Kamui Kobayashi took Le Mans’ Hyperpole with a stunning 3.23.900 which he clocked on his first flying lap.
“We have ticked that first box on our path to overall victory” said Pascal Vasselon. “It’s important for us to be on pole position in Le Mans. We were surprised by Kamui’s performance. He delivered way beyond our expectations. It’s true, the car was much faster than the 3.30 lap time that the rule makers had in mind yet this is the pace we should have during the race. We have worked well!”
It is Kobayashi’s fourth pole in Le Mans and its second consecutive Hyperpole. “I am happy with my 3.23. I believe we should change category or change the regulations in order to slow us down again as we are too fast!” Said the Japanese with a grin on his face, after the end of the session.
On Sunday, he will share the front row of the grid with team mate Brendon Hartley in the Toyota #8. The New-Zealander clocked 3.24.195 on his second flying lap, only 3 tenths off the pole sitting car. The #36 Alpine Matmut A480 Gibson driven by Nicolas Lapierre ended in third place with a lap time of 3.25.574. The frenchman was never in a position to compete for pole.
He was followed in the ranks by the two Glickenhaus Racing 007 LMH (3.25.639 for the #708 and 3.26.931 for the #709)
JOTA stars in LMP2
Meanwhile in the LMP2 class, Antonio Felix Da Costa clocked the fastest lap time in the category with the #38 JOTA Oreca 07 Gibson (3.27.950). He fought the entire session with Louis Deletraz in the #41 Team WRT. “It’s a cool feeling to go around this track with no traffic, on new tires and not much fuel. The first run was not great. We changed a few things on the car and I had to get used to it. Luckily I was given a second chance. The car was great… I am really happy”. Deletraz ended the session in second position (3.28.470), some two tenths ahead of Will Stevens in the #65 Panis Oreca 07 Gibson.
The #26 G Drive Racing Aurus 01 Gibson driven by Nick De Vries ended in fourth position (3.28.943), followed by the #32 and the #23 United Autosport Oreca 07 Gibson (3.29.078 and 3.30.027 respectively)
HubAuto on top in GTE-Pro
Dries Vanthoor delivered an impressive performance to steal GTE-Pro for the non-works Hub Auto Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19. The result not only topped a stealthy approach from the Taipei based team’s Le Mans campaign so far, but also saved Porsche’s honour. Vanthoor’s 3:47.987 for the first Asian GTE-Pro entry could not be beaten despite the efforts of the AF Corse Ferraris to defend their 1-2 performance earlier in the session.
With Gianmaria Bruni’s first hot lap deleted for track limit infringements at the Ford Chicane, the Porsche GT Team’s session went from bad to worse as Kevin Estre lost the #92 Porsche on turn in at Indianapolis. The experienced and rapid Frenchman was expected to be throwing down the challenge in GTE-Pro, but merely brought out the red flags with 22 minutes remaining. The Porsche’s rear end had significant damage following a hard impact on drivers right and was transported straight to Parc Ferme. Worryingly, there was a comment about potential chassis damage.
The #91 Porsche never really got into the groove, Bruni’s laps deleted in succession for exceeding track limits, 3:47.696 placing the car sixth on the GTE-Pro grid.
Daniel Serra’s and James Calado’s AF Corse Ferraris looked strong as the session went green after the recovery of Estre’s stricken Porsche, but their late charge to reclaim the front row came to nothing as first Calado tried in vain and then Serra made a Sector 2 error on a last gasp attempt. 3:47.063 for Serra means the #52 car lines up on the GTE-Pro front row with Vanthoor, with Calado behind him on the next row in fourth; third was snatched by Nick Tandy’s #64 Corvette C8.R, one good lap of 3: 47.093 splitting the Ferraris.
Porsche 1-2-3 GTE-Am
Dempsey Proton Racing have every reason to feel confident going into the 2021 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as Julien Andlauer’s stellar performance so far this week was rewarded with a strong GTE-Am pole position for their #88 Porsche 911 RSR-19. Cool and calm in its execution, a 3:47.987 was half a second clear of Ben Barker’s gallant effort that placed the #86 GR Racing Porsche second and Matteo Cairolli’s calculated timing of a 3:48.876 for the #56 Team Project 1 and a Porsche 1-2-3.
Cetilar Racing’s Ferrari kept its powder dry until later in the 30-minute session, but ultimately Antonio Fuoco could only manage fourth for the Italian team, a 3:49.387 respectable enough considering the car’s ups and downs in Free Practice.
Ben Barnicoat’s Inception Racing Ferrari 488 sat a tenth away from the Cetilar car on the third row in fifth place: 3:49.477.
TF Sport’s choice to sit out the opening minutes in the #33 TF Sport Aston Martin was intended to achieve optimal tyre performance, the turquoise car emerging after the session went green again, Felipe Fraga charged with setting the time. The Aston Martin could not quite deliver, 3:49.676 leaving the Aston Martin sixth in class.
