24 Hours of Le Mans test day results: Ferrari faster than Toyota and Porsche
Test Day | top 5 Overall:
- #51 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – 03:29.504
- #6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport – Kévin Estre / André Lotterer / Laurens Vanthoor – 03:29.648
- #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / José María López – 03:29.827
- #50 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Miguel Molina / Nicklas Nielsen – 03:29.856
- #75 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport – Felipe Nasr / Mathieu Jaminet / Nicholas Tandy – 03:29.905
The top times in the three other classes:
LMP2 | #28 ORECA 07-Gibson | JOTA – David Heinemeier Hansson/Oliver Rasmussen/Pietro Fittipaldi – 03:35.872
LMGTE Am | #66 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | JMW Motorsport – Thomas Neubauer/Louis Prette/Giacomo Petrobelli – 03:56.088
Innovative Car | #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | Hendrick Motorsports – Jimmie Johnson/Mike Rockenfeller/Jenson Button – 03:53.761
The world's most famous endurance race is next week but the 62 cars put in two sessions of three hours each on Sunday.
The symbolic <03:30 per lap mark had yet to be reached this morning after the first three-hour Test Day session.
But, a handful of Hypercar competitors managed to do so during the second session.
Laurens Vanthoor in Porsche Penske Motorsport's #6 Porsche 963 shared with Kévin Estre and André Lotterer was the first to clock a lap under 03:30 (03:29.648) thanks to a clear track and his signature determination.
The time was achieved about 30 minutes into the session, soon followed by Antonio Fuoco and Antonio Giovinazzi in Ferrari AF Corse's #50 and #51 Ferrari 499Ps, respectively, and Kamui Kobayashi in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.
After Test Day had come to a close, competitors in all the classes took advantage of the available track time to fine-tune preparations for the big race.
In the Peugeot camp, the #94 9X8 completed an astonishing 39 laps, while the #93, stopped in the Mulsanne Straight with a mechanical problem shortly after 12:00, only managed 16 laps in the afternoon.