WEC: Fuoco secures Le Mans pole position as Ferrari locks out front row

Antonio Fuoco went fastest in Thursday’s Hyperpole session, setting an impressive 3:22.982s lap to secure pole position for the centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans. His stablemate Alessandro Pier Guidi gave Ferrari AF Corse 1-2 in the session, on what is the “Prancing Horse’s” return to Le Mans in the top class

By securing his second pole position of the FIA World Endurance Championship season, after topping qualifying in the 1000 Miles of Sebring, Fuoco also became the first Italian since Rinaldo Cappello in 2006 to be the top qualifier at Le Mans. 

#3 Cadillac Racing V Series.R driven by local ace Sebastien Bourdais initially placed third, but then immediately pulled off on Mulsanne Straight due to a technical failure followed by a minor fire.

The session was red-flagged and, as a result, the clock stopped with little over five minutes remaining, thus creating what essentially was a one-lap shootout and adding extra excitement. Bourdais eventually lost his third place for causing the red flag and dropped down to fifth place.

#8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 placed third after a last-gasp effort by Brendon Hartley.

A rapid late lap from Felipe Nasr allowed the Brazilian to split the two Toyotas and complete the second row of the grid in his #75 Penske Porsche Motorsport-run Porsche 963.

IDEC SPORT SECURES LMP2 POLE AS CORVETTE PREVAILS IN GTE AM

Paul Loup-Chatin claimed pole position for IDEC Sport owing to a pace-setting 3m32.923s lap, in what was the outfit’s second pole Le Mans pole after its 2018 qualifying triumph.

Pietro Fittipaldi yet again showed rapid pace but just misses out on the pole with his final lap effort being only 0.1122s off the top spot.

#41 Team WRT rounded out the top three with Louis Deletraz behind the wheel of the Belgian team’s Oreca.

Meanwhile in the LMGTE AM class Ben Keating in the #33 points-leading Corvette Racing entry took the LMGTE Am pole position to extend his points lead.

It was Corvette’s third pole at Le Mans since FIA WEC’s inauguration, and second in the GTE Am class.

Keating’s best lap was 3m52.376s, 1.2s ahead of Ahmed Al Harthy in ORT by TF Sport by Aston Martin Gap

Thomas Flohr in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo went third-fastest to ensure three different manufacturers starting from the top three positions.