The Porsche GT Team has qualified both 911 RSR for the Hyperpole at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Factory drivers Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium and Frédéric Makowiecki from France finished first and third in the GTE-Pro class in qualifying on the 13.626-kilometre track.

In the GTE-Am category, the number 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing car made it into the top 6. Only the six fastest vehicles from each of the two GTE classes will compete for the best tomorrow, Thursday, from 8:00 p.m. (CEST). Fight starting places. The 911 RSR, in which Michael Fassbender will celebrate his Le Mans premiere, does not qualify for the shootout. Fassbender had an accident in qualifying but was uninjured.

“It started dripping, then there was a red flag and finally heavy rain – finding exactly the right time window for a fast lap in these conditions was anything but easy,” sums up Alexander Stehlig, Head of Factory Motorsport FIA WEC. “Our goal was to qualify both cars for the Hyperpole. We succeeded, so we are satisfied. A look at the timesheet suggests that all manufacturers are close together. That's exactly what we want."

Makowiecki in the number 91 car and brand colleague Vanthoor in the number 92 sister car initially waited a few minutes in the pits at the start of the hunt for times. The crews sent the two vehicles on their journey at the optimum time, so that both drivers encountered little traffic and were able to fully exploit the potential of the 911 with around 378 kW (515 hp). In the end, Vanthoor was 0.383 seconds faster than Makowiecki with a time of 3:50.999 minutes. Due to the wet track in the second half of the one-hour session, subsequent time improvements were impossible.

In the GTE-Am class, Briton Harry Tincknell with the number 77 Dempsey-Proton Racing car qualified fifth in 3:54.224 minutes – and thus for the Hyperpole. For all other Porsche 911 RSR in the amateur category, the starting positions for the 24 Hours of Le Mans have already been determined. The GR Racing 911 will start the race from seventh place, followed directly by the two Project 1 cars. The WeatherTech Racing and Hardpoint 911s finished eleventh and twelfth, while the two Proton cars are 18th and 21st.

Next to the Hyperpole, which decides the fight for the best grid positions in all four classes, two free practice sessions are on the program for tomorrow. On Friday there will be no more drives on the 13.626-kilometre Circuit des 34 Heures, but the drivers will take center stage at the traditional driver's parade in downtown Le Mans. The 90th running of the 24-hour classic starts on Saturday at 4 p.m. (CEST). The free TV broadcaster RTL NITRO will broadcast the entire race live.

Driver comments after qualifying
Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 911 RSR #92):“It was a really good lap, on which I had the necessary luck. Right before turning onto the long straights, a couple of LMP2 cars overtook me, which then gave me a nice slipstream. That certainly helped to achieve a good top speed. Overall, it was a clean drive, so we deserve to be on the provisional pole position.”

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 911 RSR #91): “I was able to set a really good lap time, which was enough to get into hyperpole. At the same time, we gained further insights into how we can further optimize our car for the long 24-hour race. Our engineers have good ideas and do a great job.”

Harry Tincknell (Porsche 911 RSR #77):“For us it was all about entering the Hyperpole. We've done it. Our Porsche 911 RSR felt better than ever in qualifying. The team has taken a perfect direction on fine details of the setup. Because the pace is so high on this track, the little things make a big difference. If the damper is adjusted one level or the rear wing is adjusted by one degree, this is immediately noticeable. We are well positioned. I think we'll be able to do a strong lap in the Hyperpole. However, it's much more important to get through the race well.”

Results of qualifying
GTE-Pro class
1. Christensen/Estre/Vanthoor (DK/F/B), Porsche 911 RSR #92, 3:50.999 minutes
2. Garcia / Taylor / Catsburg (E / USA / NL), Corvette C8.R # 63, 3: 51,132 Minutes
3. Bruni / Lietz / Makowiecki (I / A / F), Porsche 911 RSR # 91, 3: 51,382 Minutes
4. Tandy / Milner / Sims (GB / USA / GB), Corvette C8.R # 64, 3: 51,491 Minutes
5. Calado / Pier Guidi / Serra (GB / I / BR), Ferrari 488 GTE # 51, 3 : 51,502 Minutes
6. Fuoco / Molina / Rigon (I / E / I), Ferrari 488 GTE # 52, 3: 51,614 Minutes
7. Fraga / Bird / Van Gisbergen (BR / GB / NZ), Ferrari 488 GTE # 74, 3: 54,116 Minutes

GTE-Am-Class
1. Dalla Lana / Pittard / Thiim (CDN / GB / DK), Aston Martin # 98, 3: 52,559 Minutes
2. Kimura / Schandorff / Jensen (J / DK / DK), Ferrari 488 GTE # 57, 3: 53,489 minutes
3. Cassidy / Flohr / Castellacci (NZ / CH / I), Ferrari 488 GTE # 54, 3: 53,690 minutes
5. Ried/Priaulx/Tincknell (D/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR #77, 3:54.224 minutes
7. Wainwright/Barker/Pera (GB/GB/I), Porsche 911 RSR #86, 3:54.323 minutes
8. Iribe/Barnicoat/Millroy (USA/GB/GB), Porsche 911 RSR #56, 3:54.510 minutes
9. Leutwiler/Cairoli/Pedersen (CH/I/DK), Porsche 911 RSR #46, 3:54.533 minutes
11 MacNeil/Andlauer/Merrill (USA/F/USA), Porsche 911 RSR #79, 3:54.912 minutes
12 Haryanto/Picariello/Rump (RI/B/EST), Porsche 911 RSR #99, 3:55.076 minutes
18 Poordad/Heylen/Root (USA/B/USA), Porsche 911 RSR #88, 3:56.516 minutes
21 Campbell/Fassbender/Robichon (AUS/IRL/CDN), Porsche 911 RSR #93, 4:07.907 minutes