Mathias Beche claimed LMP2 pole at Le Mans for TDS Racing , setting a 3:35.062 to go quickest. Second fastest was Tom Dillmann in the #43 Inter Europol Oreca, while last year’s polesitter Louis Deletraz in #199 AO by TF Oreca.
At the start of the first Hyperpole session to determine the top eight to go through to fight for pole, it took just a single lap for the drivers to get heat into the tyres. However, they only 20 minutes to get a lap in, and with a lap time well over three and a half minutes, they’d have to work fast.
Dane Cameron initially set a 3:37.777 to go quickest, but this was soon better by Oliver Jarvis, in the #23 United Autosports Oreca, with a 3:36.984.
Clem Novalak slotted into second in the #29 TDS Racing Oreca, but was over seven tenths slower than Jarvis, with Cameron a further tenth back.
These three were all pro/am-entered LMP2s. The ‘pro’-entered cars were topped by Sebastian Alvarez in the #28 IDEC Sport Oreca, with a 3:38.649.
However, no sooner had Jarvis gone top, when Francesco Castellacci in the ∞4 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 spun into the gravel at the Porsche Curves, beaching the car. With the Italian unable to escape, a red flag was called to rescue to stricken Ferrari.
The session resumed with 11 minutes remaining, giving drivers just two laps to set a competitive lap. However, with only eight cars of the 12 going through, all that mattered was getting into that top eight.
With a few minutes to go, the times started coming in. With two minutes to go, with drivers on final laps, Clement Novalak, Patrick Pilet, Tristian Vautier, and Lorenzo Fluxa were going out.
At the other end of the timesheet, Renger van der Zande had gone fastest in the #22 United Autosports Oreca. Nick Yelloly, in the #43 Inter Europol Oreca, was out of sequence, though, and set a faster time, a 3:34.657 to go top. Cameron slotted into second, getting on for seven tenths off Yelloly, demoting van der Zande to third.
Going out, then, was #28 IDEC Sport’s Sebastian Alvarez, #45 Algarve Pro Racing’s Nicky Catsburg, #48 VDS Panis’s Franck Perera, and Fluxa in the #25 Algarve Pro car.
Hyperpole 2
The time for the second Hyperpole session was cut down to just 15 minutes. With eight minutes remaining, none of the eight cars going for pole had set a representative lap.
The first representative laps came through with just under half the session remaining. After each car had set a lap, Louis Deletraz was quickest in the #199 AO by TF Orec, the purple ‘Spike the Dragon’ car,. The Swiss driver set a 3:36.442, almost two seconds slower than the Hyperpole 1 times. Ben Hanley slotted into second in the #23 United Autosport Oreca and Matthieu Vaxiviere third onboard the #183 AF Corse Oreca.
Hanley then went top with three and a half minutes remaining, setting a lap just 0.048 faster than Deletraz, the 2024 LMP2 polesitter, also in AO by TF’s ‘Spike’ car.
Mathias Beche, onboard the #29 TDS Racing Oreca, then took second off Deletraz, 0.022 slower than Hanley, demoting Deletraz to third. All three would get another lap, though.
But Tom Dillmann, in the #43 Inter Europol Oreca, had other ideas. The Frenchman set a 3:35.333, a tenth and a bit faster than Hanley. On his final lap, Beche went even faster, with a 0.271 margin to Dillmann. Just before, Hanley had crossed the line to start his final lap, with just two seconds remaining on the clock.
On his final lap, despite losing the rear end at Arnage and a huge slide out of the final Ford chicane to end the lap, Deletraz was able to steal third from Hanley.
Beche, then, took pole, with a 3:35.062 in the #29 TDS car. Second, almost three tenths off, was Dillmann, while Deletraz was third. Fourth and fifth were the two United Autosports cars, Hanley in the #23 ahead of Pietro Fittipaldi in the #22. Sixth was Tom Blomqvist in the #37 CLX – Pure Rxcing machine, while seventh and eighth went to #183 AF Corse’s Matthieu Vaxiviere and #16 RLR M Sport’s Ryan Cullen.
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