24h Le Mans 2024, Qualifying: BMW on top, both official Ferrari cars in Hyperpole. There was no shortage of drama in the Qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Significant exclusions ahead of tomorrow’s session that will assign the pole position for the 101st edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Kamui Kobayashi ends Qualifying early
There was no shortage of drama in the Qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which determined the top eight teams in all three classes that earned the chance to participate in tomorrow’s Hyperpole.

Traffic significantly affected the fast laps of the Hypercars, and the session ended almost three minutes early (thus one flying lap) due to the off-track excursion of the #7 Toyota driven by Kamui Kobayashi. He was pushing for the best time when he attacked the last Porsche curves too aggressively. The Japanese driver took too much of the left curb, losing the rear and ending up in the gravel. The red flag was inevitable.

Shortly before, the fastest time was surprisingly set by the #15 BMW with Dries Vanthoor at the wheel (Raffaele Marciello is also part of the team). The Belgian stopped the clock at 3’24″465, ahead of Sebastien Bourdais’ Cadillac and the #50 Ferrari of the ever-fast Antonio Fuoco.

The list of cars qualified for the Hyperpole is completed by the #7 Toyota (but watch for possible penalties for causing the red flag), the #35 Alpine – a great result for the French manufacturer while Peugeot did not go beyond the 16th time – the #2 Cadillac, the #51 Ferrari, and the championship-leading #6 Porsche, the only 963 that can aim for pole position tomorrow. The customer #83 Ferrari finished in 13th place ahead of the #63 Lamborghini.