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Autosport
Autosport
Ben Vinel

Le Mans 24h: Cadillac dominates FP1 with rivals 1.7s down

Cadillac went fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours, comfortably leading BMW, Alpine, Toyota and Ferrari in the Hypercar classification.

After Aston Martin topped the Test Day in 3m26.293s on Sunday, Cadillac’s Jordan Taylor was the first driver to improve on that reference on Wednesday. Less than half an hour into the session, Taylor set a 3m25.348s with the #101 Wayne Taylor Racing entry he shares with brother Ricky and Filipe Albuquerque.

It took over two hours for anyone to match – and beat – that benchmark, as Earl Bamber drove the sister Jota-run #38 Cadillac to a 3m25.673s, before recording a 3m24.773s. He subsequently went even quicker with a 3m23.786s.

Only BMW lapped within two seconds of the lead car, with Rene Rast (#20) achieving a 3m25.533s at the end of the session – preventing a Cadillac 1-2-3 as Will Stevens lapped in 3m26.033s after the #12 machine encountered a brake pedal problem.

Ferdinand Habsburg brought the #35 Alpine up to fifth in 3m26.078s, more than 0.4s faster than the #8 Toyota (one of two cars not to improve relative to the Test Day, with the #007 Aston Martin), the #50 Ferrari, the #009 Aston Martin and the #17 Genesis.

Peugeot was slowest of all, with a 3.2s deficit to Cadillac, 0.9s to Alpine and 0.4s to Genesis.

#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Yifei Ye, Robert Kubica, Philip Hanson (Photo by: Rainier Ehrhardt)

The main incidents from the session involved Hypercars. Ye Yifei lost control of Ferrari’s #83 car approaching Mulsanne corner and crashed. The Chinese driver made his way back to the pits, seemingly suffering little damage.

Moments later, veteran Frederic Makowiecki went wide on the approach to Tertre Rouge and substantially hit the outside wall on the left-hand side, with the #36 Alpine crabbing along before stopping trackside.

Doriane Pin fastest in LMP2

There was more action in the LMP2 category, with the #37 CLX Motorsport, #4 APR, #9 Proton and #183 AF Corse entries going off in the first sector, courtesy of Mikkel Jenson, George Kurtz, Harry King and Ben Barnicoat respectively, while the #14 TDS and #99 AO by TF entries had similar shenanigans at Raccordement with Tobias Luetke and PJ Hyett.

Mercedes Formula 1 junior Doriane Pin was fastest by far in LMP2, setting a 3m35.248s in the #30 Duqueine car, outpacing the #14 TDS entry by seven tenths, while IDEC Sport’s #28 car was nearly a full second off.

The GT3 class was as competitive as usual, with Akkodis ASP’s #78 Lexus narrowly edging both Team WRT BMWs, Iron Lynx’ #62 Mercedes and TF’s #34 Corvette – these four manufacturers lapped within 0.41s of one another on the 13.626km track.

Le Mans 24 Hours - Free Practice 1 results

FP1

All Stats
Cla Team # Drivers Car Laps Time Interval km/h
1 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR 38 France S. Bourdais New Zealand E. Bamber United Kingdom J. Aitken Cadillac V-Series.R 41

3'23.786

240.711
2 Cadillac WTR HYPERCAR 101 United States R. Taylor United States J. Taylor Portugal F. Albuquerque Cadillac V-Series.R 38

+1.562

3'25.348

1.562 238.880
3 BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR 20 Netherlands R. Frijns Germany R. Rast South Africa S. Van Der Linde BMW M Hybrid V8 36

+1.747

3'25.533

0.185 238.665
4 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR 12 Switzerland L. Deletraz United Kingdom W. Stevens France N. Nato Cadillac V-Series.R 27

+2.247

3'26.033

0.500 238.086
5 Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR 35 Portugal A. Felix da Costa France C. Milesi Austria F. Habsburg Alpine A424 35

+2.292

3'26.078

0.045 238.034
6 Toyota Racing HYPERCAR 8 Switzerland S. Buemi New Zealand B. Hartley Japan R. Hirakawa Toyota TR010 Hybrid 44

+2.705

3'26.491

0.413 237.558
7 FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR 50 Italy A. Fuoco Denmark N. Nielsen Spain M. Molina Ferrari 499P 45

+2.708

3'26.494

0.003 237.554
8 Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR 009 Spain A. Riberas Denmark M. Sorensen Canada R. De Angelis Aston Martin Valkyrie 45

+2.790

3'26.576

0.082 237.460
9 Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR 17 Germany A. Lotterer Brazil P. Derani M. Jaubert Genesis GMR-001 34

+2.817

3'26.603

0.027 237.429
10 Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR 007 United Kingdom H. Tincknell United Kingdom T. Gamble United Kingdom R. Gunn Aston Martin Valkyrie 34

+2.919

3'26.705

0.102 237.312
11 Toyota Racing HYPERCAR 7 United Kingdom M. Conway Japan K. Kobayashi Netherlands N. de Vries Toyota TR010 Hybrid 42

+2.814

3'26.600

237.432
12 Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR 36 France F. Makowiecki France J. Gounon France V. Martins Alpine A424 39

+3.452

3'27.238

0.638 236.701
13 Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR 19 France M. Jaminet France P. Chatin Spain D. Juncadella Genesis GMR-001 37

+3.036

3'26.822

237.177
14 BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR 15 Denmark K. Magnussen Italy R. Marciello Belgium D. Vanthoor BMW M Hybrid V8 46

+3.059

3'26.845

0.023 237.151
15 FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR 51 Italy A. Pier Guidi United Kingdom J. Calado Italy A. Giovinazzi Ferrari 499P 44

+3.150

3'26.936

0.091 237.047
16 PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR 93 United Kingdom P. di Resta Belgium S. Vandoorne New Zealand N. Cassidy Peugeot 9X8 41

+5.139

3'28.925

1.989 234.790
17 AF Corse HYPERCAR 83 China Y. Yifei Poland R. Kubica United Kingdom P. Hanson Ferrari 499P 37

+3.540

3'27.326

236.601
18 PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR 94 France L. Duval Denmark M. Jakobsen France T. Pourchaire Peugeot 9X8 42

+3.561

3'27.347

0.021 236.577
19 DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2 30 France D. Pin France J. Andlauer Netherlands R. Verschoor Oreca 07 - Gibson 34

+11.462

3'35.248

7.901 227.893
20 TDS Racing LMP2 14 Canada T. Lutke Switzerland M. Beche France K. Estre Oreca 07 - Gibson 43

+12.172

3'35.958

0.710 227.144
21 IDEC SPORT LMP2 28 France P. Lafargue V. Rinicella Netherlands J. Van Uitert Oreca 07 - Gibson 38

+11.651

3'35.437

227.693
22 AO by TF LMP2 99 United States P. Hyett Australia J. Allen United States D. Cameron Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+12.438

3'36.224

0.787 226.864
23 United Autosports LMP2 22 Sweden R. Lindh Switzerland G. Saucy Denmark M. Jensen Oreca 07 - Gibson 32

+12.592

3'36.378

0.154 226.703
24 AF Corse LMP2 183 France F. Perrodo France M. Vaxiviere United Kingdom B. Barnicoat Oreca 07 - Gibson 41

+14.290

3'38.076

1.698 224.938
25 Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2 4 United States G. Kurtz A. Quinn Germany L. Heinrich Oreca 07 - Gibson 41

+12.617

3'36.403

226.677
26 INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2 43 Poland J. Smiechowski France T. Dillmann United Kingdom N. Yelloly Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+12.620

3'36.406

0.003 226.673
27 Forestier Racing by Panis LMP2 29 L. Rousset E. Masson O. Gray Oreca 07 - Gibson 43

+12.852

3'36.638

0.232 226.431
28 Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2 25 M. Jensen Italy E. Trulli United Kingdom J. Hughes Oreca 07 - Gibson 43

+13.110

3'36.896

0.258 226.161
29 VECTOR SPORT LMP2 26 Ireland R. Cullen Russian Federation V. Lomko Brazil P. Fittipaldi Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+13.350

3'37.136

0.240 225.911
30 NIELSEN RACING LMP2 24 Denmark D. Heinemeier Hansson E. Pearson Australia J. Doohan Oreca 07 - Gibson 39

+13.560

3'37.346

0.210 225.693
31 INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2 343 United States B. Garg France R. de Gerus Switzerland N. Müller Oreca 07 - Gibson 38

+13.481

3'37.267

225.775
32 RD Limited LMP2 48 United States F. Poordad France T. Vautier France R. Dumas Oreca 07 - Gibson 42

+14.009

3'37.795

0.528 225.228
33 CLX Motorsport LMP2 37 A. Closmenil I. Aguilera T. Jensen Oreca 07 - Gibson 38

+14.026

3'37.812

0.017 225.210
34 DKR Engineering LMP2 3 Canada J. Farano Spain S. Alvarez Netherlands R. van der Zande Oreca 07 - Gibson 36

+14.530

3'38.316

0.504 224.690
35 United Autosports LMP2 222 Brazil D. Schneider United Kingdom B. Hanley United Kingdom O. Jarvis Oreca 07 - Gibson 41

+14.758

3'38.544

0.228 224.456
36 Proton Competition LMP2 44 Austria H. Felbermayr Jr. H. Felbermayr L. Fluxá Oreca 07 - Gibson 40

+15.048

3'38.834

0.290 224.158
37 Proton Competition LMP2 9 Germany J. Ried Japan K. Ohta H. King Oreca 07 - Gibson 10

+45.936

4'09.722

30.888 196.432
38 AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3 78 Belgium T. Rompuy H. David United Kingdom J. Hawksworth Lexus RC F GT3 30

+31.951

3'55.737

208.086
39 TEAM WRT LMGT3 32 United Kingdom D. Leung Indonesia S. Gelael Brazil A. Farfus BMW M4 GT3 Evo 41

+32.051

3'55.837

0.100 207.997
40 TEAM WRT LMGT3 69 United States A. McIntosh Canada P. Thompson D. Harper BMW M4 GT3 Evo 38

+32.052

3'55.838

0.001 207.997
41 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx LMGT3 62 A. Ali Al-Khelaifi Germany J. Hanses France G. Alesi Mercedes AMG GT3 17

+32.118

3'55.904

0.066 207.938
42 Racing Team Turkey by TF LMGT3 34 P. Dempsey Turkey S. Yoluc Ireland C. Eastwood Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 39

+32.361

3'56.147

0.243 207.724
43 AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3 87 R. Umbrarescu Austria C. Schmid Argentina J. Lopez Lexus RC F GT3 36

+32.396

3'56.182

0.035 207.694
44 Heart of Racing Team LMGT3 27 United Kingdom I. James Canada Z. Robichon Italy M. Drudi Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 37

+32.429

3'56.215

0.033 207.665
45 TF Sport LMGT3 33 United States B. Keating United Kingdom J. Edgar Netherlands N. Catsburg Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 42

+32.525

3'56.311

0.096 207.580
46 IRON LYNX LMGT3 61 Australia M. Berry Portugal R. Andrade Belgium M. Martin Mercedes AMG GT3 41

+32.694

3'56.480

0.169 207.432
47 The Bend Manthey LMGT3 92 Australia Y. Shahin Italy R. Pera Austria R. Lietz Porsche 911 GT3 R 43

+32.710

3'56.496

0.016 207.418
48 Garage 59 LMGT3 58 Sweden A. West Germany F. Gehrsitz B. Goethe McLaren 720S GT3 Evo 38

+32.782

3'56.568

0.072 207.355
49 Kessel Racing LMGT3 57 Japan T. Kimura C. Laursen Brazil D. Serra Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 41

+32.794

3'56.580

0.012 207.344
50 Garage 59 LMGT3 10 A. Au T. Fleming Germany M. Kirchhofer McLaren 720S GT3 Evo 39

+33.034

3'56.820

0.240 207.134
51 Manthey DK Engineering LMGT3 91 J. Cottingham Russian Federation T. Boguslavskiy Turkey A. Güven Porsche 911 GT3 R 42

+33.063

3'56.849

0.029 207.109
52 Vista AF Corse LMGT3 21 France F. Heriau France S. Mann Italy A. Rovera Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 38

+33.231

3'57.017

0.168 206.962
53 TF Sport LMGT3 2 J. Ibrahim L. Nicolas Hanafin B. Green Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 37

+33.255

3'57.041

0.024 206.941
54 Vista AF Corse LMGT3 54 Switzerland T. Flohr Italy F. Castellacci Italy D. Rigon Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 42

+33.315

3'57.101

0.060 206.889
55 Heart of Racing Team LMGT3 23 G. Newell Brazil D. Barrichello United Kingdom J. Adam Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 35

+33.377

3'57.163

0.062 206.834
56 Kessel Racing LMGT3 74 D. Blattner Italy L. Patrese Algeria D. Marschall Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 40

+33.445

3'57.231

0.068 206.775
57 Proton Competition LMGT3 88 Italy S. Gattuso Italy G. Levorato United States L. Sargeant Ford Mustang GT3 31

+33.943

3'57.729

0.498 206.342
58 RICHARD MILLE AF CORSE LMGT3 150 Brazil C. Toledo France L. Wadoux R. Agostini Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo 38

+33.585

3'57.371

206.653
59 IRON LYNX LMGT3 79 J. Zelger Italy M. Cressoni Netherlands L. Hodenius Mercedes AMG GT3 39

+33.597

3'57.383

0.012 206.643
60 Proton Competition LMGT3 77 United States E. Powell United Kingdom B. Tuck S. Priaulx Ford Mustang GT3 40

+33.666

3'57.452

0.069 206.583
61 13 Autosport LMGT3 13 Canada O. Fidani Germany L. Kern United Kingdom M. Bell Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R 36

+34.120

3'57.906

0.454 206.188
62 Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3 59 France C. Mateu M. Fossard France V. Hasse-Clot Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 36

+34.329

3'58.115

0.209 206.008
View full results
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