Le Mans – Porsche still had something under its belt

History will record that Toyota won the pole of the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a better time achieved by Kazuki Nakajima who became the first Japanese to win qualifying in Sarthe. Porsche secretly aimed for pole to mark his return with the 919 Hybrid, but multiple interruptions prevented the crews of the manufacturer with 16 victories from seizing first position on the grid. “The first line was a bit of a secret goal and we were able to check that wish off the list on our first attempt.”, comments Wolfgang Hatz, from the Research and Development committee. “It’s not pole but it’s still satisfying. We knew we were fast enough but we weren't lucky enough to have a clear lap. We will now focus on the race and try to avoid mistakes. »

The #14 Porsche therefore fell 0”357 from pole despite a good time set by Romain Dumas (3’22”146). The two 919 Hybrids came out of the pits in the final minutes with new tires but a Slow Zone set up following the exit of the No. 03 Murphy Prototypes Oreca 48R-Nissan driven by Karun Chandhok put an end to their hopes. from Neel Jani who was ready to chase first place. “I had a really good ride.”, assures the winner of the 2010 edition. “We’ve been making constant progress with the car. We still have to fight with understeer but I'm still satisfied. Unfortunately, I lost a few tenths when overtaking another car on my fastest lap. »

As for the No. 919 20 Hybrid, it will start from fourth position behind the No. 8 Toyota of Davidson-Stone-Buemi after Timo Bernhard finished just over a second behind the reference time. “I was disappointed that we couldn’t have a single clear round,” comments the German, also winner in Sarthe in 2010. “I had to deal with slower cars everywhere at the start of the last qualifying session. It’s a shame because we clearly could have improved our times. Nevertheless, it was a great fight on the track. The car handles well. We are now going to move into another rhythm and I am looking forward to it. There have already been numerous accidents this year that have caused several interruptions, which is a bit concerning. »

The start of the 82nd edition of the 24 Hours will take place tomorrow at 15 p.m. and will be followed live and in full on AUTOhebdo.fr. Photos of the tests can be viewed on this link.