Login

Porsche’s Kevin Estre Snatches Pole From Cadillac in Le Mans 24 Hours Hyperpole Qualifier

Kevin Estre was the star of qualifying as he secured pole in his Porsche 963 with a last-minute lap of 3m24.634s.
Calendar-icon

By car&bike Team

clock-icon

1 mins read

Calendar-icon

Published on June 14, 2024

Follow us on

google-news-icon
Story

Highlights

  • Cadillac's Alex Lynn and Sebastien Bourdais ended up second and third, respectively
  • The session was interrupted by a crash involving BMW's Dries Vanthoor
  • Louis Deletraz took the LMP2 pole, while Brendan Iribe topped the LMGT3 class

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.

 

unnamed

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.
 666b3b2573587

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.

 

6669fcc08e0d1
 

Starting Grid:

Hypercar Class:

  1. #6 Porsche Penske 963 - Kevin Estre
  2. #3 Cadillac V-Series.R - Sebastien Bourdais
  3. #2 Cadillac V-Series.R - Alex Lynn
  4. #51 Ferrari 499P - Alessandro Pier Guidi
  5. #50 Ferrari 499P - Antonio Fuoco
  6. #35 Alpine A424 - Paul-Loup Chatin
  7. #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 - Dries Vanthoor

LMP2 Class:

  1. #14 AO by TF ORECA-GIBSON 07 - Louis Deletraz
  2. #28 IDEC Sport ORECA - Job van Uitert
  3. #65 Panis Racing Oreca - Mathias Beche
  4. #48 IDEC Sport Oreca - Paul Lafargue
  5. #22 United Autosports USA - Phil Hanson

GT3 Class:

  1. #70 McLaren 720S GT3 - Brendon Iribe
  2. #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R - Aliaksandr Malykhin
  3. #66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 - Giacomo Petrobelli
  4. #83 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 - Robert Kubica
  5. #34 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 - Henry Walkenhorst
Stay updated with automotive news and reviews right at your fingertips through carandbike.com's Google News

Related Articles

Latest News