24 hours of Le Mans, Qualifying - Felix da Costa tames the LM P2 pack

The first qualifying session for the 24 2021 Hours of Le Mans took place this Wednesday August 18 between 19 p.m. and 20 p.m. The first six cars in each category qualify for the Hyperpole this Thursday at 21 p.m. If the Hypercars were assured of their presence, Antonio Felix da Costa set the best time with Jota in LM P2.

Published on 18/08/2021 à 20:15

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24 Hours of Le Mans, Qualifying – Felix da Costa tames the LM P2 pack

Antonio Felix da Costa set the best time in LM P2 with Jota (©François Flamand / DPPI)

Hypercar: Toyota in front Alpine

In Hypercar, the five cars were already guaranteed to qualify for Hyperpole. The best time was set by the number 7 Toyota in 3:26.279 ahead of theAlpine less than a second behind and the number 8 Toyota. The Glickenhaus finished further back, in 4th and 5th places in the category.

LM P2: Antonio Felix da Costa best time

Best time of the Test Day in its category, the IDEC Sport Oreca 07-Gibson number 48 driven by Paul Loup Chatin made a mistake at Tertre Rouge triggering a Full Course Yellow at the start of the session.

That's a big shunt for @paulloup_chatin and @IDECSportRacing at the exit of Tertre Rouge. Driver is out of the car and ok, session under FCY.#WEC # LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/eug3vLriEG

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) August 18

Third time in LM P2 in 3:30.166 at this point, the car was unable to restart. However, this time did not hold throughout the session. The best time in the category ultimately went to the number 38 Jota driven by the Portuguese Antonio Felix da Costa. Winner last season, the number 22 from United Autosports USA finished in only 12th place, hampered by GTs to the great annoyance of Filipe Albuquerque.

GTE Pro : Record de la piste pour Porsche and Ferrari

In GTE Pro, the times quickly fell. From the start of the session, the Porsches were already running three seconds faster than during Free Practice 1. The track record for the category even fell to 3:46.779 under the leadership of Kévin Estre at the wheel of the number 911 Porsche 92 RSR, beating Gianmaria Bruni's previous record (3:47.504). A record broken again by Daniel Serra with the Ferrari 488 GTE Pro in 3:46.011. AF Corse even scored a double in this category.

GTE Am: Dempsey – Proton Racing dominates

The GTE Am session was marked by the exit from the track of Paul Dalla Lana at the wheel of theAston Martin Vantage AMR number 98. The best time went to the Porsche 911 RSR – 19 from the Dempsey – Proton Racing team. With Frenchman Julien Andlauer at the wheel, the #911 Porsche 19 RSR – 88 also broke the GTE Am track record by setting a 3.48:620.