Earl Bamber (NZ), Patrick Pilet (F), Nick Tandy (GB) driving the #93 Porsche 911 RSR qualified seventh fastest in the first session at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“Our qualifying was okay,” commented Bamber. “Our car was fast, but unfortunately we encountered a lot of traffic. We can do so much better if we manage to get a free run in the second and third qualifying sessions on Thursday.”
Porsche has left a strong impression after the first qualifying session on the Circuit des 24 Heures. In his very first lap, start driver Gianmaria Bruni set a phenomenal time of 3:47.504 minutes in his #91 Porsche 911 RSR, a time that none of his opponents could even come close to.
The Italian’s 510 hp racer was setup specifically for a fast lap and benefited from the fact that the 13.626-kilometre circuit has become significantly faster compared to last year. Bruni’s vehicle then suffered a puncture and was unable to continue. However, he and his teammates Richard Lietz (Austria) and Frédéric Makowiecki (France) managed to retain the top spot in the first qualifying session at the toughest long-distance race in the world.
Behind the trio, Michael Christensen (Denmark), Kévin Estre (France) and Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium) planted their #92 Porsche 911 RSR on second.
On Thursday (local time), two more qualifying sessions will be held on the Circuit des 24 Heures from 19:00 to 21:00 hrs and from 22:00 hrs to midnight. The race takes off on Saturday at 15.00 hrs.
Result Qualifying 1
GTE-Pro class
1. Lietz/Bruni/Makowiecki (A/I/F), Porsche 911 RSR, 3:47.504 minutes
2. Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor (DK/F/B), Porsche 911 RSR, +1.593 seconds
3. Mücke/Pla/Johnson (D/F/USA), Ford GT, +1.677 seconds
4. Hand/Müller/Bourdais (USA/D/F), Ford GT, +2.078 seconds
5. Pier Guidi/Calado/Serra (I/GB/BR), Ferrari 488 GTE EVO, +2.350 seconds
6. Dumas/Bernhard/Müller (F/D/D), Porsche 911 RSR, +2.585 seconds
7. Pilet/Tandy/Bamber (F/GB/NZ), Porsche 911 RSR, +2.757 seconds
8. Priaulx/Tincknell/Kanaan (GB/GB/BR), Ford GT, +2.925 seconds
9. Farfus/Félix da Costa/Sims (BR/P/GB), BMW M8 GTE, +3.075 seconds
10. Briscoe/Westbrook/Dixon (AUS/GB/NZ), Ford GT, +3.089 seconds
GTE-Am class
1. Al Qubaisi/Roda/Cairoli (UAE/I/I), Porsche 911 RSR, 3:50.728 minutes
2. Ried/Andlauer/Campbell (D/F/AUS), Porsche 911 RSR, +1.202 seconds
3. Wainwright/Barker/Davison (GB/GB/AUS), Porsche 911 RSR, +1.789 seconds
4. Flohr/Castellacci/Fisichella (CH/I/I), Ferrari 488 GTE, +2.028 seconds
5. Bergmeister/Lindsey/Perfetti (D/USA/N), Porsche 911 RSR, +2.257 seconds
11. Babini/Nielsen/Maris (I/DK/F), Porsche 911 RSR, +4.841 seconds
13. Long/Pappas/Pumpelly (USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 RSR, +12.379 seconds
Comments