Automobile Club de l’Ouest sporting director Vincent Beaumesnil has shed light on the new-for-2020 Hyperpole qualifying format, saying the idea is to spice up Le Mans qualifying and provide greater spectacle to fans watching at home.
The Hyperpole format has been newly introduced for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans. Instead of the previous format, where qualifying was spread across several multi-hour sessions, Hyperpole will now see the top six cars in each category battling for pole position in a dedicated session on Friday.
“We shall have two sessions specially dedicated to fast lap times,” Beaumesnil said. “The idea is to more clearly identify the specific period when the competitors are in pure speed mode and showcase the adrenaline and suspense that is so different on our track that is like no other. It will now be a sequence of the whole spectacle that is the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“Previously, we could guess roughly when the competitors were going to attempt to record their qualifying time from the track conditions, the temperature and the stage the car was at in its testing programme.
“But there were no guarantees and, of course, they were not necessarily in competition with each other at the same moment in time.
Now they will be, and it will be a festival of speed! On such a long circuit, this session is going to be a favourite with drivers and fans alike.”
Hyperpole will take place on Friday between 11:30 am and 12:00 pm local time.
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