24 hours of Le Mans – Qualifications: Ferrari in front, Peugeot lagging behind
The two Ferraris achieved the two best times in qualifying. The two Peugeots achieved the 10th and 11th times. They will not be present in hyperpole.
It went fast. Very fast. From the first lap, the times of the first free practice session fell. Peugeot, with the number 94, set the first mark with a time of 3 minutes 27′ 850”. Behind them, Ferrari improved. But it was Toyota that knocked out the competition. Kamui Kobayashi, behind the wheel of the number 7, achieved a time of 3 minutes 25′ 485”.
A red flag interrupts the session. Alpine number 36 and United Autosports car number 22 make contact at the connecting corner. The session is stopped to remove the French car from the gravel and clean the track.
Battle between Ferrari
The session is once again interrupted by a second red flag a few minutes after the first. The Cool Racing’s LMP2 car hit the wall at the Indianapolis corner. In between the incidents, Porsche has reduced the gap with Toyota. The number 5 car has come within three tenths of Kamui Kobayashi’s time.
Struggling at the beginning of the session, the second Toyota, car number 8, responds. Brendon Hartley closes in on the sister car, just two tenths behind (3 minutes 25′ 749”). With 20 minutes remaining, Antonio Fuoco (Ferrari 50) takes the provisional fastest time (3 minutes 25′ 421”). His teammate, Alessandro Pier Guidi, briefly reclaims the lead. However, Antonio Fuoco instantly takes it back (3 minutes 25′ 213”).
Behind, the Peugeot cars struggled to improve their times. The number 93 finished 10th (3 minutes 27′ 546”), the 94, one place behind (3 minutes 27′ 820”). They did not qualify for the hyperpole.
