Cadillac Shines Bright In Le Mans Hyperpole, Securing Front Row Lockout

• Alex Lynn in the #12 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series R clinched pole position for the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans with a blistering lap of 03:23.166.
• Cadillac achieved a historic front-row lockout, with Earl Bamber in the sister #38 car securing second place, just 0.167 seconds behind Lynn.
• The Hyperpole sessions saw intense competition across all classes, with TDS Racing, Heart Of Racing, and Inter Europol Competition claiming top spots in LMP2 and LMGT3.

The golden hour at Circuit de la Sarthe witnessed a stunning performance from the gold Hertz Team JOTA Cadillacs, as British driver Alex Lynn stole the show in the #12 V-Series R, setting a blistering lap time of 03:23.166 to secure pole position for the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. Lynn’s achievement was complemented by teammate Earl Bamber, who slotted the sister #38 car just 0.167 seconds behind, completing a historic front-row lockout for the American brand.

Hypercar
In Hyperpole 1, the fastest 15 cars from Wednesday’s qualifying session battled it out in low-fuel qualifying trim. The #5 Porsche set the early benchmark with a 03:23.979, but drama unfolded as the car lost its rear-right wheel on the approach to the pitlane, narrowly making it into the final session.

British fans were left disappointed as the lone #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie could only manage 15th place. Joining the Aston Martin Thor Team on the sidelines for the final session were the #101 WTR Cadillac, #35 Alpine, and surprisingly, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari and 2023 winners, the #51 Ferrari AF Corse.

In Hyperpole 2, Sébastien Buemi had a heart-stopping moment in the #8 Toyota, struggling to stop at one of the biggest braking zones in world motorsport – the run to the bottom of the Mulsanne. Luckily, he escaped the gravel trap and rejoined the race track, but the excursion denied Toyota a shot at the top spot.

Alex Lynn’s remarkable 03:23.166 lap time rocketed him to the top of the timesheets, with teammate Earl Bamber digging deep to secure second place and solidify Cadillac’s front-row lockout.

“Everytime you get the chance to drive a low fuel Hypercar at Le Mans is an honour and privilege, and to do it in front of this crowd is special,” said a jubilant Alex Lynn. “Cadillac has worked so hard and fully deserves this result. It’s a special feeling to do it on a magical night and magical circuit such as Le Mans – a place I love. Now we only have 24 hours to do! A good sleep tonight and reset for the big one Saturday.”

LMP2 and LMGT3
A red flag momentarily halted the session with just over 11 minutes remaining, as the #54 Vista AF Ferrari LMGT3 required a safe rescue at the Porsche Curves. Meanwhile, the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus took a trip through the gravel at the Dayonta chicane on the Mulsanne straight.

In LMP2, the #199 AO by TF and #22 United Autosports cars battled for the top spot until the #43 Inter Europol Competition delivered a textbook run to gap the pack by 0.641 seconds.

LMGT3 saw the #46 Team WRT, driven by Valentino Rossi, complete Hyperpole 1 on top, while the #81 TF Sport Corvette showed improved pace, just three-tenths behind. Sean Gelael in the #95 United Autosports McLaren 720S secured the final Hyperpole 2 spot with a last-gasp effort.

In the intense Hyperpole 2 session, four different cars occupied the top position, each crossing the line in dramatic fashion. The #29 TDS Racing held their nerve, with Mathias Beche setting the overall fastest time. Louis Deletraz in the #199 AO by TF car made a valiant attempt but could only manage third, behind the #43 Inter Europol Competition car of Tom Dillmann.

Valentino Rossi couldn’t replicate his session-topping performances in the #46 BMW run by WRT, clocking the third-fastest time. The #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari claimed second, while the Heart of Racing celebrated a historic pole position for their #27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3.

The action continues with the final Free Practice session, FP4, starting at 23:00 local time, providing teams with one last opportunity to fine-tune their setups before the main event on Saturday.

The ten best Hypercars at the end of Hyperpole:

1. Cadillac V-Series.R #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Will Stevens / Norman Nato / Alex Lynn – 03.23.166
2. Cadillac V-Series.R #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA – Earl Bamber / Sébastien Bourdais / Jenson Button – 03.23.333
3. Porsche 963 #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport – Julien Andlauer / Michael Christensen / Mathieu Jaminet – 03.23.475
4. BMW M Hybrid V8 #15 BMW M Team WRT – Dries Vanthoor / Raffaele Marciello / Kevin Magnussen – 03.23.659
5. Porsche 963 #4 Porsche Penske Motorsport – Felipe Nasr / Nick Tandy / Pascal Wehrlein – 03.23.983
6. BMW M Hybrid V8 #20 BMW M Team WRT – Rene Rast / Robin Frijns / Sheldon van der Linde – 03.24.009
7. Ferrari 499P #50 Ferrari-AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Nicklas Nielsen / Miguel Molina – 03.24.213
8. Cadillac V-Series.R #311 Cadillac Whelen – Jack Aitken / Felipe Drugovich / Frederik Vesti – 03.24.380
9. Alpine A424 #36 Alpine Endurance Team – Mick Schumacher / Frédéric Makowiecki / Jules Gounon – 03.24.398
10. Toyota GR010 Hybrid #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing – Sébastien Buemi / Brendon Hartley / Ryo Hirakawa – No time

The eight best LMP2s at the end of Hyperpole:

1. Oreca 07-Gibson #29 TDS Racing – Rodrigo Sales / Mathias Beche / Clément Novalak (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 03.35.062
2. Oreca 07-Gibson #43 Inter Europol Competition – Jakub Smiechowski / Tom Dillmann / Nick Yelloly – 03.35.333
3. Oreca 07-Gibson #14 AO by TF – PJ Hyett / Dane Cameron / Louis Delétraz (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 03.35.421
4. Oreca 07-Gibson #23 United Autosports – Daniel Schneider / Oliver Jarvis / Benjamin Hanley (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 03.35.459
5. Oreca 07-Gibson #22 United Autosports – Renger Van Der Zande / Pietro Fittipaldi / David Heinemeier Hansson – 03.35.615
6. Oreca 07-Gibson #37 Cool Racing – Aliaksandr Malykhin / Tom Blomqvist / Tristan Vautier – 03.36.184
7. Oreca 07-Gibson #183 AF Corse – François Perrodo / Matthieu Vaxiviere / Antonio Felix Da Costa (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 03.36.993
8. Oreca 07-Gibson #16 RLR M Sport – Michael Jensen / Ryan Cullen / Patrick Pilet (LMP2 Pro/Am) – 03.38.922

The eight best LMGT3s at the end of Hyperpole:

1. Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 #27 Heart Of Racing – Ian James / Mattia Drudi / Zacharie Robichon – 03.52.789
2. Ferrari 296 LMGT3 #21 Vista AF Corse – François Heriau / Simon Mann / Alessio Rovera – 03.53.085
3. BMW M4 LMGT3 #46 Team WRT – Ahmad Al Harthy / Valentino Rossi / Kelvin Van Der Linde – 03.54.966
4. Mercedes-AMG LMGT3 #61 Iron Lynx – Martin Berry / Lin Hodenius / Maxime Martin – 03.54.998
5. Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3 #92 Manthey 1ST Phorm – Ryan Hardwick / Riccardo Pera / Richard Lietz – 03.55.140
6. Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R #81 TF Sport – Tom Van Rompuy / Rui Andrade / Charlie Eastwood – 03.55.740
7. McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo #95 United Autosports – Darren Leung / Sean Gelael / Marino Sato – 03.55.965
8. Lexus RC F LMGT3 #78 Akkodis ASP Team – Arnold Robin / Jack Hawksworth / Finn Gehrsitz – 4.03.660

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