Ferrari will lockout the front row at this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans having dominated both qualifying sessions over closest rivals Toyota.
As was the case in yesterday’s Qualifying 1, the #50 Ferrari 499P was fastest in this morning’s Hyperpole session, Antonio Fuoco delivering the Italian manufacturer their first overall pole at the event in 50 years. A blistering 3:33.982 saw the Italian driver outpace compatriot Alessandro Pier Guidi by 0.773 seconds.
New Zealand Brendon Hartley qualified the #8 Toyota GR010- Hybrid in third but could not match the pace of both Ferraris, some 1.5 seconds off the pace of pole.
Felipe Nasr drove the #75 Porsche to fourth, less than a tenth off the time of Hartley, with a late lap relegating Kamui Kobayashi, driving the #7 Toyota, to the third row. Kobayashi had briefly moved to third overall but had the time deleted for a track limits violation.
Earl Bamber qualified as the best of the Cadillacs, going sixth quickest but over 2 seconds off the pole-setting time. Frederic Makowiecki drove the #5 Porsche 963 to seventh, while the #3 Chip Ganassi Racing Team Cadillac entry starts eighth.
Sebastien Bourdais took the wheel of the #3 V-Series.R, being shared with New Zealander Scott Dixon and Renger van der Zande, for the Hyperpole session and sat third with five minutes to run. An untimely fire saw the car pull up at the first chicane with 5 minutes left on the clock; Bourdais forced to quickly evacuate the burning vehicle, managing to do so uninjured.
Bourdais’s best time was deleted due to triggering a red flag, dropping down the order to eighth based on his second-quickest lap. Had his 3:24.908 not been deleted, the #3 Cadillac would be starting fifth.
Coverage of this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans begins at 1.00 am on Sunday, with the entire race being shown live on Sky Sport 5.
Header Image: Autosport.com
