The build‑up to the 94th edition of the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans has officially begun, with two testing sessions completed on the 7th of June. 

Cadillac WTR started the day strong, topping the first session with the #101 Cadillac V‑Series.R driven by Ricky and Jordan Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque. 

The other Cadillac, the #12 from Hertz Team Jota, finished third in both the first and second sessions, as the American brand showed impressive pace on the first day of running. 

The second session was led by the Aston Martin Heart of Racing Team in the #007 Valkyrie, driven by British trio Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble, and Ross Gunn. It marks the first time the British manufacturer has led a test day since the GTE Am era in 2017.

They clocked the fastest time of the day with a 3:26.293 

Genesis Magma Racing completed their first miles as they prepare for their debut. The same applies to many drivers across various categories, who must complete ten laps, five of which must cross the start‑finish line.

During Wednesday’s last practice session, they must also complete five laps during the night to be eligible to race. CLX Motorsport features one of the youngest lineups in history, bringing three 19‑year‑old rookies into the fight. 

Danish driver Theodor Jensen is one of them, as they tried to find the right balance between pushing and fulfilling the requirements. 

“It was good, improving every lap. We’re still missing a little bit of speed, but it’s not too bad.”

Session 1

Hypercar

In Hypercar, Filipe Albuquerque set the fastest time for the #101 Cadillac WTR Cadillac V-Series.R with a 3:27.011. Charles Milesi put the #35 Alpine A424 second, while Norman Nato completed the top three in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota entry. 

Top 5 

  1. #101 Cadillac WTR – Cadillac V-Series.R – 3:27.011 
  2. #35 Alpine Endurance Team – Alpine A424 – (+0.328) 
  3. #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota – Cadillac V-Series.R – (+0.832) 
  4. #009 Aston Martin Thor Team – Aston Martin Valkyrie – (+1.075) 
  5. #50 Ferrari AF Corse – Ferrari 499P – (+1.280) 

LMP2 

LMP2 was led by Ben Barnicoat in the #183 AF Corse Oreca 07 Gibson. Tom Dillmann finished second for Inter Europol Competition, ahead of George Kurtz in the #4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entry. 

Top 5 

  1. #183 AF Corse – Oreca 07 Gibson – 3:35.526 
  2. #43 Inter Europol Competition – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+0.466) 
  3. #4 Crowdstrike Racing by APR – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+0.757) 
  4. #14 TDS Racing – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+1.273) 
  5. #29 Forestier Racing by Panis – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+1.402) 

LMGT3 

In LMGT3, Simon Mann topped the class in the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3. Clément Mateu followed closely as he placed the #59 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin in second, with José María López being third in the #87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus. 

Top 5 

  1. #21 Vista AF Corse – Ferrari 296 LMGT3 – 3:57.366 
  2. #59 Racing Spirit of LĂ©man – Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 – (+0.046) 
  3. #87 Akkodis ASP Team – Lexus RC F LMGT3 (+0.055) 
  4. #91 Manthey DK Engineering – Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 – (+0.248) 
  5. #10 Garage 59 – Mclaren 720S LMGT3 – (+0.307) 

The session ended early after a red flag caused by an incident involving the #8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid, the #25 Algarve Pro Racing Oreca, and the #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3. 

Session 2

Hypercar 

Aston Martin responded strongly in the afternoon session as Ross Gunn put the #007 Valkyrie at the top of the Hypercar timesheets with a 3:26.293.  

Brendon Hartley recovered from the morning incident to place the #8 Toyota second, while Louis DelĂ©traz continued Cadillac’s strong form by setting the third-fastest time in the #12 Jota entry. 

Top 5 

  1. #007 Aston Martin Thor Team – Aston Martin Valkyrie – 3.26.293 
  2. #8 Toyota Racing – Toyota TR010 Hybrid – (+0.108) 
  3. #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota – Cadillac V-Series.R – (+0.560) 
  4. #35 Alpine Endurance Team – Alpine A424 – (+0.645)  
  5. #36 Alpine Endurance Team – Alpine A424 – (+0.724)    

LMP2

Valerio Rinicella led LMP2 for IDEC Sport, ahead of Tobias Lutke in the #14 TDS Racing car and Matthieu Vaxiviere in the #183 AF Corse entry. 

Top 5 

  1. #28 IDEC SPORT – Oreca 07 Gibson – 3:35.344  
  2. #14 TDS Racing – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+0.175) 
  3. #183 AF Corse – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+0.665) 
  4. #29 Forestier Racing by Panis – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+1.167) 
  5. #30 Duqueine Team – Oreca 07 Gibson – (+1.270) 

LMGT3

In LMGT3, Francesco Castellacci set the fastest time for the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari. Timur Boguslavskiy finished second for Manthey, just 0.009 seconds off first spot. Nicky Catsburg put the #33 TF Sport Corvette third. 

Top 5 

  1. #54 Vista AF Corse – Ferrari 296 LMGT3 – 3:56.646  
  2. #91 Manthey DK Engineering – Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 – (+0.009) 
  3. #33 TF Sport – Corvette Z06 LMGT3 – (+0.239) 
  4. #13 13 Autosport – Corvette Z06 LMGT3 – (+0.270) 
  5. #69 Team WRT – BMW M4 LMGT3 – (+0.321) 

One of the biggest stories of the day was Toyota’s quick recovery after the heavy morning accident involving the #8 TR010 Hybrid. The team rebuilt the car in just a few hours and returned it to the track for the afternoon session. 

Ferrari also suffered a setback when Alessandro Pier Guidi crashed the #51 Ferrari 499P at Indianapolis. The incident brought out another interruption and served as an early reminder that Le Mans can punish even the smallest mistakes long before the race officially begins. 

Track action returns on Wednesday:

  • Free Practice 1: 14:00 – 17:00 
  • Qualifying Practice 1 LMP2/LMGT3: 18:45 – 19:15 
  • Qualifying Practice 1 Hypercar: 19:30 – 20:00 
  • Free Practice 2: 22:00 – 00:00 

(All times local.)Â