Toyota Grabs Top Spot in Chaotic Le Mans Practice
Toyota has signalled its strong intent at the Le Mans 24 Hours, snatching the fastest time in the second practice session held on Wednesday night. Kamui Kobayashi, at the wheel of the #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid, delivered a blistering lap of 3m26.096s just moments after the chequered flag fell at the iconic Circuit de la Sarthe, edging out the formidable Ferrari challenge by over two-tenths of a second.
The session, which marked the first night practice for this year’s endurance classic, experienced a turbulent start. The initial 30 minutes were plagued by limited green-flag running, with several incidents disrupting the flow of the session.
One of the early disruptions came from Kobayashi’s teammate, Nyck de Vries. He encountered trouble at the Dunlop chicane, going over the kerbs and spinning. The resulting debris on track necessitated a full-course yellow from race control, bringing the field to a halt. Further adding to the early drama, the #44 Proton Oreca stopped on track, followed by an issue with the #22 United Autosports LMP2 car, which triggered more double yellow flags across the circuit.
Amidst this early chaos, Brendon Hartley managed to set the first lap under the 3m30s mark in the #8 Toyota. However, the top spot was soon claimed by Robert Kubica in AF Corse’s #83 Ferrari 499P. Filipe Albuquerque briefly held the lead for WTR, but the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, with Kubica at the helm, reclaimed the prime position towards the end of the opening hour, clocking a time of 3m26.316s.
The session was interrupted again with just 30 minutes remaining due to an incident near the second marshal post. Shortly after, Dries Vanthoor added to the stoppage count when his #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 spun at the Esses.
The leading #7 Toyota had been sidelined in the garage for much of the session following de Vries’ earlier off. However, the Japanese manufacturer strategically returned the car to the track in the latter stages of FP2. It was in the final five minutes that Kobayashi unleashed his pace. He first deposed the #83 Ferrari from the top with a time of 3m26.329s, and then, on his very last flying lap, found another two-tenths to solidify his position at the summit.
The #83 Ferrari, which had struggled to advance into the Hyperpole qualifying session earlier in the evening, ultimately secured a respectable second place. The #101 WTR Cadillac held on to third, despite experiencing an engine shutdown as Albuquerque entered the pitlane at the conclusion of his stint.
Alpine and Cadillac Show Strong Pace
Alpine also demonstrated promising performance, with Victor Martins piloting the #36 Alpine A424 to fourth place. This came just hours after the sister #35 car had topped the opening qualifying session, highlighting the French manufacturer’s potential.
Fifth position was claimed by the #12 Cadillac. However, the Jota-run car endured a less-than-smooth day, with Louis Deletraz encountering technical difficulties that forced him to slow down towards the end of the session.
Genesis and Aston Martin Round Out Top Ten
Paul-Loup Chatin guided the #19 Genesis GMR-001 to sixth place in the dying minutes of the session. This relegated the #8 Toyota, driven by Sebastien Buemi, to seventh on the timesheets.
Harry Tincknell secured eighth place in the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie. The top ten was rounded out by the two BMW M Hybrid V8s, with Sheldon van der Linde in the #20 car holding a narrow advantage of just over three-tenths of a second over his teammate in the #15 machine.
The two factory Ferrari entries finished in 11th and 16th positions, with Nicklas Nielsen being the quickest of the pair in the #50 car.
Class Leaders Emerge in LMP2 and LMGT3
LMP2 Class:
The LMP2 category saw the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca 07 emerge as the fastest, thanks to a stellar 3m33.645s lap from Louis Rousset. The Frenchman’s time placed him over a second clear of his nearest rivals. The #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR Oreca, driven by Laurin Heinrich, came in second, with AF Corse’s #183 Oreca, piloted by Matthieu Vaxiviere, rounding out the top three with a late surge.
LMGT3 Class:
In the competitive LMGT3 class, Darren Leung put the #32 WRT BMW M4 GT3 at the forefront during the first hour. His best time of 3m55.132s left him over three-tenths ahead of Rui Andrade in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3. Richard Lietz impressed by propelling Manthey’s #92 Porsche 911 GT3 to third place, while Marvin Kirchhofer’s #10 McLaren 720S GT3 Evo finished fourth.
The session, despite its interruptions, provided valuable data and showcased the competitive spirit of the various manufacturers and teams as they fine-tune their machines for the gruelling 24-hour race ahead.
