Within the hour the green flag will fly over Le Mans. The clock will start and 24 hours from now we’ll crown the winners. Let’s take a quick look at the madness that was qualifying.
Audi took the 1-2-3 in LMP1 qualifying, but Toyota was close behind this time. The race pace of the Toyota is unknown and during the morning warm-up today Toyota was faster than the Audi while maintaining 1 lap advantage on fuel economy. Audi may finally have a battle this year and we keep our fingers crossed that the Toyota’s can hold. Let’s not forget next year we have Porsche as well coming into the mix so it may soon be a three way battle. Rebellion Racing is the best of the Rest in LMP1.
LMP2 it is a mix of could have’s given the red flags during final qualifying. Many very fast LMP2 teams remain deep in the field so it could be a battle of survival at the start for the fastest of the LMP2 teams.
GTE-Pro and GTE-AM are awash in Aston Martin Racing speed. It’s Aston’s 100th anniversary so to see them upfront is great. Both classes were topped by factory Astons. The Porsches and Ferraris were very close to the Astons through both classes. The Vipers in their return weren’t completely on pace during the fastest parts of qualifying. The Corvette Racing team who once dominated Le Mans is now buried deep within the GTE-Pro field and cant find there pace according to Danny Binks. Tommy Milner Jr. went on to say on Twitter that they are baffled by the problem. Never forget that Corvette Racing wont miss a beat in the pits so they maybe work there forwards if other teams slack off.
With under 30 minutes to go before the French flag flies over the field and we are underway the weather is a topic of conversation although not as much as a factor as previously thought. All fingers crossed we have a great race ahead of us and for the battle we want to see played out over the next 24 hours. Rain is now falling on the camera lenses around the entire track. Here we GO!
Join me on Twitter @KevinGlaus for live updates during the race. Planning a mid race update tonight as well.