First came Jack Aitken’s sensational pole position for Cadillac, then a dramatic penalty that handed the top spot to the #15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor. Race control completely reshuffled the grid for the Le Mans 24 Hours, stripping Aitken of his fastest lap due to a pit lane infringement and awarding pole position for the 94th edition of the legendary endurance race to BMW M Team WRT. Ferrari could only manage eighth place with the #51 499P of James Calado, who made it into the top ten shootout thanks to an excellent lap by Antonio Giovinazzi in the opening qualifying session. Meanwhile, the LMGT3 class saw another breathtaking pole performance from Mattia Drudi in the THOR Aston Martin, while IDEC Sport inherited the LMP2 pole after Panis Racing was penalized for impeding.
A mere five-thousandths of a second—that was the microscopic margin at the checkered flag between Jack Aitken, driving the #38 Jota Cadillac, and Dries Vanthoor. Cadillac, Team Jota, and Aitken looked to have snatched pole from BMW at the absolute last second, but that incredible feat was completely undone by the stewards. The sanction handed down to the #38 crew was triggered because Aitken positioned his car at the end of the pit lane prior to the green flag during Hyperpole 2, a direct violation of the sporting regulations. It was a costly oversight that erased the British driver’s stellar work, whose blistering 3:22.559 remained at the top of the timing screens for only a matter of minutes. This sparked wild celebrations in the BMW garage, rewarding the efforts of Dries Vanthoor alongside the star duo of Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen, who had successfully guided the #15 M Hybrid V8 into the final, decisive shootout. For the Bavarian manufacturer, it marks a historic, first-ever pole position at Le Mans.
A lonely Ferrari in the top ten
It was a highly complicated qualifying session to decipher for Ferrari. On one side of the garage, the #50 sister car of Antonio Fuoco failed to make the cut for Hyperpole 2, leaving them 12th on the grid after being severely held up by the #17 Genesis of Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer—an incident that immediately went under investigation by the stewards. On the other side, James Calado secured ninth on the road in the #51 car, taking full advantage of Giovinazzi’s brilliant performance in the opening session to secure a spot in the final round. The British driver ultimate took eighth on the final grid after returning to the pits earlier than his rivals, ending up over two seconds adrift of the ultimate pace.
Genesis enjoyed a highly successful qualifying debut at the French classic, with their first-ever Le Mans 24 Hours campaign set to begin with the #19 car starting from an impressive sixth place and the #17 entry lining up ninth, directly ahead of the penalized #38 Cadillac.
In stark contrast, it was a disastrous session for Toyota. The Japanese giants ended up at the absolute bottom of the Hypercar pack, completely eliminated before the final shootout and leaving them facing a massive recovery race from 14th and 15th positions on the grid.
Esteban Masson stars in LMP2, but IDEC Sport inherits pole position
A magnificent driving performance from Esteban Masson for Panis Racing, who originally claimed pole position with a stellar 3:32.855, was not enough to officially secure the top spot on the grid. The French driver had his fastest lap deleted for blocking the #58 Garage59 McLaren, forcing the team to drop down the order.
As a result, pole position was handed to Job van Uitert in the IDEC Sport Oreca, who suddenly found himself at the front of the field long after the Hyperpole session had concluded. Locking out the second row of the LMP2 grid were Jack Doohan for Nielsen Racing (#24) and Nick Yelloly driving for Inter Europol Competition (#43). It was a less effective session than expected for the regular IMSA Porsche Hypercar factory drivers who have been loaned out to LMP2 squads for the weekend. Julien Andlauer finished sixth for Duqueine, just ahead of Kevin Estre in the TDS Racing entry. Dane Cameron (AO by TF), Matthieu Vaxiviere (AF Corse), and Reshad de Gérus (Inter Europol Competition) completed the shootout order.
United Autosports suffered a major blow as both of their cars missed out on Hyperpole 2. Grégoire Saucy in the #22 entry and Oliver Jarvis in the #222 car—the latter having crashed into the barriers during Free Practice 3—were both eliminated, leaving them to start from 11th and 12th respectively.
The Mattia Drudi show in LMGT3: Back-to-back Le Mans poles
Replicating his sublime form from last year, Mattia Drudi flew through the 38 corners of the Circuit de la Sarthe, punching in a 3:52.433. The Italian driver’s spectacular effort secured back-to-back Le Mans 24 Hours pole positions for the #27 THOR Aston Martin Vantage. Remarkably, Drudi was forced to deliver his record-breaking pace twice after his initial flyer was deleted due to a track limits infraction. However, absolutely nothing could stop the Aston Martin factory driver, who ultimately finished over a second clear of his nearest rival.
Line up directly behind him will be Alessio Rovera in the #21 AF Corse Ferrari, followed closely by the Akkodis ASP Lexus entries of José María López (#87) and Jack Hawksworth (#78), with the latter losing crucial track time due to a stubborn issue with his left door. Fifth and sixth places went to the WRT-managed BMWs of Sean Gelael (#32) and Parker Thompson (#69), while the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, driven by Germany’s Dennis Marschall, secured seventh. Completing the top ten shootout were the #23 THOR Aston Martin, the #91 Manthey Porsche, and the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang.
Championship leaders miss out on the top ten shootout
There was bitter disappointment for Riccardo Pera in the reigning champion #92 Manthey Porsche, which tasted victory here last year and currently leads the LMGT3 championship standings. The Italian found himself heavily compromised by traffic, leaving them stranded in 15th and preventing Richard Lietz from even taking part in the second session.
Logan Sargeant was also left out of the pole position fight, with his #88 Proton Ford Mustang grid-locked in 11th place. The opening Hyperpole session also claimed the #54 AF Corse Ferrari of Francesco Castellacci, who will line up 15th after a highly uncharacteristic spin just before Tertre Rouge ruined what was shaping up to be an excellent lap following heavy traffic in the final sector.
With qualifying now in the history books, the teams will turn their focus to the final night practice session. Following that, the paddock enjoys a traditional “rest” day on Friday, highlighted by the official ACO press conference—where the highly anticipated return of Silverstone to the 2027 calendar is expected to be announced—and the iconic driver parade through the historic city center. The green flag for the 94th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours will wave on Saturday.
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