Two Ferrari 499P in front row of Lone Star Le Mans

WECHyperCar

Sep 1

The Ferrari 499P #51, driven by Antonio Giovinazzi during Hyperpole, posted a time of 1’50”390 and will lead the grid in the six-hour race starting at 1 p.m. (local time) on Sunday 1 September. The 499P #83, entered by AF Corse, will complete the front row courtesy of the time set by Robert Kubica at Circuit of the Americas ahead of Lone Star Le Mans (COTA).

During the qualifying session, Giovinazzi and Fuoco posted the first and second-best times, stopping the clock at 1’50”734 and 1’51”059, respectively. AF Corse’s 499P number 83, driven by Robert Kubica, secured fourth place with a time of (1’51”233) .

Two Ferrari in front row

Antonio Giovinazzi clinched first pole in the Hypercar and it was the first one for the #51 Ferrari this season.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #51 Ferrari 499P with Antonio Giovinazi.

Antonio Giovinazzi, 499P #51: “We’ve finally secured a first pole position for the 499P number 51, after the one that slipped away at Spa in 2023, leaving us with some regrets. We have been strong and determined all weekend, starting from Free Practice 1, and it was crucial to maintain that in today’s Hyperpole. A big thanks to the entire team and my teammates. We have a challenging six-hour race ahead of us, but we are confident and aim to be in the running for an excellent result”. Source Ferrari

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P with Robert Kubica.

Antonello Coletta, Global Head of Endurance and Corse Clienti "We are delighted with this excellent result: an all-Ferrari front row in such an important championship race. Giovinazzi delivered an extraordinary lap in the Hyperpole, and Kubica also did an incredible job, taking nothing away from Fuoco, who couldn't give his all in every sector. We are confident ahead of tomorrow’s 6 Hours, having shown throughout the weekend that we can be competitive. In the race, we aim to maintain a strong pace, particularly during the hottest hours, and to perform at our best as a team." Source Ferrari

Cadillac and Alpine in second row

Alex Lynn drove the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R to third on the lap time chart in the 10-minute Hyperpole session with a best lap of 1:50.680, which was 0.290 sec. off the pole. The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R, which topped the time sheet in free practice 3 earlier in the day with a lap of 1:51.471, is the only Hypercar entry to qualify in the top four in each of the past four races.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #2 Cadillac V-Series.R with Alex Lynn.

Alex Lynn: “Overall, it was a good result. P3 can’t be sniffed out. Four times in the top four in a row is great. I can’t deny I was disappointed not to take pole position. We’ve come so close so many times now. Congrats to Ferrari because I think 50.3 today was a very fast lap time. We tried our best and the car is outstanding. We’re in a really good position for tomorrow and now it’s about maximizing what we have.” Source: Cadillac Racing.

Charles Milesi with 35 Alpine A424 was fourth of Hyperpole session, 0.071 sec. off Lynn’s best lap.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #35 Alpine A424 with Charles Milesi.

Porsche shares third row with Ferrari.

The other official Ferrari 499P, the #50, driven by Antonio Fuoco in qualifying, will start fifth in the six-hour race.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. #50 Ferrari 499P with Antonio Fuoco.

Antonio Fuoco, 499P #50: “The Hyperpole was more challenging than qualifying, but the chemistry with the 499P has been very strong so far here at COTA, and I am confident. Now, our focus shifts to the race and doing our best. The 6 Hours will be long, and conditions can vary significantly throughout the race, so we must avoid making mistakes.” Source Ferrari.

The best Porsche 963 fielded by the Porsche Penske Motorsport works team will tackle the six-hour race in Austin from the third grid row. In qualifying, Matt Campbell planted the #5 hybrid prototype on position six.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. Robert Kubica with AF Corse #83 499P.

Matt Campbell (Porsche 963 #5): “We encountered some difficult conditions in Qualifying and Hyperpole. It was a stark contrast to Free Practice in the morning. Ultimately, we finished sixth on the grid. I think that the position is okay. I’m confident we’ll look good in the six-hour race.” Source: Porsche

COTA high temperatures will challenge drivers in long runs

With air temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius and glaring sun, the temperatures on the dark asphalt of the “Circuit of The Americas” (COTA) often rise above the 50-degree mark. This puts stress on the Michelin tyres in the fast, snaking corners at the beginning of the second sector: Between turns 2 and 6, these stresses reach peak values. The swift changes of direction dramatically increase the temperatures of the slick racing rubber – around 30 times per stint, 60 in a double stint and over 180 times during a normal race.

“From the second-corner entrance to the exit of turn 6, we notice an increase in the surface temperature of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius,” explains Romain Gineste, Head of Track Engineering LMDh WEC Porsche Motorsport. The upper limit of the Michelin slicks’ operating window is 110 degrees Celsius. “High temperatures mean increased tyre wear. To survive longer distances, we must caution our drivers to be careful. It’s a vicious circle: if you overstress the tyres, the temperatures rise so much that they drop out of the ideal operating window. As a result, this increases the risk of sliding – which then makes the tyre temperatures rise even further. As the lap times increase, the tyres deteriorate more quickly. There is only one to prevent this: ease off at the right time!” Source: Porsche

Both BMW M Team WRT in fourth row

Both BMW M Hybrid V8 will start from fourth row as Robin Frijns in the #20 car did set the seventh fastest lap of the weekend so far in 1:50.882.

Dries Vanthoor behind the wheel of the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, was eight of the session 0.056 sec. off #20 Hyperpole fastest lap.

Toyota and Hertz Team JOTA share fifth row

The #7 GR010 HYBRID of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries will start from ninth on the grid.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. Kamui Kobayashi with Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7

Kamui Kobayashi (Team Principal and driver, car #7): “Ninth is obviously not what we wanted from qualifying. We tried to do our best, but it was not enough, and the race will be a lot harder for us now, but that’s how it is. It was a very tight session and everyone in the team did a good job, but it was just not enough. We will do a long debrief to prepare ourselves for the race and hopefully we will move into a better position. Of course, our aim is to win the World Championship so we will do out best and we will never give up.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Last Lone Star Le Mans winner Norman Nato qualified 10th with #12 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lone Star Le Mans. Norman Nato with #12 Hertz Team JOTA Porsche 963

Norman Nato (Porsche 963 #12): “That was my very first qualifying in a Hypercar. I’m satisfied: first attempt, entry into the Hyperpole as one of only two Porsche drivers. Nevertheless, the race against the clock was anything but easy. Compared to this morning’s third Free Practice session, the track temperatures were significantly higher. This changed the behaviour of the car. I’m sure we’ll perform better in the race. That has always been the case so far.” Source: Porsche