Toyota GAZOO Racing took overall pole position in an exciting Hyperpole session ahead of the final 24 Hours of Le Mans for their TS050 Hybrid LMP1.
This 30-minute thrilling session featured a thinned-out grid of competitors (23 cars) after yesterday’s initial qualifying session.
Teams would put one of their drivers into the cars to put down flat-out lap times using two dedicated sets of tyres for Hyperpole.
There was a fight for outright pole position in LMP1 as Rebellion’s Gustavo Menezez in the #1 asserted strong pace up against the Hybrid Toyotas.
A handful of ultra-fast lap times by Kamui Kobayashi put the #7 into pole position with a time of 3m15.267s.
On his final flying lap, he was set to beat his own Le Mans (qualifying) track record, but exceeded track limits to diminish that attempt.
The #1 Rebellion split the two Toyotas with a final time of 3m15.822s, over eight-tenths faster than the #8, a two-time reigning winner at Le Mans.
Behind the #3, was the #4 ByKolles which struggled to assert the pace against its LMP1 rivals. It set a time of 3m23.043s, nearly five seconds away from the fourth-placed #3 Rebellion Racing.
The #22 United Autosports topped the LMP2 category with a time of 3m24.528s in the hands of Paul Di Resta.
Just over three-tenths behind were the #26 G Drive Racing crew, as two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne set a 3m24.860s.
Racing Team Nederland qualified third in LMP2, after a brief moment at the entry to the Porsche Curves where he ran wide into the gravel. He recovered, and that #29 car later put down a time of 3m25.062s.
Behind the #33 High Class Racing, was the sister #32 United Autosports.
The only team (#37 Jackie Chan DC Racing) with Goodyear tyres (in Hyperpole) rounded the top-six in LMP2.
Gianmaria Bruni took the #91 Porsche to the fastest of the GTEs with a 3m50.874s, closely followed by reigning GTE-Pro Le Mans champions in the #51 AF Corse.
Behind were the two Aston Martins; the #95 qualified ahead of the #97 after both topping yesterday’s qualifying session.
Ferrari manufacturer driver and Formula E regular Sam Bird took the #71 ahead of Michael Christensen’s #92 Porsche.
In the Am class, Luzich Racing took pole +0.056s ahead of the #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing.
The #56 Team Project 1 followed behind with a time of 3m51.647s, ahead of the #98 Aston Martin Racing.
TF Sport ahead of the #86 Gulf Racing both rounded off the top-six in the GTE-Am category.
| OVERALL POSITION | CLASS POSITION | TEAM | FASTEST TIME | DIFF |
| LMP1 | ||||
| 1 | 1 | #7 Toyota GAZOO Racing | 3m15.267s | |
| 2 | 2 | #1 Rebellion Racing | 3m15.822s | 0.555s |
| 3 | 3 | #8 Toyota GAZOO Racing | 3m16.649s | 0.827s |
| 4 | 4 | #3 Rebellion Racing | 3m18.330s | 1.681s |
| 5 | 5 | #4 ByKolles Racing | 3m23.043s | 4.713s |
| LMP2 | ||||
| 6 | 1 | #22 United Autosports | 3m24.528s | |
| 7 | 2 | #26 G-Drive Racing | 3m24.860s | 0.332s |
| 8 | 3 | #29 Racing Team Nederland | 3m25.062s | 0.202s |
| 9 | 4 | #33 High Class Racing | 3m25.426s | 0.364s |
| 10 | 5 | #32 United Autosports | 3m25.671s | 0.245s |
| 11 | 6 | #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing | 3m25.875s | 0.204s |
| LM-GTE Pro | ||||
| 12 | 1 | #91 Porsche GT Team | 3m50.874s | |
| 13 | 2 | #51 AF Corse | 3m51.115s | 0.241s |
| 14 | 3 | #95 Aston Martin Racing | 3m51.241s | 0.126s |
| 15 | 4 | #97 Aston Martin Racing | 3m51.324s | 0.083s |
| 16 | 5 | #71 AF Corse | 3m51.515s | 0.191s |
| 17 | 6 | #92 Porsche GT Team | 3m51.770s | 0.255s |
| LM-GTE Am | ||||
| 18 | 1 | #61 Luzich Racing | 3m51.266s | |
| 19 | 2 | #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing | 3m51.322s | 0.056s |
| 20 | 3 | #56 Team Project 1 | 3m51.647s | 0.325s |
| 21 | 4 | #98 Aston Martin Racing | 3m52.105s | 0.458s |
| 22 | 5 | #90 TF Sport | 3m52.299s | 0.194s |
| 23 | 6 | #86 Gulf Racing | 3m52.346s | 0.047s |
