The #6 Penske Porsche 963 of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor will start the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans from pole alongside the #3 Cadillac V-Series.R of Sebastien Bourdais, Renger van der Zande and Scott Dixon.
Estre took control of the Porsche entry for this morning’s Hyperpole qualifying and snatched the top spot with a late 3:24.634 at the chequered flag.
The IMSA-based Cadillac led early proceedings with a 3:25.294 and doubled down in the same run to improve to a 3:24.816.
A crash and heavy hit into the barrier for the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, which had topped the first qualifying session, ended their qualifying hopes and triggered a red flag mid-session.
Bourdais remained in the pits on resumption, with eight minutes left on the clock, and had his time beaten by the #2 V-Series.R sister car piloted by Alex Lynn and shared with Earl Bamber and Alex Palou.
Lynn’s 3:24.782 was enough for provisional pole, ahead of Bourdais, until Estre crossed the line to better it on his tenth and final attempt.
The#2 Cadillac was second fastest but drops to seventh once a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision in last round’s 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is applied.
That elevates Bourdais, van der Zande and Dixon to the front row.
Reigning Le Mans champions Ferrari lock out the second row, with 2023 winner Alessandro Pier Guidi third, over three-tenths off the pace.
Antonio Fuoco qualified the #50 Ferrari 499P in fourth, over four-tenths off his teammate.
The sole Alpine A424 lines up fifth, next to the Jota Porsche 963, which did not participate in Hyperpole qualifying after Callum Illott damaged the chassis in night practice on Wednesday.
The #2 Cadillac starts next to the #15 BMW, which crashed and had its lap times invalidated for causing a red flag.
Brendon Hartley qualified 11th in qualifying one, where he will start the race after not progressing to the Hyperpole shootout.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans begins at 2.00 am on Sunday (NZST) and can be watched in New Zealand on the World Endurance Championship’s streaming platform with a paid subscription.
Header Image: Julien Delfosse / DPPI (Supplied WEC)
