Ferrari locks out front row for Le Mans 24 Hours, Antonio Fuoco secures pole position for #50 499P. Ferrari locks out front row for Le Mans 24 Hours.

Against all odds, it is Ferrari that secures pole position in the Centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 499P proves to be an incredibly fast car in terms of pure lap time, showcased to the fullest by Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi, who secure an all-Italian front row. The Toyota driven by Brendon Hartley finishes in third place, while to everyone’s surprise, Felipe Nasr puts Porsche on the second row. It’s a celebration for Idec Sport in the LMP2 category, while Ben Keating gifts Corvette the pole position.

Historic pole position for Ferrari
The 499P has once again shown its greatest quality: speed in terms of pure lap time. The Maranello Hypercar has proven to be the fastest car on the straight, along with Toyota, despite both cars being heavier and less powerful due to the Balance of Performance. Antonio Fuoco showcased the qualities of the Red car to the fullest, setting an impressive lap time of 3’22″982, a new track record for Hypercars. Joining him on the front row will be Alessandro Pier Guidi. The driver from Piedmont saw his best lap time deleted due to track limit violations, which, however, wouldn’t have been enough to surpass his teammate.

The qualifying session was influenced by a red flag displayed five minutes before the end due to a fire in Bourdais’ Cadillac #3 caused by a gearbox leak. When the session resumed, the two Ferrari drivers got out of their cars and watched the rest of the session from the pit box, as they had already completed two flying laps. Brendon Hartley’s Toyota stopped in third position, nearly one and a half seconds behind, a gap amplified by having already stressed the tires in the previous lap, which was then interrupted by the red flag. Kamui Kobayashi will start in the third row in the second Toyota, as his best lap time was deleted due to track limit violations. Felipe Nasr deserves praise for his excellent performance, placing Porsche on the second row. Bourdais’ Cadillac #3 was ultimately demoted to eighth position for causing the red flag.

LMP2 and GTE-Am
Almost all the drivers in the LMP2 class remained in the pits after the red flag, except for Pietro Fittipaldi and Mirko Bortolotti. The Jota driver from Brazil improved his time, jumping to second place, but not enough to take pole position from Paul Loup Chatin in the Idec Sport car. The two Italian Prema cars will start the 24-hour race from fifth and seventh positions. Bean Keating’s time in the GTE-Am class was simply unbeatable, granting Corvette the final pole position for the GTE category at Le Mans. Al Harthy, driving the Aston Martin for Ort by TF, finished over one and a half seconds behind, preceding a quartet of Ferraris led by Thomas Flohr’s AF Corse in third place. The Centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will begin on Saturday, June 10th at 4:00 PM.

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