The #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid went fastest in the fourth and final Free Practice session for the 92nd annual 24 Hours of Le Mans, just as it did in Free Practice 2 last night.
Three-time Le Mans winner Brendon Hartley set the fastest time in a relatively quiet 60-minute session that saw rain showers hit the track, at 3:29.451.
The #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P was second in the hands of Miguel Molina, with Sheldon van der Linde third aboard the #20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 art car. Mikkel Jensen was a surprise fourth place in the #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8, that has so far, yet to feature high up the order this weekend. Dries Vanthoor rounded out the top five in the #15 WRT BMW.
Some cars only turned a limited number of laps given the conditions, such as the pole-winning #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, which only did five laps. The #2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R, which qualified second, did not set a representative time.
On the other hand, the #8 Toyota and #4 Penske Porsche each tied for the most laps at 16.
It was also a very quiet session in LMP2, with most teams giving their Am drivers a chance to see La Sarthe in the night with a gentle sprinkle of rain. Ben Hanley in the #23 United Autosport USA ORECA 07 topped the session with a 3:37.121, right at the start of the session, with the Nielsen Racing #24 car in second place.
As the rain began to fall more consistently, most teams elected to box their cars and stay out of trouble. Only a few cars clocked up significant laps – #25 Algarve Pro and #30 Duqueine Team completing 14 laps, #9 Proton Competition and #47 Cool Racing with 13 laps – in a quiet session on track.
With damp conditions graduating to wet, the LMGT3 field’s progress would be limited. Most cars ran final installation laps and mitigated last-minute risks. All drivers appear to have completed the required number of five night-time laps, as Daniel Serra in the #86 GR Racing Ferrari just got to the mark at the chequered flag.
Akkodis ASP ran Jack Hawksworth round in the #87 Lexus RC F. His 3:58.755 was one of just six laps completed for the increasingly sturdy-looking Lexus, and the quickest of the session. Marino Sato posted a 3:59.099 to put the #95 United Autosport McLaren second, and Ben Barker and Jordan Taylor posted the only other sub-four-minute laps at the end for the #77 Proton Competition Mustang and #155 Spirit of Race Ferrari respectively.
Sitting out the session were the #44 and #88 Proton Mustangs, plus the #82 TF Sport Corvette and, noticeably, the #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche.
Feature image © Andrew ‘Skippy’ Hall / Dailysportscar.com
