[WEC] – Good evening dear readers of FormulaPassion.it and welcome back with the appointment dedicated to the direct writing of the Hyperpole of the2023 edition of the 24 hours of Le Mans of the World Endurance WEC.
Ferrari dreams of pole position
After yesterday’s one-two in Qualifying with Antonio Fuoco ahead of Alessandro Pier Guidi it is natural that there are high expectations in Ferrari in view of this Hyperpole. We’ll see if Toyota will be able to respond and possibly if there will be any surprises from the other manufacturers.
Session over, relive it with our minute-by-minute breaking latest news
21.10 – The official account of the WEC is already ‘warming up’ the atmosphere towards the centenary edition which will certainly have two protagonists with Porsche and Cadillac ready to enter.
Saturday. 4PM. ⚔️@FerrariHypercar @TGReurope #WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/aHnFtfPkJi
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2023
21.05 – The Ferrari 499P #50, the IDEC Oreca and the Corvette can reach the ‘front row’ at the end of the straight for the ceremony reserved for the fastest in the Hyperpole in the respective Hypercar, LMP2 and GTE-AM classes.
Let the Hyperpole ceremony begins.@FerrariHypercar @CorvetteRacing @IDECSportRacing #WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/lNiiRVF3Ev
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2023
21.00 – Toyota thus ‘cashes’ a difficult Hyperpole on social media by making an appointment for the race which will start on Saturday at 16:00.
All good things come to and end. Our record-equalling run of poles is over. But, legends are made on race day. Bring on Saturday 4 PM!#ToyotaGAZOORacing #GoHyper #WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary #GR010HYBRID pic.twitter.com/AwvoZHjhDM
— TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC (@TGR_WEC) June 8, 2023
20.55 – Today’s findings will open the door for Toyota’s complaints about weight gain. 1080 kg those of Toyota, 1064 kg those of Ferrari.
20.50 – Corvette-Aston Martin instead the front row in GTE-AM, then the two AF-Corse Ferraris.
20.48 – Convincing applause inside the Ferrari box.
FERRARI TAKES HYPERPOLE AT LE MANS! 🔥
Antonio Fuoco puts the #50 Ferrari on pole position for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans 👏#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary | @FerrariHypercar @24hoursoflemans pic.twitter.com/frnNPRMIaG
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2023
20.47 – Second time for Pietro Fittipaldi in LMP2 behind Chatin.
20.46 – Time canceled for Kobayashi, Felipe Nasr climbs to the second row with the fourth fastest time, who holds the record in the third sector, the one in which Antonio Fuoco found traffic in his crazy lap which earned the stellar pole position of the Ferrari 499P.
20.45 – Front row all Ferrari, then Kobayashi and Hartley with the Toyotas.
𝐇𝐘𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐋𝐄! 🎉 #Ferrari499P | 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧. 𝗔. 𝗟𝗔𝗣!
#️⃣5️⃣0️⃣ driven by @Anto_Fuoco tops the time sheets at Le Mans ⏱️ 3:22.982#FerrariHypercar #Ferrari499P #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/EMFrCMBdK0
— Ferrari Hypercar (@FerrariHypercar) June 8, 2023
Checkered flag
20.42 – Nasr manages to launch, pays 4 tenths at T1. Hartley’s delay at T2 rises over the second, 9 tenths behind Kobayashi. The Ferrari front row therefore seems more than safe.
20.41 – High times for the Toyotas at T1: Hartley pays half a second, Kobayashi three tenths.
20.40 – Fuoco also remained in the pits, like him Makowiecki with the Porsche who climbed to fourth position. In the Hypercar class, therefore, the Toyotas and Bamber’s surviving Cadillac will launch.
20.38 – Time removed from Bourdais, the best, for causing the red flag. The Cadillac #3 therefore drops to fifth position. Nasr doesn’t have a time to his credit yet.
20.36 – At Toyota, on the other hand, they had already warned the drivers that petrol is really running out to close the flying lap. Green flag.
20.35 – Pier Guidi gets out of the car, this Hyperpole is therefore obviously over for him because he has already used all the sets of tires available.
20.34 – Soon we will start again for the last 5 minutes of the session.
20.33 – In GTE-AM instead seven tenths the gap between Corvette and Aston Martin.
20.32 – Three tenths that separate IDEC sport and the WRT team in LMP2.
20.31 – Seven tenths per hour between the Ferraris, Cadillacs and Toyotas pays 1″9 seconds. Then Porsche, Toyota and Cadillac.
20.30 – Fuoco is on pole for now in the Hypercar in what would be an all-Ferrari front row. Chatin leads in LMP2, Keating (Corvette) in GTE-Am.
20.26 – The #3 Cadillac currently holds the third fastest time before this engine problem. Kobayashi was less than a tenth late in T1, he will have to try again when the green flag is given again. There will be a ride for everyone.
20.25 – Try to answer Kobayashi who is looking for the fourth pole in his career: meanwhile Bourdais’ Cadillac is on fire, Red flag.
RED FLAG 🔴
Drama for the #3 Cadillac Racing as it catches fire.#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/OSvwRl3U6s
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2023
20.24 – 3’32″9 for Chatin who in LMP2 detaches Deletraz by four tenths.
20.23 – Space ride for Fire despite the traffic: 3″22″982.
Anthony FIRE (@FerrariHypercar #50) provisionally on pole as the Italian clocked a 3:22.982 to beat sister car #51. Session currently under red flag, with clock stopped at 05:15.#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary pic.twitter.com/B07xVHDSe8
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2023
20.21 – Lap canceled for Pier Guidi, Fuoco is nine tenths ahead in T2, but there is traffic in T3.
20.20 – 3’23″4 Pier Guidi’s new reference, Fuoco is very fast in T1.
20.18 – Now in T2 he has an advantage of 60 thousandths.
20.17 – Pier Guidi relaunches, he pays himself 67 thousandths in T1. He has a nice trail from the Cadillac now on the Hunaudières.
20.15 – Pit stops for both Toyotas.
20.14 – For now, Ferraris are impregnable for Toyota and Cadillac.
20.13 – Time canceled for Chatin due to non-compliance with track-limits.
20.12 – Chatin takes the lead in the LMP2 class.
20.11 – Pier Guidi returns to the pits, Fuoco closes 8 thousandths behind his brand mate.
20.10 – Nielsen racing ahead in LMP2 for now, Corvette leading with Keating in GTE-AM.
20.09 – 3’23″897 for Pier Guidi who is already below the 2022 pole. Fuoco is second at 301 thousandths, Pier Guidi made the difference in the third sector in the Porsche curves.
20.07 – Pier Guidi in 31″9 is the fastest at T1, Fuoco pays a few thousandths, Bamber already knows that the lap will be canceled for not respecting the track-limits.
20.06 – The drivers: Kobayashi and Hartley for the Toyotas, Fuoco and Pier Guidi for the Ferraris, Bamber and Bourdais for the Cadillacs, Nasr with the Porsche.
20.05 – The first timed laps begin.
20.03 – The 499P #50 of Fuoco is very ‘low’, sparks from the bottom at the second esse of the Hunaudières.
20.01 – 24 cars on the track, 8 per class. 30°C the air temperature, 40°C that of the asphalt.
20.00 – Green light at the bottom of the pit lane, the hunt for pole position begins.
19.55 – The two Toyotas are already lined up ready to enter the track, behind them the Ferrari #51.
19.50 – Ferrari one-two also in the third free practice session held today.
FP3 🏁 @FerrariHypercar leads the way in third practice session 💪
🔗 Read the full report on https://t.co/PGCJzsDCLH#WEC #LeMans24 #LeMansCentenary | @24hoursoflemans pic.twitter.com/DYTVmn0ecW
— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) June 8, 2023
19.45 – The words of Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi on the eve of this great event.
19.40 – At the level of BOP – Balance of Performance – these were the last decisions taken.
19.35 – A dive into the past with this gallery of historic cars.
19.30 – Let’s start our report by sharing the results of yesterday’s Qualifying, a session that saw the two Ferrari 499Ps in the lead in the Hypercar class divided by 199 thousandths.