Toyota Gazoo Racing has set the quickest time in qualifying for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while Aston Martin teams locked out the top spots in both GTE sessions.
The new qualifying format meant that the top six cars in each session would be put through to Hyperpole, with those outside the top six having their grid spots set.
The LMP1 contenders were ensured a spot for Hyperpole beforehands, as the class features only five cars. All LMP1s went out for qualifying anyway, with Mike Conway setting the quickest time in the #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid with a 03:17:089. The #8 Toyota TS050 Hybrid in the hands of Sebastien Buemi went second quickest in the hands of Sebastien Buemi.
The #1 Rebellion R13-Gibson was third quickest in the hands of Bruno Senna, ahead of the ByKolles and the second Rebellion.
All five LMP1 cars will fight for their definitive grid slots during Hyperpole on Friday.
De Vries on top in LMP2
2019 Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries was quickest in the LMP2 session. The Dutchman posted a best time of 03:26:648 in the #29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA 07-Gibson, which was just under half a second faster than the best time set by Will Stevens in the #37 Jackie Chan DC Racing.
Jean-Eric Vergne initially took the top spot away from his Formula E rival before his lap time was deleted. Vergne put the #26 G-Drive Aurus 01-Gibson fourth in class behind United Autosports’ Paul di Resta.
The other two cars to make it through to Hyperpole were the #32 United Autosports ORECA in the hands of Alex Brundle and High Class Racing’s #33 ORECA with Kenta Yamashita behind the wheel.
Some of the more notable drivers to miss out on the top six included Antonio Felix da Costa in the #38 JOTA ORECA in seventh and the #16 G-Drive by Algarve, which had Nick Tandy behind the wheel, in eighth.
Aston Martin rules the land in GTE
Aston Martin teams were quickest in both GTE session, with the factory squad locking out the top spots in GTE Pro during a session where Ferrari narrowly avoided elimination.
Marco Sorensen set the quickest time in the #95 Aston Martin Vantage AMR with a best effort of 03:50:872, just 0.053s clear of Alex Lynn in the sister #97 Aston Martin.
Alessandro Pier Guidi improved to third fastest late on in the #51 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, narrowly avoiding elimination after spending most of the session at the bottom of the field. Davide Rigon also narrowly made it into the top six in the #71 Ferrari, qualifying fourth.
Gianmaria Bruni qualified fifth in the #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19, ahead of Michael Christensen in sixth.
The two one-off Ferrari entries missed out on Hyperpole. Weathertech Racing will start the race in seventh, while Risi Competizione will start the race from eighth in class.
Aston Martin was also on strong form in GTE Am, with Ross Gunn topping the charts in the #98 Aston Martin Vantage AMR ahead of the #90 TF Sport Aston Martin of Charlie Eastwood in second.
Gulf Racing was third quickest thanks to a strong performance from Andrew Watson in the #86 Porsche 911 RSR, ahead of the #61 Luzich Racing Ferrari 488 GTE Evo.
The #77 Dempsey-Proton Porsche 911 RSR made it into Hyperpole thanks to a fifth place from Matt Campbell, with Matteo Cairoli ensuring Team Project 1’s #56 Porsche 911 RSR captured the final spot in Hyperpole.
