 

The Brazilian improved the #4’s best lap by Nick Tandy, already good enough for second, to 3m27.142s late in the faster afternoon session in which the top eight cars dipped under Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi’s quickest lap from the morning. 

Brendon Hartley took third in the afternoon in the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar with a 3m27.615s, while Michael Christensen made it three PPM cars in the top four courtesy of a 3m27.773s.

Miguel Molina posted a 3m28.014s to jump to fifth with an hour left on the clock to head the trio of Ferrari 499P LMHs competing in the 23-car Hypercar field. 

Robin Frijns was again in the top six for the WRT BMW squad, the Dutch driver finding 1.4s from the morning to end up on 3m28.072s in the #20 M Hybrid V8 LMDh. 

Lamborghini continued its improved WEC form from the morning, Daniil Kvyat getting down to 3m28.222s to take seventh position in the Test Day times during the final hour in the afternoon. 

The customer AF Corse-run Ferrari 499P was the last car to go under Kobayashi’s morning best, Yifei Ye setting a 3m28.248s. 

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid of Jose Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid of Jose Maria Lopez, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

The #12 Jota customer Porsche team’s 963s was another later improver, Will Stevens putting the car ninth in the afternoon rankings with a 3m28.623s before Callum Ilott improved the car’s time to 3m28.487s but not its position. 

Jose Maria Lopez, drafted back into the Toyota squad after Conway was ruled out of Le Mans as the result of a cycling accident, rounded out the afternoon top 10 in the #7 GR010 with a 3m28.827s that left him four tenths off team-mate Kobayashi’s morning mark. 

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Behind the second Jota and Ferrari factory entries in which Oliver Rasmussen and Antonio Giovinazzi set the times came the best of the revised Peugeot 9X8 LMHs with Paul di Resta at the wheel. The Briton’s 3m29.326s left him nearly two and a half seconds off the frontrunning pace. 

The top Cadillac V-Series.R was the Action Express Racing with Pipo Derani at the wheel in 14th place. The Brazilian set a 3m29.380s to end up some two tenths quicker than Alex Lynn in the best of the Ganassi-run Caddys in 16th. 

The two Alpine A424 LMDhs were again near the rear of the Hypercar pack, Nicolas Lapierre and Charles Milesi taking 17th and 20th. 

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 of Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

#36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 of Nicolas Lapierre, Mick Schumacher, Matthieu Vaxiviere

Photo by: Marc Fleury

The LMP2 class was led by United Autosports, Oliver Jarvis taking the top spot by nearly three tenths. 

His 3m34.704s aboard the Anglo-American team’s #22 ORECA-Gibson 07 just shaded Olli Caldwell’s 3m25.981 in the best of the Algarve Pro entries in the all-ORECA field.

Third place went to the Duqueine ORECA in which James Allen set a 3m36.354s shortly before the session was red-flagged five minutes early.

The TF Sport Chevrolet team headed the LMGT3 rankings with Sebastien Baud as the quickest runners in the new-for-2024 class dipped below four minutes for the first time. 

Baud topped the times with a 3m59.883s in the #82 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, which put him just three hundredths up on the 3m59.920s from Alex Riberas in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3.  

Augusto Farfus was the last driver below four minutes in the fastest of the two WRT BMW M4 GT3s. 

Track action at Le Mans resumes with the first free practice session at 14:00 local time on Wednesday, which is followed up the hour-long first qualifying session in the evening.

Le Mans 24 Hours test day — Session 2

POS # TEAM Car CLASS TIME GAP
1 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 HYPERCAR 3:26.907 —
2 4 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 HYPERCAR 3:27.142 +0.235
3 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid HYPERCAR 3:27.615 +0.708
4 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 HYPERCAR 3:27.773 +0.866
5 50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P HYPERCAR 3:28.014 +1.107
6 20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M HYBRID V8 HYPERCAR 3:28.072 +1.165
7 63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 HYPERCAR 3:28.222 +1.315
8 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P HYPERCAR 3:28.248 +1.341
9 12 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 HYPERCAR 3:28.487 +1.580
10 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid HYPERCAR 3:28.827 +1.920
11 38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 HYPERCAR 3:29.043 +2.136
12 51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P HYPERCAR 3:29.162 +2.255
13 94 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 HYPERCAR 3:29.326 +2.419
14 311 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R HYPERCAR 3:29.360 +2.453
15 15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M HYBRID V8 HYPERCAR 3:29.580 +2.673
16 2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R HYPERCAR 3:29.617 +2.710
17 36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 HYPERCAR 3:29.620 +2.713
18 19 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 HYPERCAR 3:29.750 +2.843
19 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R HYPERCAR 3:29.767 +2.860
20 35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 HYPERCAR 3:29.828 +2.921
21 93 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 HYPERCAR 3:29.888 +2.981
22 99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 HYPERCAR 3:31.411 +4.504
23 11 Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C HYPERCAR 3:33.006 +6.099
24 22 United Autosports Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:34.704 +7.797
25 25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:35.981 +9.074
26 30 Duqueine Team Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:36.354 +9.447
27 23 United Autosports USA Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:36.623 +9.716
28 183 AF Corse Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:36.750 +9.843
29 65 Panis Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:36.898 +9.991
30 9 Proton Competition Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:37.169 +10.262
31 34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:37.385 +10.478
32 45 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:37.456 +10.549
33 10 Vector Sport Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:37.802 +10.895
34 24 Nielsen Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:37.848 +10.941
35 28 IDEC Sport Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:37.939 +11.032
36 33 DKR Engineering Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:37.968 +11.061
37 37 COOL Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:38.216 +11.309
38 14 AO by TF Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:38.689 +11.782
39 47 COOL Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson LMP2 3:39.995 +13.088
40 82 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R LMGT3 3:59.883 +32.976
41 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 LMGT3 3:59.920 +33.013
42 31 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 LMGT3 3:59.920 +33.013
43 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 LMGT3 4:00.121 +33.214
44 59 United Autosports McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo LMGT3 4:00.184 +33.277
45 95 United Autosports McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo LMGT3 4:00.278 +33.371
46 85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 LMGT3 4:00.378 +33.471
47 46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 LMGT3 4:00.417 +33.510
48 81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R LMGT3 4:00.444 +33.537
49 86 GR Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3 LMGT3 4:00.467 +33.560
50 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo LMGT3 4:00.481 +33.574
51 44 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 LMGT3 4:00.587 +33.680
52 55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 LMGT3 4:00.639 +33.732
53 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 LMGT3 4:00.657 +33.750
54 777 D’Station Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 LMGT3 4:01.125 +34.218
55 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 LMGT3 LMGT3 4:01.186 +34.279
56 78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 LMGT3 4:01.366 +34.459
57 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 LMGT3 4:01.379 +34.472
58 155 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 LMGT3 LMGT3 4:01.459 +34.552
59 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 LMGT3 4:01.703 +34.796
60 91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 LMGT3 4:01.873 +34.966
61 92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 LMGT3 4:02.224 +35.317
62 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 LMGT3 4:05.108 +38.201



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Kobayashi leads opening test session for Toyota

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Kamui Kobayashi topped the times in the first of the two three-hour sessions of the Le Mans Test Day on Sunday with a 3m28.467s lap aboard the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar.

That gave him a margin of more than seven tenths over Porsche driver Kevin Estre, who ended up on a 3m29.205s aboard the #6 963 LMDh fielded by the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport team.

BMW took third sport with the best of its M Hybrid V8 LMDhs run by the WRT squad, Robin Frijns getting within a second of the pace with a 3m29.433s in the #20 entry.

Lamborghini, which has struggled with its SC63 LMDh so far in the WEC this year, took fourth place.

Mirko Bortolotti got down to a 3m29.639s early in the session aboard the #63 full-season WEC entry from the Iron Lynx team before leaving for Zandvoort to contest the second of the two DTM races this weekend.

Top Ferrari was the satellite entry from AF Corse in the hands of Robert Kubica, whose 3m29.732s gave the #83 499P LMH fifth place in the opening session.

The second Toyota rounded out the top six with a 3m28.823s from Sebastien Buemi.

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

Porsche took sixth and seventh with its remaining factory entries in the Hypercar class, Michael Christensen just shading Mathieu Jaminet by under a tenth.

Peugeot got one of its revised 9X8 LMHs into the top 10 in ninth with a time from Mikkel Jensen within a second and a half of the pace, while the first of the full-factory 499Ps completed the top 10 in Alessandro Pier Guidi’s hands.

Top Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh was the #2 WEC full-season entry run by the Ganassi team with Alex Lynn at the wheel, while the two Alpine A424 LMDhs took 20th and 21st positions in the 23-strong Hypercar class.

Jose Maria Lopez got 10 laps in the #7 car after being brought back into Toyota’s Hypercar line-up following the injuries sustained by former team-mate Mike Conway in a cycling incident, the Argentine lapping almost exactly one second from Kobayashi’s session best.

Kobayashi’s session-topping time was more than a second up on the 3m30.685s with which Ferrari Antonio Fuoco went quickest in the opening session of the pre-race test last year and already a tenth up on the afternoon best of 3m29.504s set by his team-mate, Antonio Giovinazzi.

Track conditions were good from the start of the session.

Cadillac driver Jack Aitken, who went first in the Action Express Racing Caddy so he could return to Zandvoort to take up his DTM seat with the Emil Frey Ferrari squad, stated that it “felt better” than in previous years.

#28 Idec Sport Oreca 07 - Gibson of Paul Lafargue, Job Van Uitert, Reshad De Gerus

#28 Idec Sport Oreca 07 — Gibson of Paul Lafargue, Job Van Uitert, Reshad De Gerus

Photo by: Marc Fleury

The 16-strong LMP2 class, which is returning to the WEC grid for Le Mans after being axed from the full championship this year, was headed by IDEC Sport.

Job van Uitert posted a 3m37.044s in the French team’s solo ORECA-Gibson 07, which was just over a tenth up on Oliver Jarvis’s 3m37.176s for United Autosports.

Third went to the AO by TF ORECA in which Louis Deletraz got down to 3m37.394s.

The two Auto Sport Promotion Lexus RC F GT3s blocked out the top of the times in the new-for-2024 LMGT3 class.

Kelvin van der Linde led the way on a 4m00.106s, which was just over half a second up on team-mate Esteban Masson in the sister car.

Seal Gelael took third in the best of the two WRT BMW M4 GT3s.

The session was curtailed two minutes early when Lorenzo Fluxa crashed the #37 Cool Racing ORECA-Gibson 07 LMP2 in the Porsche Curves.

#78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 of Arnold Robin, Timur Boguslavskiy, Kelvin Van Der Linde

#78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 of Arnold Robin, Timur Boguslavskiy, Kelvin Van Der Linde

Photo by: Marc Fleury

It was the second red flag of the three hours after a shot stoppage when Renger van der Zande pulled over on the run from Mulsanne Corner to Indianapolis with a fuel-line issue on the #3 Cadillac.

The safety car was also deployed over the course of the session to familiarise the teams and drivers with the safety car procedure, which has undergone minor changes for 2024.

The second session is due to begin at 15:30 local time.

Results:

POS # TEAM VEHICLE TIME Gap LAPS CLASS
1 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid 3:28.467 — 35 HYPERCAR
2 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 3:29.205 +0.738 33 HYPERCAR
3 20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M HYBRID V8 3:29.433 +0.966 35 HYPERCAR
4 63 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 3:29.639 +1.172 35 HYPERCAR
5 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P 3:29.732 +1.265 31 HYPERCAR
6 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid 3:29.823 +1.356 36 HYPERCAR
7 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 3:29.885 +1.418 33 HYPERCAR
8 4 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 3:29.915 +1.448 26 HYPERCAR
9 93 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 3:30.136 +1.669 28 HYPERCAR
10 51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P 3:30.367 +1.900 33 HYPERCAR
11 99 Proton Competition Porsche 963 3:30.423 +1.956 23 HYPERCAR
12 50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P 3:30.589 +2.122 30 HYPERCAR
13 94 Peugeot TotalEnergies Peugeot 9X8 3:30.853 +2.386 20 HYPERCAR
14 12 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 3:31.267 +2.800 30 HYPERCAR
15 38 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963 3:31.269 +2.802 35 HYPERCAR
16 2 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R 3:31.882 +3.415 28 HYPERCAR
17 15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M HYBRID V8 3:31.899 +3.432 29 HYPERCAR
18 19 Lamborghini Iron Lynx Lamborghini SC63 3:31.964 +3.497 25 HYPERCAR
19 311 Whelen Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R 3:32.414 +3.947 28 HYPERCAR
20 36 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 3:32.505 +4.038 31 HYPERCAR
21 35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 3:32.728 +4.261 25 HYPERCAR
22 11 Isotta Fraschini Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C 3:35.758 +7.291 30 HYPERCAR
23 28 IDEC Sport Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:37.044 +8.577 31 LMP2
24 22 United Autosports Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:37.176 +8.709 27 LMP2
25 14 AO by TF Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:37.394 +8.927 32 LMP2
26 3 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R 3:37.422 +8.955 11 HYPERCAR
27 34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:37.762 +9.295 33 LMP2
28 65 Panis Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:38.159 +9.692 33 LMP2
29 23 United Autosports USA Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:38.264 +9.797 34 LMP2
30 37 COOL Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:38.266 +9.799 32 LMP2
31 10 Vector Sport Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:38.641 +10.174 31 LMP2
32 25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:38.665 +10.198 37 LMP2
33 45 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:39.262 +10.795 35 LMP2
34 183 AF Corse Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:39.619 +11.152 32 LMP2
35 30 Duqueine Team Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:39.629 +11.162 33 LMP2
36 47 COOL Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:40.299 +11.832 28 LMP2
37 24 Nielsen Racing Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:41.007 +12.540 26 LMP2
38 9 Proton Competition Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:41.348 +12.881 33 LMP2
39 33 DKR Engineering Oreca 07 — Gibson 3:43.812 +15.345 23 LMP2
40 78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 4:00.106 +31.639 33 LMGT3
41 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 4:00.668 +32.201 22 LMGT3
42 31 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 4:00.929 +32.462 32 LMGT3
43 59 United Autosports McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo 4:01.173 +32.706 30 LMGT3
44 70 Inception Racing McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo 4:01.194 +32.727 32 LMGT3
45 46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 4:01.329 +32.862 32 LMGT3
46 60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 4:01.533 +33.066 29 LMGT3
47 85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2 4:01.645 +33.178 30 LMGT3
48 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 4:01.721 +33.254 30 LMGT3
49 54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 4:01.771 +33.304 31 LMGT3
50 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 4:01.921 +33.454 27 LMGT3
51 44 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 4:02.276 +33.809 29 LMGT3
52 82 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R 4:02.343 +33.876 35 LMGT3
53 95 United Autosports McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo 4:02.388 +33.921 25 LMGT3
54 66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 LMGT3 4:02.473 +34.006 29 LMGT3
55 155 Spirit of Race Ferrari 296 LMGT3 4:02.544 +34.077 33 LMGT3
56 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 4:02.567 +34.100 30 LMGT3
57 86 GR Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3 4:02.573 +34.106 31 LMGT3
58 92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 4:03.088 +34.621 34 LMGT3
59 91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 4:03.128 +34.661 32 LMGT3
60 55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 4:03.590 +35.123 32 LMGT3
61 81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R 4:03.966 +35.499 32 LMGT3
62 777 D’Station Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 4:04.385 +35.918 31 LMGT3



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