Cadillac Crushes Le Mans FP1, Rivals Lag Behind

Cadillac Sets Blistering Pace in Le Mans Practice as Incidents Mar Opening Session

The road to the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans officially kicked off with the first free practice session, and it was Cadillac that immediately asserted its dominance. The American marque’s Hypercar entries were in a league of their own, comfortably out-pacing formidable rivals from BMW, Alpine, Toyota, and Ferrari.

Jordan Taylor, at the wheel of the #101 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, was the first to break the benchmark set during the earlier Test Day. Less than thirty minutes into the session, Taylor posted a blistering 3m25.348s, a time that would stand as a strong reference point for much of the session. He shares the driving duties with his brother Ricky Taylor and Portuguese ace Filipe Albuquerque.

It wasn’t until well into the second hour that the rest of the field began to challenge Cadillac’s supremacy. Earl Bamber, driving the sister Jota-run #38 Cadillac, managed to get within striking distance, initially lapping in 3m25.673s. However, Bamber wasn’t done, and he subsequently lowered the fastest time to an astonishing 3m24.773s, before unleashing a truly remarkable 3m23.786s lap to cement Cadillac’s position at the top.

Only BMW, with Rene Rast in the #20 M Hybrid V8, managed to lap within two seconds of the leading Cadillac. Rast’s best effort of 3m25.533s, set near the end of the session, prevented a full Cadillac lockout of the top positions. The #12 Cadillac, driven by Will Stevens, encountered a frustrating brake pedal issue, which ultimately hampered its potential and saw it finish further down the order.

Alpine also showed promising pace, with Ferdinand Habsburg piloting the #35 A424 to fifth place with a time of 3m26.078s. This put the French contender over 0.4 seconds clear of the #8 Toyota, which, along with the #007 Aston Martin, was one of the few cars not to improve on its Test Day performance. Other cars finding their rhythm included the #50 Ferrari, the #009 Aston Martin, and the #17 Genesis.

At the other end of the Hypercar spectrum, Peugeot appeared to be struggling, lagging significantly behind the pace setters. Their fastest car, the #93 9X8, finished the session with a deficit of over three seconds to the leading Cadillac, and almost a second slower than Alpine and Genesis.

The opening practice session wasn’t without its drama, with several incidents involving the Hypercar contenders.

• Ferrari Incident: Ye Yifei, driving the #83 Ferrari 499P, lost control of his car approaching the iconic Mulsanne corner. While the car spun, Ye managed to bring it back to the pits with seemingly minimal damage.
• Alpine Contact: Shortly after the Ferrari incident, veteran racer Frederic Makowiecki went wide on the approach to Tertre Rouge in the #36 Alpine A424. The car made substantial contact with the outside wall on the left-hand side, forcing it to crab along the track before coming to a halt.

Doriane Pin Dominates LMP2, GT3 Class Promises Fierce Competition

While the Hypercars grabbed the headlines, the LMP2 and GT3 categories also saw significant action. The LMP2 class experienced a flurry of off-track excursions early in the session, with several cars venturing off track in the opening sector. Drivers including Mikkel Jenson (#37 CLX Motorsport), George Kurtz (#4 APR), Harry King (#9 Proton), and Ben Barnicoat (#183 AF Corse) all had moments. Similar issues affected the #14 TDS and #99 AO by TF entries at Raccordement, with Tobias Luetke and PJ Hyett at the controls.

However, the undisputed star of the LMP2 session was Mercedes Formula 1 junior Doriane Pin. Piloting the #30 Duqueine Oreca 07, Pin set a commanding fastest lap of 3m35.248s. This time was a full seven tenths quicker than the second-placed #14 TDS entry and nearly a full second ahead of the IDEC Sport #28 car.

The GT3 class, as anticipated, proved to be incredibly competitive. The #78 Lexus RC F GT3 from Akkodis ASP narrowly edged out a trio of formidable rivals. The two Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evos, the #62 Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Iron Lynx, and the #34 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R all lapped within a mere 0.41 seconds of each other over the demanding 13.626km circuit, setting the stage for a thrilling battle in this category.

Le Mans 24 Hours – Free Practice 1 Results

Here’s a detailed look at the lap times from the first free practice session: