Robert Kubica set the pace in the first bout of night running for the teams and drivers ahead of the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The Pole set an early 3:25.101 in clear air to put the #83 AF Corse Ferrari atop the times in Free Practice 2.
The gap after two hours of running was just over a second, with the #8 Toyota ending up second and the #12 Qualifying-topping JOTA Cadillac third, 1.5 seconds back.
However, Kubica’s time was deleted immediately after the session due to a pit lane speeding infringement. This promoted the No. 8 Toyota to the top of the timing screens with its 3:26.156 and dropped the #83 to third below the #12 Cadillac.
A late flyer (3:26.748) from Pascal Wehrlein put the #4 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 fourth, pushing the #50 Ferrari to fifth.
Further down the order, the #6 Penske Porsche would finish the night up 20th in Hypercar. The car suffered a front-right tyre delamination, which ripped off bodywork, ending its rough day early.
The car was in the spotlight after a document was uploaded to the noticeboard following the qualifying round, revealing that it was under investigation for breaching the technical regulations. During the session, it was subsequently thrown out of Qualifying and will start the race from the back.
In LMP2, it was reigning IMSA GTP Champion Dane Cameron out front, putting the AO by TF ORECA atop the class times with a 3:37.515. United Autosports’ #22 car was next, 1.1 seconds off.
And finally in LMGT3, it was all AKKODIS ASP and Lexus, with the two RC F LMGT3s taking 1-2, with Jose Maria Lopez completing a 3:55.422 in the #87 to go P1. The #78 was less than a tenth shy of the top spot. Best of the rest was the Manthey 1st Phorm 911, which also ended up in the 3:55s.
At the bottom of the timing screens were two LMGT3 cars that didn’t take part in the session.
The #33 TF Sport Corvette was receiving attention from mechanics throughout, as a spokesperson described to DSC a leak in the gearbox, caused by a seal on the input shaft.
The #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes was also stationary with no competitive times set. The team is working hard to ready itself for tomorrow after Stephen Grove’s nasty hit in Free Practice 1.
TV cameras spotted the heavily damaged car in bits in the team’s pit box, stripped down, with a new chassis being worked on behind it.
The #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 looked like it would be a no-show, but it eventually emerged from the pit lane with an hour and 19 minutes on the clock and went on to complete 15 laps.
The team told DSC: “We didn’t have a rush to go out on track as we had already completed a good amount of mileage, so we just decided to double-check the engine in the garage with no rush. As soon as we finished, we went out on track again.”
Out on track, it was an uneventful session, with no major incidents right until the end of the night, after the teams and drivers had made the most of green flag running in cooler temperatures.
The incident in question occurred at Kartin as the checkered flag came out, when the No. 8 Toyota of Ryo Hirakawa made contact with the Kessel Racing Ferrari of Casper Stevenson. Hirakawa lost control of the Toyota over a kerb while following a LMP2 car past the Ferrari, sending him into a spin and the side of the 296.
Prior to that there was a 14-minute red flag, though, with 44 minutes on the clock, called for debris spread at Indianapolis that needed clearing.
Track action continues tomorrow with Free Practice 3 at 14:45 local time.
