Toyota fastest, 3 Ferrari in top 10 at test day

WECHyperCar

Jun 9

Today’s two three-hour sessions are the only opportunity to test at the “Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans” prior to race week, so the team wasted no time in kicking off their comprehensive programme. The morning session was interrupted by a 40-minute safety car in the first hour and the second session featured three red flags. The teams nevertheless used the limited available time to conduct mechanical set-up changes and comparisons, including in-session changes of suspension components as well as settings and tyre evaluations.

Brendon Hartley tops time sheets

After setting the second fastest lap in the morning session, Brendon Hartley with the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID he shares with Sébastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa ended the day fastest thanks to a lap of 3:26.246.

Brendon Hartley (Driver, car #8): “It was very nice to be back in the GR010 HYBRID at Le Mans. I think we are feeling positive after a successful day with no major dramas. I had a good feeling with the car, and I think Ryo and Seb did too. Clearly the competition is fierce, and on long runs I wouldn’t say we look like the quickest car, but I feel like we are in the fight. We have some work to do next week. Hopefully get some good sleep in the next nights, recharge and be ready for the big job to come.”

Sébastien Buemi (Driver, car #8): “I always enjoy coming back to this circuit; it’s a real pleasure to drive a Hypercar around here. And of course, it’s nice to set the fastest lap obviously – but there are a lot of fast cars out there. We did a lot of laps, made some changes which were good, others which were less so, but that’s part of the process. We will analyse everything and see where we can improve. Plus, the weather conditions might be a bit different next week, so we need to get ready to adapt to that as well.” Source: Toyota Gazoo Racing

Two Ferrari second and third

James Calado was the fastest of Le Mans champion Ferrari’s factory 499P drivers with a 3:26.777 which was the second fastest lap overall of the day, still half a second slower than Hartley’s benchmark.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day. #51 Ferrari 499P

Robert Kubica, driving the #83 customer 499P run by AF Corse, was the fastest of the morning session and was able to improve by one tenth (3:26.902) which made it two Ferraris in the top three.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day. #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P

Mick Schumacher fourth

Mick Schumacher got Alpine ending up fourth in the combined Hypercar class times leap with a 3:27.313 in #36 A424.

The six Alpine works drivers covered 137 laps with the the Alpine A424s bearing the ‘A70’ logo for the brand's 70th anniversary to gather as much information as possible in car set-up, pit stops, track evolution, fuel consumption management and tyre compound analysis.

📷© Luc Warnotte at Le Mans test day. Alpine A424 #36.

Mick Schumacher: "We completed most of our programme despite a disrupted end to the day with two red flags. That was the main goal, and the team did well to recover some lost track time. Overall, it looks positive, but we haven't yet got into the thick of things. Making the most of the next session will be crucial, as there will only be one before qualifying."

Frédéric Makowiecki: "We learned a lot today and gained some valuable insight. There is some interesting data to work with going forward. The plan is to analyse everything in depth to best guide our work. There are still a few areas to look into, but we have all the free practice sessions to fine-tune things. The race will be here before we know it, so we are focusing on our work and will see where we stand at the end." Source: Alpine

Kevin Estre fifth

Kevin Estre was the fastest of the factory Porsche 963 LMDhs with a 3:27.356.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team refined the setup of its three 511 kW (695 PS) Porsche 963 hybrid prototypes. The three hybrid prototypes logged 194 laps, covering a distance of 2,643 kilometres.

Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “It was a good test day, and we completed almost everything we set out to do. Unfortunately, we encountered an extended red flag period at the end – which prevented us from trying something out with Laurens. Still, we got the answers we needed, which gives us a solid foundation. Lap times don’t tell the whole story.” Source: Porsche

Schedule

Wednesday 11 June 2025
14:00-17:00 Free Practice 1
18:45-19:15 Qualifying (LMGT3)

19:30-20:00 Qualifying (Hypercar)
22:00-00:00 Free Practice 2

Thursday 12 June 2025
14:45-17:45 Free Practice 3
20:00-20:20 Hyperpole 1 (LMGT3)
20:35-20:50 Hyperpole 2 (LMGT3)
21:05-21:25 Hyperpole 1 (Hypercar)
21:40-21:55 Hyperpole 2 (Hypercar)
23:00-00:00 Free Practice 4

Saturday 14 June 2025
12:00-12:15 Warm-up
16:00 Race start

Sunday 15 June 2025
16:00 Race finish

Toyota fastest, 3 Ferrari in top 10 at test day

Brendon Hartley tops time sheets

Two Ferrari second and third

Mick Schumacher fourth

Kevin Estre fifth

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing aims a sixth win at Le Mans