Метка: Le Mans

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

Опубликовано 11.06.2024 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.

Toyota concedes Le Mans is Porsche’s to lose after test 1-2

Опубликовано 10.06.2024 от ASPPA IMAGES ANO

David Floury, Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director, claimed that the performance of the three-car Porsche Penske Motorsport squad over the six hours of running ahead of the double-points round of the World Endurance Championship means that they would have underperformed if they don’t win.

“I think it’s clear: I would think if Porsche doesn’t win they have done a pretty bad job,” he said after the conclusion of the test.

“They have the edge in every aspect from what we can see.

“We will see more during the week [when practice and qualifying begins on Wednesday], but clearly Porsche is looking strong.”

Asked if Porsche’s performance during the Test Day was a surprise given its form so far in the WEC this year and the Balance of Performance for the Le Mans event published last week, Floury replied: “No surprise.”

Floury questioned whether Ferrari and Cadillac showed their true pace over the course of the test in which their best cars ended up fifth and 16th respectively, but added that he expected BMW to be in the fight after it made it into the top six in both morning and afternoon sessions.

“Behind Porsche, it should be a good fight behind,” he said.

Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt

PPM ended up 1-2 in the times at the official Le Mans test on the full 8.47-mile Circuit de la Sarthe and also took fourth spot.

Kevin Estre was quickest in the #6 Porsche 963 LMDh on a 3m26.907s set early in the afternoon session, while the additional entry from the North American arm of the PPM squad competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship took second spot.

Nick Tandy put the car into P2 with 3m27.356s before Felipe Nasr improved to 3m27.142s in the closing stages of the afternoon session.

The third PPM entry finished fourth in the times behind the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar.

Brendon Hartley posted a 3m27.615s in the Japanese car, which compared to Michael Christensen’s 3m27.773s in the fourth-placed Porsche.

Porsche has played down any status as the pre-race favourite heading into Le Mans week.

Urs Kuratle, who heads up the LMDh programme at Porsche Motorsport, said: “We will be in the mix, we will be there, but whether we are favourites or not, I am not sure.

“We are in the mix with a lot of other cars, which is a nice thing for the whole sport — I am really looking forward to this race.”

Kuratle stressed that Porsche could not be sure if the other manufacturers exploited their full potential during the Test Day.

“All we know is that we made our programme and that was the result of it, but we are not dreaming to be so much ahead [in the race].”

Free practice for the 92nd running of the Le Mans 24 Hours begins at 14:00 local time on Wednesday, 12 June, with first qualifying following at 19:00.

How to watch the Le Mans 24 Hours: Schedule,

Опубликовано 10.06.2024 от ASPPA IMAGES ANO

The world’s most prestigious endurance race is back, as drivers will tackle 24 hours of Circuit de la Sarthe for the next round of the WEC campaign.

Ferrari arrives as the defending winner having claimed its first Le Mans victory since 1964 at the centenary edition of the race, which later won the 2023 Autosport Moment of the Year Award.

So, will the Italian manufacturer repeat that success in 2024? Here is how and when to watch this year’s action.

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

When is the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours?

Date: Saturday 15 June — Sunday 16 June
Start time: 3pm BST/4pm local time

The 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours begins on Saturday 15 June at 3pm in the United Kingdom and 4pm local time. However, the race follows a full week of preparation as the Le Mans extravaganza starts on Friday 7 June with the first of two scrutineering sessions, which take place in Place de la République — the city’s main square.

The city centre procession is also staged on the same weekend as scrutineering, where thousands of fans gather to watch the drivers parade their cars through downtown Le Mans on a 1.3-mile loop. Then during the following week are four practice sessions, qualifying and hyperpole to set up the main event.

2024 Le Mans 24 Hours schedule

Date	Session	Session time
Friday 7 June	Scrutineering day one	9am BST/10am local time
Saturday 8 June	Scrutineering day two	9am BST/10am local time
Saturday 8 June	City centre procession	2:30pm BST/3:30pm local time
Wednesday 12 June	Free Practice 1	1pm BST/2pm local time
Wednesday 12 June	Qualifying	6pm BST/7pm local time
Wednesday 12 June	Free Practice 2	9pm BST/10pm local time
Thursday 13 June	Free Practice 3	2pm BST/3pm local time
Thursday 13 June	Hyperpole	7pm BST/8pm local time
Thursday 13 June	Free Practice 4	9pm BST/10pm local time
Saturday 15 June	Race warm-up	11am BST/12pm local time
Saturday 15 June	Race start	3pm BST/4pm local time
Sunday 16 June	Race ends	3pm BST/4pm local time

How to watch the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours

Eurosport holds the WEC broadcasting rights for the UK, continental Europe and Australia, meaning it is the place to watch this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. That does mean a subscription is needed though and it can be purchased through TNT Sports, who are also owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

New customers can purchase a package for £20 per month that includes all four TNT sport channels, Eurosport 1 and 2, as well as live streaming platform Discovery+. So, Le Mans can also be watched via a mobile or tablet device, as well as a console.

Fans can also watch the Le Mans 24 Hours via a race-specific package from WEC TV. For £15.31, it gives fans the chance to livestream every track session, view a live leaderboard and real-time telemetry and relive old Le Mans races.

Date	Session	Channel	Coverage from
Wednesday 12 June	Free practice 1	Eurosport 2	12:45pm BST/1:45pm local time
Wednesday 12 June	Qualifying	Eurosport 2	5:45pm BST/6:45pm local time
Wednesday 12 June	Free practice 2	Eurosport 2	8:45pm BST/9:45pm local time
Thursday 13 June	Free practice 3	Eurosport 2	1:45pm BST/2:45pm local time
Thursday 13 June	Hyperpole	Eurosport 2	6:45pm BST/7:45pm local time
Thursday 13 June	Free practice 4	Eurosport 2	8:45pm BST/9:45pm local time
Saturday 15 June	Race warm-up	Eurosport 1	10:45am BST/11:45am local time
Saturday 15 June	Le Mans 24 Hours	Eurosport 1	2pm BST/3pm local time

Non-European viewers can watch the Le Mans 24 Hours via their local sports broadcasting platform whether it is Max or MotorTrend TV in the United States, SuperSport for those in Sub-Saharan African or WEC TV which is available worldwide.

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Where to watch highlights of the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours

Highlights of the Le Mans 24 Hours can be watched via the official WEC or Eurosport platforms including social media and their respective websites. They tend to upload highlights soon after each session is done, while the official WEC YouTube channel also published a full race replay three weeks after the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours had finished.

How does the Le Mans 24 Hours work?

Le Mans is WEC’s blue-riband event and forms part of the illustrious motorsport triple crown, which is awarded to a driver who wins the Monaco Grand Prix, Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans in their career.

In 2024, the Le Mans grid will be split into three categories — hypercar, LMP2 and LMGT3 — where teams must rotate their car between three drivers with no driver being behind the wheel for more than 14 hours in total.

Although the festivities begin the weekend prior to the race, drivers do not officially take to the 8.467-mile track until the Wednesday before with two practice sessions and day one of qualifying. Qualifying for the Le Mans 24 Hours is split into two parts, where the first session lasts for 12 minutes and entails all cars attempting to set their best lap around the circuit.

The eight fastest cars from the different categories then progress to hyperpole the following day. Hyperpole lasts for 30 minutes in total, 10 minutes for each class, and determines the pole position winners plus the rest of the top eight starting positions.

A fourth and final practice session follows this before the main event which, since 1970, has not used its traditional starting ritual where drivers ran to their cars to begin the race. Instead, while drivers still start out lined up against the pit wall, a safety car leads them for a formation lap before a rolling start commences the 24-hour affair.

How many laps are there in the Le Mans 24 Hours?

There is no set amount of laps at the Le Mans 24 Hours given it is a race against the clock, but the winner’s final total has been in the 380s for four of the last six editions. This is still some way off the record though, which stands at 397 laps set in 1971 (Helmut Marko and Gijs van Lennep in a Porsche 917KH Coupe) and 2010 (Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller in an Audi R15 TDI).

But Ferrari won the 2023 race after completing just 342 laps — the lowest since 2001 — due to a series of stoppages and poor weather.

Photo by: Andreas Beil

Who are favourites for the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours?

Although the #51 Ferrari car — driven by Antonio Giovinazzi, James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi — is the reigning Le Mans winner, 2024 has not been so kind as the trio sit ninth in the championship with fourth in Spa-Francorchamps being their best result.

They should have won in Imola though, the season’s second round, as #51 was leading a Ferrari 1-2 after four of six hours but the team was too late in pitting its cars for wet tyres.

That dropped Ferrari out of contention and handed victory to the #7 Toyota — driven by Kamui Kobayashi, Mike Conway and Nyck de Vries — which is one of three entrants to have won this year.

The Porsche Penske of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor, and the Team Jota Porsche of Callum Ilott and Will Stevens both have one win apiece, as well. But it is the former who holds the championship lead, as its run of only top two finishes places the #6 Penske 22 points above the Jota Porsche, which came outside of the points in Imola after second in Qatar.

So, one could argue that it is likely a Porsche will win this year’s Le Mans, which would be the German manufacturer’s first victory there since 2017. But one cannot discount the reigning WEC champions Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa, despite the Toyota trio lying eighth in the 2024 standings with fifth in Imola being their best result so far.

Anything can happen during the gruelling event, so it is often hard to predict who will emerge victorious — especially when Le Mans was the only round that Toyota did not win in 2023.

And it is one that could completely change the championship picture, as Le Mans offers the most points — 50 for the winner — of any WEC race.

Elsewhere, a Porsche is also leading the LMGT3 standings where Klaus Bachler, Alex Malykhin and Joel Sturm hold almost double the points tally of those behind.

The Manthey Racing trio have 72 points meaning they are already 35 ahead of Team WRT (Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung) and Heart of Racing (Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas) in joint-second.

This comes as a result of the #92 Porsche scoring a podium in each round so far, including victory in the Qatar season opener, while those in second failed to claim any points at Spa. So, another strong showing in Le Mans, the season’s halfway-point, could go a long way in helping Bachler, Malykhin and Sturm to clinch the LMGT3 title.

It is the first time that WEC has used a two-class structure, as the long-standing LMP2 was dropped for 2024 due to growing demand in the rejuvenated top category which saw the likes of Lamborghini, BMW and Alpine arrive for this year.

However, LMP2 is returning as a one-off for Le Mans where it has 16 grid slots with all drivers using an Oreca 07-Gibson.

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Estre leads Porsche 1-2 on test day

Опубликовано 09.06.2024 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

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.

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 09.06.2024 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

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

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

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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Why Toyota chose Lopez over Miyata to replace Conway at Le Mans

Опубликовано 08.06.2024 от ASPPA IMAGES ANO

The decision to recall Lopez to the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercar for the double-points World Endurance Championship round on 15/16 June was “a very simple one”, according to Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe director Rob Leupen.

He explained that it was a straightforward move to bring the Argentinian back after Mike Conway broke two ribs and his collarbone in a cycling accident on Thursday “because of his experience and the inexperience of Ritomo”.

Miyata, who won both the Super Formula and Super GT titles in Japan last year was named as test and reserve driver for Toyota’s WEC assault at the start of the year, at the same time as it was confirmed that Lopez would be replaced in the #7 entry alongside Conway and Kamui Kobayashi by Nyck de Vries after six years with the manufacturer.

“Ritomo has never driven here at Le Mans and he is with Swiss outfit Cool Racing in LMP2, and the other option was Jose,” said Leupen.

“We discussed it within the team, and with Kamui [who is also team principal of the WEC squad] involved and Akio Toyoda [Toyota chairman] back in Japan, and it was decided it was best for everyone, including Ritomo, for Jose to jump in #7.”

Leupen stressed that Miyata, who will get his first experience of the Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans on Sunday in the official pre-event Test Day, would remain on call for Toyota for the remainder of the event.

“You never know — it is still a long week,” he stated.

Ritomo Miyata, #36 au TOM’S GR Supra

Photo by: Masahide Kamio

Miyata will get some laps with Toyota on Sunday as well as driving the Cool squad’s #37 ORECA-Gibson 07 LMP2. He is listed in both the #7 and #8 cars for the day-long test.

Leupen revealed that the harder decision for Toyota was how to replace Lopez at the Auto Sport Promotion Lexus team in which he is contesting the full WEC this year in the new LMGT3 class.

Expatriate Briton Jack Hawksworth has been flown in from the USA to take the seat for the professional driver in ASP’s #87 Lexus RC F GT3 alongside Esteban Masson and Takeshi Kimura.

Leupen revealed that switching Miyata to the Lexus was considered, but he explained that Ben Barnicoat, who won last year’s IMSA SportsCar Championship GT Daytona Pro title in a Vasser Sullivan Lexus with Hawksworth, was not an option.

Barnicoat will racing AF Corse’s LMP2 entry with Nicolas Varrone and Francois Perrodo at Le Mans.

Hawksworth described the circumstances leading up to his Le Mans debut at a “whirlwind”.

#14 VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3: Jack Hawksworth, Ben Barnicoat

Photo by: Brett Farmer / Motorsport Images

He revealed that he was driving to the track from his hotel at Mid-Ohio where he was scheduled to race a Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo for the Hattori Motorsports team this weekend when he received the call from Lexus on Friday.

“I was on my way to the circuit and then I got a phone call from Andy Graves from Toyota Racing Development [which oversees the Lexus programme in the USA],” explained Hawksworth. “That was it — I was on my way here!

“I went to the track, picked up my stuff, and then I went back to the hotel, and then straight to Detroit and booked a flight on the way.”

He arrived at Le Mans late on Saturday morning, in time for ASP’s scheduled scrutineering slot at lunchtime.

“Le Mans was on my bucket list, but not on my immediate radar,” he said. “To be able to do it with Lexus, a brand I’ve been racing with for so long, is kind of cool.”

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Toyota driver Conway ruled out of Le Mans, replaced by Lopez

Опубликовано 07.06.2024 от ASPPA IMAGES ANO

The Briton, who triumphed at the French enduro in 2021, broke his ribs and collarbone in an incident on Thursday and will be unable to take up his place in the #7 Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hybrid.

Conway, 40, will be replaced in the line-up for Le Mans on 15/16 June alongside Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries by Jose Maria Lopez.

Lopez returns to the line-up in the #7 car after being dropped at the end of last season in favour of de Vries.

The Argentinian partnered Conway and Kobayashi to Le Mans victory in ’21, as well as the WEC drivers’ title in 2019-20 and ’22.

Toyota Gazoo Racing has turned to the experienced Lopez rather than Ritomo Miyata, who is the team’s official test and reserve driver for the WEC.

The announcement from the Toyota Gazoo Racing squad on Friday afternoon contained no other details of Conway’s injuries, how they occurred or the likely recuperation time before he can return to the cockpit.

It came little more than a day before the 62-car Le Mans field is due on track for the official Test Day on Sunday, which leads into race week.

#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 — Hybrid: Mike Conway

Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images

Lopez, 41, remains under contract to Toyota and was due to race at Le Mans with sister brand Lexus.

He is driving one of its LMGT3 class RC F GT3s entered by the Auto Sport Promotion team together with Esteban Masson and Takeshi Kimura in the full WEC this year.

Lopez spent six years as part of the TGR prototype squad in the WEC, first in the LMP1 class and then in Hypercar.

His stay with the team had been due to come to an end at the end of 2022: de Vries was scheduled to move up from the role of test and reserve driver last year to join Conway and Kobayashi until he landed what turned out to be a short-lived opportunity in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri.

Miyata is racing for the Cool Racing LMP2 squad at Le Mans as part of a programme encompassing the European Le Mans Series.

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Peugeot receives biggest BoP break for Le Mans in WEC Hypercar class

Опубликовано 03.06.2024 от ASPPA IMAGES ANO

The revised Peugeot 9X8 2024 Le Mans Hypercar introduced at the Imola WEC in April has received an 18kg weight break down to 1047kg while retaining the maximum power of 508kW (681bhp) at which it raced last time out at Spa in May.

It follows two races at which the heavily reworked LMH, which now runs a conventional rear wing, failed to match the performance of the previous iteration of the car at the Qatar season-opener in March.

Porsche’s 963 LMDh, winner of two of the three WEC rounds so far this season, has gained 5kg in minimum weight since Spa in the BoP table published on Monday ahead of this weekend’s Le Mans Test Day, which leads into race week for the French enduro.

But the German car will be able to run with 4kW (5bhp) more power.

The Ferrari 499P and Toyota GR010 HYBRID LMHs have lost 10 and 9kg respectively.

Ferrari has gained 2kW in power, while the Toyota has lost 7kW.

But Ferrari is one of only three manufacturers to have lost power under the new “power gain” component of the BoP, which will finally be introduced for Le Mans on 15/16 June.

The new feature has been incorporated into the BoP so that the acceleration and straightline speeds of the cars competing in Hypercar can be more closely matched in an effort to further balance the playing field.

Ferrari’s LMH will be have to run maximum power reduced by 1.7% above 250km/h (155mph), equivalent to 8.6kW or 11bhp.

The other cars competing in Hypercar to lose power over 250km/h are the Lamborghini SC63 with a 1.6% reduction and the Peugeot with 0.7%.

All the other cars have a 0.9% power gain, with the exception of the Porsche 963 LMDh, which will run the same 511kW maximum power above and below 250km/h.

Power gain had been set for an introduction for round two of the WEC at Imola in April after it was trialled by some manufacturers at the official pre-season Prologue test ahead of the season-opener in Qatar in March.

No reason was given for a delay that extended through round three at Spa last month.

The power gain column in the BoP table that remained empty for the opening three round stipulated 210km/h as the starting point for the increase or decrease in engine performance.

The 250km/h figure in the Le Mans BoP is understood to reflect the higher top speeds achieved on the Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans in comparison to the tracks that make up the rest of the schedule.

The BoP table for Le Mans carries the normal line about it remaining valid “until further notice”.

It is believed that the guidelines laid down for the BoP in 2024 allow no scope for it to change between the Test Day on Sunday and the kick-off of practice and qualifying on the following Wednesday.

The WEC Hypercar BoP table usually carries a plus or minus adjustment figure next to the weight and power values for each car.

The Le Mans figures do not, because the FIA and the ACO regard the BoP for the 24 Hours to be separate and independent of that for the rest of the series because of the unique characteristics of the 8.47-mile track layout.

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Injured Doriane Pin withdraws from Le Mans 24 Hours

Опубликовано 30.05.2024 от ASPPA IMAGES ANO

Pin had withdrawn from the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine’s second Spa-Francorchamps race last weekend after feeling some discomfort.

The Frenchwoman has now posted a video on social media announcing that she will be unable to race at Le Mans, where she should have shared the Iron Dames’ #85 Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo 2 in the WEC’s LMGT3 class with team-mates Sarah Bovy and Michelle Gatting

She will also sit out the next FRECA round at Zandvoort on 8-9 June.

«After further medical checks, we found out that I have fractured ribs,» Pin said, with the origin of the injury still unclear. «Obviously, it means that I need time to heal.

«So we have made the difficult decision with my team to not race in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FRECA races in Zandvoort.

«This decision is tough and sad, especially since Le Mans is one of the biggest races of the year, and for me, it’s a very special one.

«I was looking forward to driving there and sharing that week with all of you and, of course, my team. But I need to do what is best for myself and the Iron Dames.»

Rahel Frey will stand in for Pin at Circuit de la Sarthe, with the Swiss veteran having already raced there with Iron Lynx/Iron Dames alongside Bovy and Gatting in previous years, achieving a best result of fourth in the LMGTE Am category in 2023.

Pin is otherwise having a very busy 2024 season, having joined the Mercedes young driver academy back in January.

Having previously focused on sportscar racing, Pin switched her attention to single-seaters, joining powerhouse Prema Racing. She took one victory during an incomplete campaign in the Formula 4 UAE championship and went on to become an F1 Academy frontrunner, before making a more arduous FRECA debut.

Although she’s still racing in the WEC with Iron Dames, Pin recently clarified that she would focus solely on single-seaters from 2025 onwards.

The 20-year-old is planning on being back on track at the F1 Academy’s Barcelona round on 21-23 June.

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Photos from the world of high speeds… PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY AGENCY | PRINT MEDIA | PHOTOGRAPHER ALEKSANDR B. SEREGIN & Co | Since 2011

Метка: Le Mans

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Results:

Why Toyota chose Lopez over Miyata to replace Conway at Le Mans

Toyota driver Conway ruled out of Le Mans, replaced by Lopez

Peugeot receives biggest BoP break for Le Mans in WEC Hypercar class

Injured Doriane Pin withdraws from Le Mans 24 Hours

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