24 hours of Le Mans – Free practice 1: Toyota well ahead
The two cars from the Japanese team finished this first session at the top. Peugeot was held up in its pit box for a long time but is less than a second behind the leaders. Two red flags disrupted the session.
It didn’t take long before we saw some chaos on the track. Only 15 short minutes. Right at the beginning of the session, Ferrari number 66 went off track into the gravel trap at the connection corner before hitting the tire wall. The incident caused a slow zone, which was lifted once the car was cleared.
Alpine number 35 performed the same maneuver, with less violence. The LMP2 was able to reach the pits without any issues, but disrupted the session for a few minutes.
Slipping through the drops, Toyota car number 7, with José-Maria Lopez on board, set the fastest provisional time with a time of 3 minutes 28′ 290”.
Peugeot in the pit stops
Both Peugeots spent a lot of time in the pit lane. Car number 93 even came to a stop at the end of the pit lane after 45 minutes of driving. The mechanics quickly came running to retrieve the Hypercar and bring it back to its pit. It only came out again three quarters of an hour later.
Second red flag
After a solid half hour, the beasts were released. The Toyota number 7 picked up its pace. Kamui Kobayashi is the first driver to break the 3 minutes 28 seconds mark. The sister car, the 8, driven by Brendon Harley, took back the lead with a time one-tenth of a second faster (3 minutes 27′ 742”).
As there were only a few minutes left, the #100 Ferrari from Walkenhorst Motorsport had a scare before the Dunlop chicane and brushed against the wall. Chandler Hull was able to resume the track.
A first hierarchy has emerged. Toyota maintained its status as the leader. The Cadillacs remain in ambush. Despite reliability issues, the Peugeots are less than a second behind the leaders. The Vanwall finished a distant 18th place, behind the LMP2s of Cool Racing and Jota.
The session did not reach its conclusion. With five minutes remaining, the Corvette 33 hit the Tertre Rouge. The red flag was immediately brought out.
