The hometown hero led the way in the first free practice session for the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans today (11 June), as Sébastien Bourdais – who went to school within a stone’s throw of the famous circuit – put Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA at the top of the Hypercar timesheets while ‘super-sub’ Jack Hawksworth set the pace for Akkodis ASP Team in LMGT3.
Track action begins in readiness for the 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with three hours of running at Circuit de la Sarthe in hot and sunny conditions
The session sees two red flag periods for on-track incidents and ends with local hero Sébastien Bourdais setting the fastest lap of 3m25.148s in the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry
Le Mans-born Bourdais, who made his debut at La Sarthe 26 years ago, beats the 2024 race-winning #50 Ferrari AF Corse of Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco by 0.154s to top the timing screens
A 3m25.302s best by Antonio Fuoco saw the Ferrari 499P head the #6 Porsche Penske 963 Hybrid Hypercar piloted by last year’s pole-sitter Kévin Estre, whose 3m25.568s lap is just 0.266s adrift of the Ferrari in third as the chequered flag waves
Stretches of the La Sarthe track have been resurfaced for this week’s event, with times ever improving as the track cools. Bourdais’ best is just over a second faster than Brendon Hartley’s Test Day benchmark
Fourth-fastest in FP1 is Sunday’s pace setting #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR010 Hypercar, as Hartley peaks with a lap of 3m25.702s
That time is a tiny 0.042s ahead of the #5 Porsche Penske, with Julien Andlauer setting the quickest time in car he shares with Matthieu Jaminet and Michael Christensen to claim fifth spot
Will Stevens posts a last-gasp flyer in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Hypercar of 3m25.932s that is good enough for sixth position in car he will race with Alex Lynn and Norman Nato
The extra Porsche 963, the #4 entry, is seventh in the hands of Felipe Nasr. He and IMSA team-mate Nick Tandy are gunning for a unique unofficial triple crown after taking Sebring and Daytona wins this season. They are joined by reigning Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein as the German tackles his first Le Mans
Nasr was on-course to take fastest lap as he was 0.3s up entering the final sector prior to peeling into the pits
The leading BMW is the #15 car with Dries Vanthoor in eighth, as the Belgian punches in a time of 3m26.022s late in the session to head the ninth-placed #35 Alpine Endurance Team A424 Hypercar, as Paul Loup Chatin posts Les Bleus’ fastest lap
Completing the top ten is the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963, as Neel Jani posts the car’s best lap on his final tour
Hypercar incidents in FP1 see Earl Bamber spin at high-speed coming into the Ford Chicane in the opening exchanges. The car was then penalised with a five-minute stop/go sanction for an incident at Mulsanne Corner
LMGT3
The #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus entry continues its impressive 2025 form as Jack Hawksworth, a late replacement for the injured Ben Barnicoat, stops the clocks at 3m57.248s
The British driver’s time heads the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 challenger by a mere 0.047s. Davide Rigon posts the best time in the car he will share with Francesco Castellacci and Thomas Flohr this weekend
Le Mans debutant, the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin makes very encouraging start to place third, as Valentin Hasse Clot stops the clocks at 3m57.344s on his final lap of the session
That time is just 0.1s ahead of the invitational Ziggo Sport Ferrari car, as Edward Cheever channels his famous father Eddie who raced for Jaguar in the 1980s
The top six in LMGT3 is completed by the Spa-winning #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari of François Heriau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera, and the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche of Richard Lietz, Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera
Incidents in the FP1 session include a spin for the #150 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari at the Dunlop Chicane and the #63 Iron Lynx Mercedes of Stephen Grove, which crashes on the entry to the Dunlop Chicane and brings out the first of the two red flags. The second is flown to retrieve debris
LMP2
The LMP2 category returns for a 22nd time as the longest rules set category in Le Mans history
The popular class sees the RLR M Sport Oreca-Gibson car top the times, as experienced French ace Patrick Pilet posts a best effort of 3m36.888s in the entry that is enjoying operational and technical assistance from the Vector Sports team this year
Former BMW factory driver Nick Yelloly punches in a quick 3m37.125s late in the session to go second in the vivid yellow-and-green #43 Inter Europol Competition machine he shares with Tom Dillmann and Jakub Smiechowski
Fellow ELMS protagonist Algarve Pro Racing takes third with the #45 car driven by Alexander Quinn, Nicky Catsburg and George Kurtz. Quinn claims the crew’s best time of 3m37.342s
The #29 VDS Panis Racing Oreca-Gibson places fourth, as Esteban Masson clocks the fastest time for the Franco-Belgian entry with a 3:37.377s run
The top six in LMP2 is rounded out by the #29 TDS Racing car and the #18 IDEC Sport entry, in which three-time winner André Lotterer sets the time in the car he shares with Jamie Chadwick and Mathys Jaubert
Qualifying begins this evening at 18:45 CET
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