2016 24 Hours of Le Mans: Porsche Quickest in Free Practice

[Jack Hunsley]

As the 84th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans got underway it was Porsche who once again topped the time sheets in Wednesday's Free Practice session.

Last year's pole setting #2 Porsche in the hands of Neel Jani set the best time of the four hour session in the closing 10 minutes, with his 3:22.011 putting his team over half a second clear of the sister #1 Porsche. However in wonderful news for the neutral all three of the top LMP1 dogs led at one point or another across the session.

Anthony Davidson set the early pace before being displaced by Webber, only for Loic Duval to put Audi top before Porsche re-established their dominance. Likewise, Lucas Di Grassi was briefly competing with the Porsche for the top spot before an usual error under breaking for the first of the Mulsanne Straight chicanes meant that the #8 Audi had to limp back to the pits for repairs.

Their sister #7 car faired little better. An early spin in the hands of Treluyer proved to be the highlight for the entry after a loose connector on a fuel flow meter restricted them to 6th overall.

Both Toyota split the Audi's by the end of the session, however Stephane Sarrazin was left rather red-faced after a very late spin left his #6 car with significant front end damage and brought out the red flag to bring the session to an early close.

For the privateers it was Rebellion who faired better with their two cars separated by two tenths, whilst their challengers ByKolles were five second down on the trailing Rebellion after the #4 machine caught fire early in the session.

In LMP2 last year's winners KCMG ended up as the quickest team ahead of Signatech Alpine and the Le Mans exclusive #23 Panis Barthez Competition entry.

Richard Bradley knocked the #36 Signatech entry into second in class late on during the session, before Bruno Senna parked his RGR Sport car in the gravel at Indianapolis.

In the GT classes Ferrari continued their season's form so far as they topped both GTE Pro and GTE Am.

In the Pro category Gianmaria Bruni set the quickest time in #51 car, putting his entry ahead of the Risi Competizione Ferrari of Fisichella, Vilander and Malucelli. Behind the Italians lined up three of the four Ford GT's who showed excellent pace throughout the session. However there was trouble for the 4th placed #66 GT after Billy Johnson spun and hit the wall at Mulsanne Corner very late in the session.

Meanwhile in Am Clearwater Racing led the way courtesy of Rob Bell's 3:57.543 lap to put the #61 1.6 seconds clear of #62 Scuderia Corsa Ferrari. The #83 AF Corse was the highest ranked WEC GTE Am car ahead of the #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing entry in 4th.

Finally, the Garage 56 entry of SRT ended the session in 34th place on the same pace as the leading GTE Pro cars.

1. LMP1 - #2 Porsche Team (Dumas, Jani, Lieb) - 3:22.011
2. LMP1 - #1 Porsche Team (Bernhard, Webber, Hartley) - +0.539
3. LMP1 - #8 Audi Sport Team Joest (Di Grassi, Duval, Jarvis) - +0.974
4. LMP1 - #6 Toyota Gazoo Racing (Sarrazin, Conway, Kobayashi) - +1.147
5. LMP1 - #5 Toyota Gazoo Racing (Davidson, Buemi, Nakajima) - +2.020
6. LMP1 - #7 Audi Sport Team Joest (Fässler, Lotterer, Tréluyer) - +3.515
7. LMP1 - #12 Rebellion Racing (Prost, Heidfeld, Piquet Jr) - +6.025
8. LMP1 - #13 Rebellion Racing (Tüscher, Imperatori. Kraihamer) - +6.280
9. LMP1 - #4 ByKolles Racing Team (Trummer, Webb, Kaffer) - +11.211
10. LMP2 - #47 KCMG (Matsuda, Howson, Bradley) - +17.122
11. LMP2 - #36 Signatech Alpine (Menezes, Lapierre, Richelmi) - +17.710
12. LMP2 - #23 Panis Barthez Competition (Barthez, Chatin, Buret) - +18.297
13. LMP2 - #33 Eurasia Motorsport (Junjin, Gommendy, De Bruijn) - +18.310
14. LMP2 - #46 Thiriet (Thiriet, Beche, Hirakawa) - +18.444
15. LMP2 - #42 Strakka Racing (Leventis, Watts, Kane) - +18.965
16. LMP2 - #30 Extreme Speed Motorsport (Sharp, Brown, Van Overbeek) - +19.316
17. LMP2 - #26 G-Drive Racing (Rusinov, Stevens, Rast) - +19.399
18. LMP2 - #31 Extreme Speed Motorsport (Dalziel, Derani, Cumming) - +20.105
19. LMP2 - #49 Michael Shank Racing (Pew, Negri Jr., Vanthoor) - +20.108
20. LMP2 - #35 Baxi DC Racing Alpine (Cheng, Tung, Panciatici) - +20.132
21. LMP2 - #44 Manor (Graves, Rao, Merhi) - +20.855
22. LMP2 - #27 SMP Racing (Minassian, Mediani, Aleshin) - +21.396
23. LMP2 - #38 G-Drive Racing (Dolan, Dennis, Van Der Garde) - +21.444
24. LMP2 - #37 SMP Racing (Petrov, Shaytar, Ladygin) - +21.817
25. LMP2 - #43 RGR Sport by Morand (Gonzalez, Senna, Albuquerque) - +22.075
26. LMP2 - #28 Pegasus Racing (Taittinger, Striebig, Roussel) - +22.107
27. LMP2 - #25 Algarve Pro Racing (Munemann, Hoy, Pizzitola) - +26.935
28. LMP2 - #48 Murphy Prototypes (Keating, Bleekemolen, Goosens) - +23.806
29. LMP2 - #34 Race Performance (Leutwiler, Nakano, Winslow) - +24.119
30. LMP2 - #41 Greaves Motorsport (Rojas, Canal, Berthon) - +26.889
31. LMP2 - #22 SO24 (Capillaire, Maris, Coleman) - +26.942
32. LMP2 - #40 Krohn Racing (Krohn, Jönsson, Barbosa) - +27.977
33. GTE Pro - #51 AF Corse (Bruni, Calado, Pier Guidi) - +31.822
34. G56 - #84 SRT 41 (Sausset, Tinseua, Bouvet) - +31.882
35. GTE Pro - #82 Risi Competizione (Fisichella, Vilander, Malucelli) - +32.169
36. GTE Pro - #68 Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA (Hand, Müller, Bourdais) - +32.882
37. GTE Pro - #66 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK (Johnson, Mücke, Pla) - +33.070
38. GTE Pro - #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK (Franchitti, Priaulx, Tincknell) - +33.425
39. GTE Pro - #71 AF Corse (Rigon, Bird, Bertolini) - +33.491
40. GTE Pro - #69 Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA (Briscoe, Wstbrook, Scott Dixon) - +33.499
41. GTE Pro - #92 Porsche Motorsport (Makowiecki, Bamber, Bergmeister) - +33.650
42. GTE Pro - #64 Corvette Racing (Gavin, Milner, Taylor) - +34.120
43. GTE Pro - #63 Corvette Racing (Magnussen, Garcia, Taylor) - +34.379
44. GTE Pro - #91 Porsche Motorsport (Pilet, Estre, Tandy) - +34.495
45. GTE Pro - #95 Aston Martin Racing (Thiim, Sørensen, Turner) - +34.607
46. GTE Pro - #77 Dempsey-Proton Racing (Lietz, Christensen, Eng) - +34.985
47. GTE Pro - #97 Aston Martin Racing (Stanaway, Rees, Adam) - +35.446
48. GTE Am - #61 Clearwater Racing (Sun, Sawa, Bell) - +35.532
49. GTE Am - #62 Scuderia Corsa (Sweedler, Bell, Segal) - +37.092
50. GTE Am - #83 AF Corse (Perrodo, Collard, Aguas) - +37.283
51. GTE Am - #88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing (Al Qubaisi, Hansson, Long) - +37.581
52. GTE Am - #78 KCMG (Ried, Henzler, Camathias) - +38.407
53. GTE Am - #98 Aston Martin Racing (Dalla Lana, Lamy, Lauda) - +38.842
54. GTE Am - #50 Larbre Competition (Yamagishi, Ragues, Belloc) - +39.166
55. GTE Am - #55 AF Corse (Cameron, Griffin, Scott) - +39.189
56. GTE Am - #89 Proton Competition (MacNeil, Keen, Miller) - +40.180
57. GTE Am - #60 Formula Racing (Laursen, Mac Jensen, Nielsen) - +40.421
58. GTE Am - #86 Gulf Racing (Wainwright, Carroll, Barker) - +41.772
59. GTE Am - #57 Team AAI (O'Connell, Bryant, Patterson) - +42.515
60. GTE Am - #99 Aston Martin Racing (Howard, Griffin, Hirsch) - +45.668

 

[Brownninja97]

YEESSS porsche YESSSS.

We cant allow that ugly audi to win, WE CANT

 

[Moxley6969]

decent quali session. Lets see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Andrew Harper]

YEESSS porsche YESSSS.

We cant allow that ugly audi to win, WE CANT

I wish the ACO/FIA would allow a bit more curvature in the profile of the rear fin anti-lift style safety device. I don't hate them but even now it looks like someone from B&Q has glued a piece of MDF to the back of the cars...

 

[eSEA One]

As the 84th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans got underway it was Porsche who once again topped the time sheets in Wednesday's Free Practice session.

Have we gone back in time?The 84th running of 24hs of Le Mans!! Unless I have gone forward in time what was this http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/the-l...90th-anniversary-on-15-16-june-2013-_362.html
I attended the 90th 24hs of Le Mans in 2013, Got the lanyard and Pit pass
Some of my photos https://goo.gl/photos/xYAxhUCrTZvL8gnd8

 

[Nick Gregory]

@eSEA One 2013 was the 90th anniversary since the first running of Le Mans. This year is technically the 84th.

 

[Andrew Harper]

@eSEA One 2013 was the 90th anniversary since the first running of Le Mans. This year is technically the 84th.

Yes for races that have been going this long, there's a "Anniversary" and a "number of events"

I would imagine that some of that gap was caused by a little problem called World War II...

I think it's kind the same for the Indy 500, the first race was in 1911 but due to world conflict there would of been years when the race didn't run. Hence why this year it was the "100th running".

 

[eSEA One]

Ah I stand corrected thanks guys. or maybe "not so much of a thanks for making me feel like the village idiot!

 

[4 8 15 16 23 42 108]

The poor Fords really complain rightfully. They don't stand a chance. Only four of them in the top five. I hope ACO give them 200 bhp more. Then the Ford LMP will do great.

 

[fortyfivekev]

With all the reliability problems in LMP1 this year and some of the drivers having a win-or-crash mentality, I bet the Rebellion guys are looking up at the podium and dreaming. Would love to see a surprise result after the recent years of factory domination but failing that would like to see Toyota get a win after sticking with the sport as they have.

Not happy about the Fords but you can't really blame them. The ACO should have made them base it on a road car like everyone else has had to do. If you deliberately build a car that is crap everywhere apart from Le Mans then the BOP process can only help you out when it comes to the 24 hours.

 

[Brownninja97]

yeah when porsche/aston/corvette gain around 0.1-0.5seconds between test day(or lose time due to bop) and the real event and then ferrari and ford bust out 4-5second there has to be something done else its gonna be a really bad race. gte pro is normally so close and interesting due to how close it is. disappointing.

 

[Grand Tourist]

I just purchased the Eurosport live 4 months summer deal for €20. That means all summer live motorsport, including Le Mans 24H, on my phone, tablet or pc for €5/ month. To give a reference: cable sucks and costs €13/month in Belgium.

 

[eSEA One]

I just purchased the Eurosport live 4 months summer deal for €20. That means all summer live motorsport, including Le Mans 24H, on my phone, tablet or pc for €5/ month. To give a reference: cable sucks and costs €13/month in Belgium.

I got the 1 month For €7.99 as I am only interested in Le Mans

 

[Andrew Harper]

I'm on another type of subscription. I watch the race on the WEC/Le Mans App. Allows you to select onboard cameras, etc. I recommend the free version for live timing if you want it.

I sometimes mix the sound and pictures by playing the video through the TV and audio from RadioLeMans, there's always a slight delay of a few seconds but they still provide the most information and laughs for me The nice thing about RLM is they talk about the battles further down the field. Doesn't always happen on the TV coverage because the TV director likes to follow the LMP cars mostly.

10/10 though to Eurosport for their coverage, nice we get to see the practise and qualifying. Would be cool to see the drivers parade in town again (Motors TV showed it a few times) but you can't have everything.

 

[Grand Tourist]

For me Eurosport live is the most accessable and best quality for a pretty low cost. However the days of "free" tv belong almost to the definitive past.
What is interesting is that viewers can send questions to the reporters of Eurosport via email or sms, as long as it's related to the race.
And as for the director to focus on the LMP, I am the biggest LMP1 fan around probably and I love to look at those cars agility and swift manoevring at such high speeds. It is just so intriging.
EDIT: Bandicam is really handy right now

 

[Grand Tourist]

Watching quali live now at 720p full screen with 5.1 surround. Best €20 spend on live motorsport racing without actually being there

 

[Grand Tourist]

Porsche 919 #2 just did a 3:19"733

Rooting for Marc Goossens #48 lmp2. More confidence in him than the entire Belgian football team

 

[fortyfivekev]

I sometimes mix the sound and pictures by playing the video through the TV and audio from RadioLeMans, there's always a slight delay of a few seconds but they still provide the most information and laughs for me The nice thing about RLM is they talk about the battles further down the field. Doesn't always happen on the TV coverage because the TV director likes to follow the LMP cars mostly.

Doing the same, watching video on fiawec.com (EUR10 for the weekend) and listening to RLM audio (free!).

 

[4 8 15 16 23 42 108]

I'm a looser. Watching every minute live on Eurosport 1 with German commentary with lousy guys such as Frank Biela, Ralf Kelleners (Le Mans legends) and Rob Leupen (head of Toyota LMP) and the Nürburgring race track commentator.
I feel bad.

 

[Erik Springelkamp]

Free to view in the Netherlands, on Eurosport 1, with decent commentary by a Dutch team that also makes a lot of audio pit lane interviews and regularly Dutch speaking participating drivers as guest in the studio.