Toyota’s #8 GR010 HYBRID set the fastest time during the 2025 Le Mans Test Day, with Brendon Hartley reeling off a 3:26.246 early in the second and final three-hour session of the day.
The Kiwi’s time was not only faster than Robert Kubica’s early benchmark in the first session for AF Corse – a 3:27.010 – it was also faster than the best time from last year’s Test Day, set by Kévin Estre – a 3:26.9.
Behind the lead Toyota, the #51 Ferrari – AF Corse 499P would finish up second in the times and half a second off with a best lap of 3:26.777 from James Calado.
Alpine’s #36 A424 took third with a 3:27.313 from Mick Schumacher. Its best time was marginally faster than the #6 and #4 Penske Porsches, which slotted in fourth and sixth, with the #83 AF Corse Ferrari between the two.
The top 10 in Hypercar was completed by the #50 Ferrari, #20 BMW, #12 Cadillac and #35 Alpine, ensuring six brands ended up at the sharp end of the field, separated by 1.508 seconds.
United Autosports set the pace in LMP2 with its #22 ORECA, with a 3:35.770 from Pietro Fittipaldi. TDS Racing’s ORECA, which is entered in Pro/Am, would finish up second and fastest in the subclass with a 3:35.770 ahead of another Pro/Am runner, the AO by TF ORECA.
AKKODIS ASP’s #87 Lexus was the only car to top the times in both sessions. The RC F LMGT3 set a 3:55.276 this time, with Jose Maria Lopez’s bettering his 3:57.109 benchmark earlier in the day. It was also dramatically quicker than the best Test Day time for the class 12 months ago, a 3:59.883.
The Ferraris again showed speed. The #21 Vista AF Corse 296 finished the day second with a 3:56.835, while the Kessel example ended up third fastest 1.7 seconds off Lopez. Best of the rest was the #90 Manthey Porsche in sixth.
Three incidents disrupted the session and led to red flag stoppages.
The first red of the Test Day came with an hour and 37 minutes on the clock, when Sheldon van der Linde found himself stuck in the gravel at the entry to the Porsche Curves in the #20 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8.
CCTV camera footage showed the car beached with no visible damage, and the team later revealed to DSC that an oil leak prompted them to tell van der Linde to park the car. The stoppage lasted 17 minutes.
Then, with just over 30 minutes remaining, Giorgio Roda brought out a second red flag in the #11 Proton Competition ORECA. The Italian suffered rear-end damage after hitting the barriers at the entrance to Indianapolis, damaging the armco. The track went green again with just over 14 minutes left on the clock.
That running proved to be short-lived, as the #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes of Brenton Grove ended up in the gravel at the exit of the Porsche Curves with five minutes remaining, bringing the Test Day to an early end.
Times, as ever, should be taken with a pinch of salt at this stage. The track will continue to evolve, and most of the teams spent the day experimenting with longer runs and, in the case of Hypercar, the different Michelin compounds.
