1812 kilometers of Qatar – Free Practice 3: Cadillac shows off before qualifying
While Porsche had never relinquished the lead on the timesheet since the Prologue, Cadillac showed an interesting pace in FP3 by taking the fastest time, while Toyota was still very discreet.
The Cadillac V Series R confirms its outsider status: Car N°2, driven by Bamber/Lynn/Bourdais, took advantage of relatively favorable conditions in Qatar during daylight to steal the spotlight from Porsche, which is showing a performance level that is more than interesting.
With a 1:40.667, the American LMDh has only conceded “seven tenths” to the reference set by Porsche on Tuesday in FP2, with a time of 1:39.9. However, it is still difficult to determine the actual competitive strengths before the qualifying rounds later today.
The fact remains that Toyota divides observers: either the Japanese cars (No. 7 and No. 8) are hiding their strengths, or the BoP has penalized them to an inevitable point, in view of the 1812 kilometers that Qatar, whose start will be given this Saturday.
Peugeot also seems to be on the right track in terms of pace, as the best of the 9X8, the N°94 (Duval/Di Resta/Vandoorne), finished 5th, just half a second off the Cadillac’s reference. It is also noted that, at Ferrari, the unofficial N°83 is outperforming the factory prototypes from Maranello. A Jota/Porsche effect seems to be observed among the Reds.
Among the new constructors, Alpine has shown improvement with a strong performance in 12th and 13th positions, with car N°36 coming ahead of N°35. The two BMWs are followed by the Lamborghini N°63 and the Isotta Fraschini N°11.
LMGT3: Heart of Racing takes the lead.
The grid of LMGT3 promises a delightful show, as the top ten are within one second of each other. The Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin No. 27 took the first place just ahead of the Vista AF Corse’s Ferrari No. 54. It is worth mentioning that the former team will be in charge of Aston Martin’s Hypercar program next year.
The Iron Dames failed to finish in 11th place, with their Lamborghini No.85. On the French Akkodis ASP team’s side, their two Lexus cars settled for 12th (No.78) and 16th (No.87) places.
A reminder is necessary for the qualifying sessions (1:45 pm): these will take place in two stages. A first phase, with separate categories, serving as Q1, and the Hyperpole, previously exclusive to Le Mans and expanded this year to the entire championship.
