Porsche Leads The Pack At First 2024 Hours of Le Mans Test Day

Both three-hour sessions held as part of the official Le Mans test day have concluded for the 62-car field entered in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the fourth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The No. 6 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar topped the timesheets with a fastest lap of 3:26.907 in the second session. This time surpassed last year’s best Test Day time, set by the AF Corse No. 51 Ferrari 499P Hypercar, by over three seconds.

The No. 4 Porsche Penske entry posted the second-fastest time, clocking in 0.473 seconds quicker than the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar, which took third. The No. 5 Porsche 963 and the AF Corse No. 50 Ferrari 499P rounded out the top five.

In the morning session, the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid from Toyota Gazoo Racing set the best lap time with a 3:28.467. The No. 6 Porsche 963 followed with a time of 3:29.270, and the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 came in third at 3:29.433.

This test day also marked the debut of the new-for-2024 LMGT3 class at Le Mans, featuring manufacturers such as Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ferrari, Ford, Lamborghini, Lexus, McLaren, and Porsche.

The No. 82 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R was the fastest in this category, setting a time of 3:59.883. The Heart of Racing and Team WRT entries were close behind, both posting identical lap times of 3:59.520.

In the morning, the No. 78 Lexus RC F LMGT3 from Akkodis ASP Team was the quickest, lapping the 13.6km circuit in 4:00.106.

Among the LMP2 teams, the No. 22 United Autosports entry led the field with a lap time of 3:34.704.

The next Hypercar and LMGT3 track action at Le Mans is scheduled for Wednesday, June 12, with Free Practice 1 starting at 14:00.