Alpine already had one foot on pole at the 24h Le Mans, but then Toyota prevailed after all – Corvette in front in the GTE-Pro class
Toyota made it extremely exciting in the hyperpole session for the 24h of Le Mans: Only at literally the last second did the two GR010 Hybrids prevail over the competition in the hypercar class. In the end, pole went to Brendon Hartley in the 8 with a time of 3:24.408 minutes.
Kamui Kobayashi was only a tenth of a second off pole in the end, but the big surprise was Alpine. Nicolas Lapierre led the session for a long time with the grandfathered Oreca-LMP1 708. The two 007 LMH were 1.4 and 1.9 seconds behind respectively.
Sweeping in on the last lap – an empathetic 1-2 for @TGR_WEC @BrendonHartley puts the 8 car on pole!
⏱️https://t.co/4J3q5Z45q3LeMans24 @FIAWEC pic.twitter.com/AZcOEtw6ot
– 24 Hours of Le Mans (@24hoursoflemans) June 9, 2022
In the LMP2 class, it was ultimately Robin Frijns who came out on top in the 41.
And behind them, things were also relatively clear-cut due to track limit offences. Third place went to Filipe Albuquerque in the United Autosports Oreca 23.
Le Mans: Corvette in Hyperpole ahead of Porsche
It was a close race between Corvette and Porsche in the GTE-Pro category. In the end, the US-Americans prevailed with both cars. Nick Tandy secured pole position for the 64 with a time of 3:49.985 minutes.
And a 1-2 for @CorvetteRacing in the GT Pro class!
After a less than ideal return to the @24hoursoflemans last year, the Americans have returned firing on all cylindersLeMans24 pic. twitter.com/NTrDRZP2T8
– Mobil 1 The Grid (@Mobil1TheGrid) June 9, 2022
Antonio Garcia in sister car 77.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans are not over yet for today, Thursday. Another free practice session is scheduled at 22:00 CEST before the warm-up continues on Saturday morning. The race will then start in the afternoon at 16:00 CEST.
