Le Mans – Audi hybrid n°1 on pole, Toyota 3rd

Loïc duval had achieved an impressive time on the restart (3'24"078), but the n°3 Audi ultra ceded pole position to the n°18 R1 e-tron quattro by less than three tenths when André Lotterer set a time 3'23"787. By being the only driver capable of crossing the barrier of 3'24 per lap, the German achieves the first pole in the history of 24 Hours of Le Mans au volant d’une hybride. Toyota est dans le coup, l’écurie de Pascal Vasselon ayant lâché Anthony Davidson et Kazuki Nakajima chasing the clock at the end of the session. The Brit placed the No. 030 TS8 in third place, one second from pole, while the Japanese inserted the No. 7 into fifth place behind the No. 18 Audi R2 of Kristensen-McNish-Capello. The top six is ​​completed by the No. 4 Audi of Marco Bonanomi.

Strakka Racing sets the first time for the private LMP1 teams with the HPD ARX-03a of Danny Watts. The British team is ahead of the two Lolas from Rebellion Racing, the No. 12 of Neel Jani ranking in eighth position ahead of the No. 13 of Andrea Belicchi. The Dome S102.5 of Pescarolo by Sébastien Bourdais est dixième sur la grille mais l’écurie française va devoir travailler cette nuit pour réparer la n°17 endommagée suite à une sortie de route de Seiji Ara au niveau des virages Porsche. Si un contact avec une autre voiture avait été évoqué au début, le Japonais a en réalité perdu le contrôle sur un vibreur. Les dégâts sont cependant minimes même si le côté droit doit être réparé. Emmanuel Collard n’a pas réussi à déloger la Pescarolo 03-Judd de la dernière position des LMP1. Le Français et le Britannique Stuart Hall seront les seuls à prendre le départ au volant de la n°16, Jean-Christophe Boullion étahnt trop endolori suite à sa sortie de piste.

The fight is very close in LMP2 since the top ten is grouped into three seconds. The category pole was achieved by John Martin with a time of 3'38"181 at the wheel of the ADR Delta Oreca 03-Nissan. Olivier Pla had improved in the last two sectors but the No. 24 Oak Racing Morgan-Judd finally failed in second place, four tenths from pole. Signatech-Nissan climbs into the top three with the No. 03 Oreca 26 from Ragues-Panciatici-Rusinov. For its second participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Thiriet by TDS Racing took fourth place with the Oreca 03-Nissan of Beche-Thiriet-Tinseau. The DeltaWing of Highcroft Racing (Franchitti-Krumm-Motoyama) will start from 29th place.

The battle also promises to be intense in GTE Pro with three different manufacturers in the top three. Luxury Racing signs the best time (3'55"393) with the pole of Frédéric Makowiecki at the wheel of the Ferrari 458 n°59. L'Aston Martin Fernandez-Mücke-Turner's No. 8 Vantage V97 is four tenths behind while the No. 74 Corvette which held first place for a long time finally ranks third with Oliver Gavin only four hundredths short of occupying the first row. The first Porsche 911 RSR is only sixth in the category with the No. 77 Felbermayr Proton (Lietz-Lieb-Henzler). The situation is quite different in GTE Am since the Stuttgart manufacturer occupies the first two positions with the pole of the No. 79 of Flying Lizard Motorsports achieved by Patrick Pilet ahead of the Felbermayr Proton Porsche entered in the higher category.