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Relive Free Practice 1 of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with live text commentary

Medhi Casaurang

  • Published on 10 / 06 / 2026 at 13: 49
  • Modified on 10/06/2026 at 17:24
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Relive Free Practice 1 of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with live text commentary Cadillac leads after the first hour with Jordan Taylor (Cadillac WTR #101). © DPPI
Jordan Taylor, Wayne Taylor's Cadillac at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

Follow the live text coverage of Free Practice 1 of the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans this Wednesday from 14pm to 17pm.

The 94e edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans The 2026 season begins this Wednesday, June 10th, with the first free practice session. Lasting three hours, it allows the 62 participating crews to familiarize themselves with the 13,626 km circuit. Chasing lap times is not the priority for the Hypercars, LMP2, and LMGT3 cars, but rather for continuing to fine-tune the setups begun during Test Day last Sunday. Among the Hypercars, Classic Ferrari for sale et Toyota will try to dislodge Aston Martin At the top of the timesheets, the British team set the fastest time of the Test Day. It was also an opportunity for Genesis Magma Racing to complete its first free practice session as part of the... 24 Hours of Le Mans, in the Hypercar class.

24 Hours of Le Mans 2026

Follow Free Practice 1 with live commentary

17h20 - 👋 Thank you for joining us for this first live broadcast of the 24 Hours of Le Mans week. We'll see you again on AUTOhebdo.fr at 18:45 PM to watch the first qualifying session for LMP2 and LMGT3 together! The Hypercars will follow at 19:30 PM.

17:13 – ⏪ We're revisiting Yifei Ye's accident (Classic Ferrari for sale No. 83) in onboard camera footage, as well as Fred Makowiecki's contact with the rail (Alpine n ° 36:

17:10 p.m. – 🏁 That's the end of Free Practice 1! Here are the results, category by category:

Hypercar

LMP2

LMGT3

17:06 – ⚠️ TheAlpine Fred Makowiecki's A424 (no. 36) hit the rail at the exit of the Esses de la Forêt! The Frenchman is driving sideways, he has damaged the left rear axle. "I'm going to stop in a safe place."he said on the radio.

17h02 - ⬆️ Things are heating up in these last 10 minutes! Dorian Pin (Oreca #30) takes the fastest time in LMP2, while René Rast (BMW #20) moves up to 3rd place in Hypercar!

17 hrs – Five minutes of stop and go to be respected Mike conway (Toyota No. 7), guilty of having crossed the white line marking the track limits five times.

16h58 - Yifei Ye returns to the AF Corse stand with a fairly damaged rear hood, but the running gear appears to be in decent condition.

16:56 p.m. – ✅ The slow-motion footage from the onboard camera and surveillance cameras does not show an accident as violent as feared. Moreover, the green flag is already waving, indicating that Yifei Ye has resumed the runway.

16:55 – ⚠️ The #83 Ferrari 499P has gone off the track under braking at Mulsanne! A major off-track excursion for Yifei Ye; the Chinese driver hit the tire wall laterally after slowing down in the gravel trap. He is speaking to his team over the radio, but the Hypercar is still stopped at Mulsanne. The Full Course Yellow (FCY) is in effect.

16h53 - Cadillac dominates! The American firm has placed all three of its V-Series.R cars in the provisional top 3! This time it's Cadillac #12 that's 3rd, just behind #38 and #101.

16:51 – Earl Bamber (Cadillac #38) improves the best time with an impressive time of 3:23.786! The New Zealander has a one and a half second lead over the Cadillac #101.

16h40 - With 30 minutes remaining in this session, here is the standings:

Hypercar

LMP2

LMGT3

16:31 – Ben Keating is back in the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R after withdrawing from the first two rounds of the WEC at Imola and Spa (fractured elbow following a fall). The American gentleman driver is one of the favorites in the LMGT3 class, having two victories at Le Mans (GTE Am in 2022 and 2023).

16h23 - 🛠️ Cadillac reports a brake issue on car #12, currently in 11th place.

16h20 - Brendon Hartley (Toyota #8) has just achieved the best Sector 1 in Hypercar.

16h10 - 📊 There's one hour left in this session. Here's the provisional ranking, category by category:

Hypercar

LMP2

LMGT3

15h59 - Robert Kubica is certainly prone to misbehavior. Just a few dozen minutes after his five-minute stop-and-go penalty, the reigning Hypercar champion receives another identical sanction! This is the seventh track limits violation for the #83 Ferrari…

15:53 – Five minutes of stop and go for the Ferrari 296 GT3 No. 21 and the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8. These penalties may seem harsh, but they are applied after five track limit violations. The stewards warn the drivers after each infraction.

15:48 - Both Aston Martin Valkyrie and the Vantage LMGT3s of the Heart of Racing Team both feature the Union Jack on the front:

15h45 - 🟡 A brief contact between an LMP2 and the McLaren The #10 720S GT3 causes a Full Course Yellow (FCY). In the McLaren, it's Antares Au who returns to the pits. The right rear bodywork is damaged.

15:42 – Robert Kubica (Ferrari AF Corse #83) receives a 5-minute stop-and-go penalty for exceeding track limits. The same penalty applies to jack doohan, the Australian rookie for the Nielsen Racing team in LMP2.

15h38 - ⬆️ Ferdinand Habsburg leads theAlpine A424 No. 35 in provisional 3rd place, 978 thousandths of a second behind the best time still held by Jordan Taylor.

15h35 - The standings haven't changed much on the current relays. We'll take this opportunity to share some news that will delight model car enthusiasts: the Spark stand, located in the Village, already has the Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar available, in the black livery seen at the WEC in Imola and Spa, as well as in the orange Le Mans livery! It's also possible to get your hands on the BMW M4 #32, as well as the Toyota TR010 Hybrid and the... Alpine A424 in Le Mans 2026 livery…

15h30 - Since we're on the subject of the Proton Competition team, it's worth noting the presence of a family on the #44 Oreca 07. Horst Felix Felbermayr and Horst Jr. Felbermayr (father and son) share the driving duties of the prototype. The livery is reminiscent of... Porsche 911 RSR GT2s seen at Le Mans in the 2000s and 2010s, which Felbermayr's father entered:

15:27 – 🛠️ For his debut at Le Mans, the former driver Williams F1 Logan sargeant He did not have an easy session. The American was last, stuck in the Proton Competition garage, his Ford Mustang GT3 had only completed 10 laps, the fewest in the LMGT3 field.

15:25 – In 2026, the IDEC Sport team celebrates its 10th participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This marks the occasion for a special livery, predominantly white with two red stripes. The Oreca 07 driven by Paul Lafargue, Valerio Rinicella, and Job van Uitert is performing well and currently holds the fastest time in LMP2.

15h22 - ☁️ As for the sky, the sun has disappeared, replaced by a thicker layer of clouds. The track temperature is 35,2°C with an air temperature of 18,7°C.

15h20 - Sébastien Bourdais (Cadillac #38) on the radio: "This car has a lot of instability in the rear axle."

15h17 - This is not the ideal way to complete a lap! This gives us the opportunity to point out that the BMW M4 No. 32 sports a livery paying homage to the McLaren F1 GTR Long Tail of Team Davidoff seen at Le Mans in 1997, with a blue-orange mix inspired by the Gulf sponsor.

15h15 - It should be noted that the Aston Martin Valkyrie #007 is the least active Hypercar on track, with 9 laps completed, compared to 17 for the Peugeot No. 93, as well as Ferrari No. 50 and Aston Martin No. 009

15h10 - 📊 After an hour of driving, let's take a look at the rankings by category:

Hypercar

LMP2

LMGT3

15h05 - Kamui Kobayashi He gained 3 places with his new time. He is now 5th (+1.400 on Taylor).

15h02 - Jordan Taylor regains the provisional fastest time with his No. 101 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. The American clocked a time of 3:35.348.

15 hrs Sébastien Buemi (Toyota) on the radio: "The car bounces a lot, whether at high speed or when shifting gears. It's as if I don't feel enough grip to compensate for the bouncing." 

14:59 – Another Full Course Yellow (FCY) due to Harry King's incident. The Englishman was able to return to his pit box to make repairs.

14:54 – 🛠️ Harry King slowly returns to the pits with the right rear end sagging. This suggests a damaged suspension, as the tire appears to be in good condition. This Oreca is 19th and last in the LMP2 standings.

14h52 - A close call for Harry King's No. 9 Oreca 07! The Englishman spins out at the exit of the Esses de la Forêt and lightly touches the outside barrier with the rear wing, before getting going again.

14:51  "In the Porsche curves it's better, it's the best balance we've seen since the start of testing; but everywhere else, it's worse than before." Stoffel Vandoorne bluntly declared over the radio. The Belgian was 15th with his Peugeot 9X8, just ahead of the other Peugeot driven by Loïc duval.

14h48 - Practice resumes and Earl Bamber takes advantage to set the second fastest time, 670 thousandths of a second behind Taylor. Two Cadillac V-Series.Rs are therefore at the top of the timesheets.

14:46 – The Oreca is recovered by an intervention vehicle to bring it back onto the track in an area where the speed is limited to 80 km/h.

14h41 - 🟡 Another off-track excursion into the gravel at the Esses de la Forêt! This time, it was George Kurtz (Oreca 07 #4 of Crowstrike Racing by APR) who was caught out. A Slow Zone has been declared at this location.

14:40 – In LMGT3, Jack Hawksworth, driving the Lexus RC F for the French team Akkodis ASP, set the fastest time. The second Lexus, driven by Jose Maria Lopez, finished in 3rd place.

14h39 - Jordan Taylor takes the provisional best time in Hypercar with a 3'25.248, 1.146 ahead of Fuoco.

14:37 – In LMP2 Pro-Am, the award for the most original livery goes to the AO by TF team! This year, a pegasus named Rockie has replaced the purple dinosaur seen in 2025. It is actually the emblem of the sponsor, Mobil 1 oils:

14:34 – ⏪ We see Theodor Jensen's off-track excursion again, without serious consequences:

14h32 - The Full Course Yellow (FCY) is deployed. This is a neutralization procedure affecting the entire circuit. It's not uncommon to see such procedures during free practice at Le Mans, to check the proper implementation of these safety measures. In fact, the FCY lasted only one minute, and the green flag is waved again.

14:30 – After 20 minutes of driving, here is the provisional ranking, category by category.

Hypercar

LMP2

LMGT3

14:24 – The Oreca 07 does not appear to have hit the barrier, but rather to have lost traction in the series of Esses.

14h21 - 🟡 Theodor Jensen (CLX Motorsport Oreca 07 #37) has gone off the track at the Esses de la Forêt corner. The car is stuck in the gravel. A Slow Zone has been set up to help the marshals recover the LMP2.

14h19 - A first, but ultimately inconsequential, incident at the Dunlop chicane. Antonio Fuoco locked his front tires and went straight on before rejoining the track. The tires on the Ferrari 499P were not yet up to temperature.

14h18 - The green flag in video:

14h16 - The No. 3 Oreca 07 of DKR Engineering and the No. 26 Oreca 07 of Vector Sport must comply with a 5-minute stop and go penalty due to track limits being exceeded during the Test Day.

14h14 - Toyota is putting its faith in Kamui Kobayashi (No. 7) and Sébastien Buemi (No. 8). Alex Riberas (No. 009) and Tom Gamble (No. 007) are in the Aston Martins. Antonio Felix da Costa (No. 35) and Frédéric Makiowiecki are tasked with the first few laps for AlpineFor Peugeot, the task falls to Loïc Duval (No. 94) and Stoffel Vandoorne (No. 93). Finally, the newcomers Genesis are driving with André Lotterer (No. 17) and Daniel Juncadella (No. 19) in the South Korean Hypercar.

14h12 - At Ferrari, Antonio Fuoco (No. 50), Alessandro Pier Guidi (No. 51), and Phil Hanson (No. 83) are driving the 499P Hypercars. For Cadillac, the drivers are Jordan Taylor (No. 101 WTR), Earl Bamber (No. 38 Hertz Jota), and Louis Delétraz (No. 12 Hertz Jota).

14h10 - 🟢 And they're off! The two BMW M Hybrid V8s are leading the way, being the first cars to enter the Sarthe circuit. Behind the wheel, we find... Kevin Magnussen and Robin Frijns. The green flag is waved by Sarah Bovy, the Grand Marshal of this edition.

14h07 - Engines roar in the pit lane. Cars leave the garages and head to the end of the pit lane to be the first onto the track.

14:01 p.m. – 🛠️ The teams are preparing before the start, which has been delayed by a few minutes due to a red flag in the Ferrari Challenge, the support race preceding these tests. The clock has not yet started.

13h58 - 🌤️ The weather conditions are ideal: the air temperature is 17 degrees Celsius and the track (at 31,3°C) is completely dry. The sky is cloudy but not threatening.

13h57 - To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the beginnings of Porsche's competition department, the two Porsche 911 GT3 Rs were repainted in grey, the colour worn by the brand during Porsche's debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans:

13:56 – We spoke with the winner of the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans, Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota). The Japanese driver was very direct about his aspirations!

Exclusive – Kamui Kobayashi (Toyota) before the 24 Hours of Le Mans: “Only victory would satisfy us”

13h53 - Le Mans week is unlike any other event on the motorsport calendar. So, here's a complete schedule to help you navigate it! This Wednesday, FP1 and FP2 will be separated by the first qualifying session.

Races, entertainment… The complete program and schedule for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans

13h49 - Englishman Tom Gamble set the fastest time of the Test Day with his Aston Martin Valkyrie. However, the driver indicated that this performance was only of relative value before the "real" tests. Indeed, teams often try to conceal their true potential during these sessions so as not to reveal their hand too quickly…

Tom Gamble, fastest time on Le Mans Test Day: "It doesn't mean much"

13h45 - 👋 Hello everyone, and welcome to this Wednesday's live text coverage of Free Practice 1 for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans!

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