In a spectacular Hyperpole session that went down to the wire on Thursday, Porsche's Penske team secured pole position for the Le Mans 24 Hours, edging out Cadillac in an intense all-LMDh battle. Kevin Estre, driving the #6 Porsche Penske 963, clocked a remarkable 3m24.634s lap in the final moments, earning Porsche its first Le Mans pole since 2016.
Estre's heroics came after a dramatic session filled with strategic plays and a red flag incident. Sebastien Bourdais initially held the provisional pole with a 3m24.816s lap in the #3 Cadillac but chose not to run again after a crash involving BMW's Dries Vanthoor caused a session stoppage. This decision opened the door for Estre, who outpaced Alex Lynn's #2 Cadillac by 0.148s after the chequered flag.
Despite Cadillac's strong showing, a grid penalty from the previous WEC round at Spa demoted the #2 car, placing the #6 Porsche alongside the #3 Cadillac on the front row. The second row will feature the two factory Ferrari 499P’s, followed by the #35 Alpine.
This year's Le Mans promises to be a gripping 24-hour race, with Porsche, Cadillac, and Ferrari all vying for victory in a highly competitive field.
Starting Grid:
