A U.S. manufacturer returns to pole position at Le Mans for the first time since 1969, as Cadillac and Hertz Team JOTA secured a 1-2 finish in Thursday’s Hyperpole session for Saturday’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

JOTA showed strong pace all week, finishing 1st and 3rd in Wednesday’s opening round of Hypercar qualifying to lock both entries into the Hyperpole shootout.

The team delivered an impressive performance, with Alex Lynn nearly dipping below the 3:23 mark to put the #12 Cadillac on pole. His teammate Earl Bamber wasn’t far behind, clocking a 3:23.333 in the #38 to complete a front-row sweep.

One of the most notable stories was the Heart of Racing Aston Martin #009 Valkyrie, which made it into Hyperpole thanks to a disqualification for Porsche Penske on Wednesday. Although the team ultimately qualified 15th, the effort kept them in contention for a solid start.

In LMP2, TDS Racing earned pole position, with Mathias Beche setting the pace at 3:35.062.

While Heart of Racing came up short in Hypercar, they delivered in LMGT3. The #27 Aston Martin Vantage, driven by Mattia Drudi, claimed class pole for the American squad.

The 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans begins on Saturday with the Warm-Up session at noon local time (12:00 CEST) on Saturday, followed by the green flag at 16:00 CEST.

 

Hyperpole LMH – Top 10

  1. Lynn / Nato / Stevens (#12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Cadillac V-Series.R), 3m23.166s
  2. Bamber / Bourdais / Button (#38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA, Cadillac V-Series.R), +0.167s
  3. Andlauer / Christensen / Jaminet (#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport, Porsche 963), +0.309s
  4. Vanthoor / Marciello / Magnussen (#15 BMW M Team WRT, BMW M Hybrid V8), +0.493s
  5. Nasr / Tandy / Wehrlein (#4 Porsche Penske Motorsport, Porsche 963), +0.817s
  6. Rast / Frijns / Van der Linde (#20 BMW M Team WRT, BMW M Hybrid V8), +0.843s
  7. Fuoco / Nielsen / Molina (#50 Ferrari AF Corse, Ferrari 499P), +1.047s
  8. Aitken / Drugovich / Vesti (#311 Cadillac Whelen, Cadillac V-Series.R), +1.214s
  9. Schumacher / Makowiecki / Gounon (#36 Alpine Endurance Team, Alpine A424), +1.232s
  10. Buemi / Hartley / Hirakawa (#8 Toyota Racing, Toyota GR010 Hybrid), no time set

Hyperpole LMP2 – Top 8

  1. Sales / Beche / Novalak (#29 TDS Racing, ORECA 07-Gibson), 3m35.062s
  2. Smiechowski / Dillmann / Yelloly (#43 Inter Europol Competition, ORECA 07-Gibson), +0.271s
  3. Hyett / Cameron / Deletraz (#199 AO by TF, ORECA 07-Gibson), +0.359s
  4. Schneider / Jarvis / Hanley (#23 United Autosports, ORECA 07-Gibson), +0.397s
  5. Van der Zande / Fittipaldi / Heinemeier Hansson (#22 United Autosports, ORECA 07-Gibson), +0.553s
  6. Malykhin / Blomqvist / Vautier (#37 CLX Pure Rxcing, ORECA 07-Gibson), +1.122s
  7. Perrodo / Vaxiviere / Felix da Costa (#183 AF Corse, ORECA 07-Gibson), +1.931s
  8. Jensen / Cullen / Pilet (#16 RLR MSport, ORECA 07-Gibson), +3.860s

Hyperpole LMGT3 – Top 8

  1. James / Drudi / Robichon (#27 Heart of Racing Team, Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3), 3m52.789s
  2. Heriau / Mann / Rovera (#21 Vista AF Corse, Ferrari 296 LMGT3), +0.296s
  3. Al Harthy / Rossi / Van der Linde (#46 Team WRT, BMW M4 LMGT3), +1.881s
  4. Berry / Hodenius / Martin (#61 Iron Lynx, Lamborghini Huracán LMGT3 EVO2), +1.913s
  5. Hardwick / Pera / Lietz (#92 Manthey 1st Phorm, Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3), +2.351s
  6. Rompuy / Andrade / Eastwood (#81 TF Sport, Corvette Z06 GT3.R), +2.951s
  7. Leung / Gelael / Sato (#95 United Autosports, McLaren 720S LMGT3), +3.176s
  8. Robin / Hawksworth / Gehrsitz (#78 Akkodis ASP Team, Lexus RC F LMGT3), +10.871s

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