Jaminet puts Porsche at top of timing screens in pre-Hyperpole practice
In the final free practice session before this evening’s Hyperpole shootout, Mathieu Jaminet provided a boost to reigning world champions Porsche Penske Motorsport as the home hero led the way behind the wheel of the #5 963 Hypercar…
The third of four free practice sessions is completed ahead of the all-important Hyperpole showdowns later this evening, taking place in dry and humid conditions after early morning rain washes over the circuit
As extra rubber is laid down, the lap times tumble while teams focus predominantly on race set-up and planning in preparation for this weekend’s 93rd running of the world’s greatest endurance race and the fourth round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship
Porsche leads the way as Mathieu Jaminet in the 5# Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 laps in 3m24.717s to lead the chasing 21-car Hypercar field by 0.816s
That time ensured that Porsche led a session for the first time at Le Mans this year, but behind Jaminet came a close collection of Hypercars
They were headed by the pair of Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entries, which both set lat flyers. The #38 V-Series.R took second with Earl Bamber at the wheel, followed by Will Stevens in the #12 car in third. The US manufacturer and British-based outfit continue their strong form at the Circuit de la Sarthe so far this year
The #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar places fourth, with James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi both enjoying track time in the 2023 Le Mans-winning entry
The next-best Ferrari of the session is the AF Corse customer car piloted by Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Phil Hanson, which winds up fifth
BMW grabs sixth spot with its #20 BMW M Team WRT prototype, as Sheldon van der Linde sets the best time in the German manufacturer’s leading car on a 3m26.367s
Porsche Penske also snatches seventh position as the #4 entry driven by Pascal Wehrlein and IMSA duo Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy continues to show strongly, despite the trio having never shared a car before
The leading IMSA car, the #311 Cadillac Whelen Hypercar ends the session eighth in the hands of Jack Aitken on a 3m26.914s
The #50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P and the #15 BMW complete the top ten, with Antonio Foco and Raffaele Marciello setting the best times
Wayne Taylor Racing’s Cadillac loses the majority of the session undergoing an engine change, although returns to the track in the closing moments for several installation laps
LMGT3
The Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin continues its consistent form as Zacharie Robichon takes the green Vantage AMR to the top late on in the session with a category best of 3m55.897s, just 0.037s ahead of the competition
Porsche had looked set to also take the top position in LMGT3 as the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm 911 GT3 R LMGT3 led the way with a best effort of 3m55.934s set by Riccardo Pera prior to Robichon’s late flyer
Pera’s lap eclipsed the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus of Finn Gehrsitz, Jack Hawksworth and Arnold Robin by a tiny 0.090s in battle for second
The top six is completed by the Racing Spirit of Léman Aston, the #46 Team WRT BMW and the #59 United Autosports McLaren
Incidents during the three-hour session include the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 going off-track at the Ford Chicane with Thomas Flohr at the wheel, triggering a local Full Course Yellow after 40 minutes
Valentino Rossi in the #46 Team WRT BMW and Renger van der Zande in the #22 United Autosports entry clash briefly heading into Tertre Rouge, but both continue without issue
Similarly, the #21 Spa Francorchamps-winning Vista AF Corse Ferrari and #8 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar touch lightly at the Ford Chicane in the early phase of the session
LMP2
LMP2 sees the #29 TDS Racing entry lead the 17-car field, as experienced Swiss racer Mathias Beche sets the car’s quickest time by stopping the clocks at 3m36.827s
That time by Beche is 0.6s clear of the #23 United Autosports car, with Ben Hanley claiming a best lap of 3m37.426s
Third in category is the #43 Inter Europol Competition prototype, as Tom Dillmann, Jakub Smiechowski and Nick Yelloly look set to battle for pole position later this evening
The top six in LMP2 is filled out by the #22 United Autosports car, last year’s pole-sitting #199 AO by TF Sport entry and the #28 IDEC Sport machine, which recovered from losing its left front wheel mid-session
Aliaksandr Malykhin in the CLX Pure Rxcing LMP2 car glances the first Mulsanne Chicane exit wall while trying to avoid a sideways Iron Dames Porsche; Malykhin suffers front-right damage but returns to the pits
Shortly afterwards, François Perrodo also has an accident at the Porsche Curves and damages the #183 AF Corse car to bring out the only red flag of the session
Earlier, the #9 Iron Lynx Proton driven by Jonas Ried has an off at Indianapolis but is rescued from the gravel and is able to finish the session in 11th position
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