Aston Martin Valkyrie tops Le Mans Test Day

WECHyperCar

Jun 8

Tom Gamble with #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie topped Le Mans Test Day. 19 drivers got their best lap within one second of Gamble’s Benchmark with all manufacturers represented. Aston Martin, Toyota, Cadillac and Alpine got at least one driver in top 10 with four Alpine A424 drivers and 3 Cadillac V-Series.R.

Valkyrie sets Benchmark

Tom Gamble with #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie did set Le Mans Test Day’s benchmark with a 3:26.293, set just over an hour into the three-hour afternoon session.

Toyota Racing’s TR010 Hybrid second

Toyota Racing was able to repair #8 TR010 HYBRID after Ryo Hirakawa was hit by the spinning Algarve Pro Racing LMP2 of Jake Hughes with 25 minutes left in the first test session. Hirakawa’w co-drivers were able to set the second and third fastest lap of the day with Brendon Hartley setting a 3:26.827 to go second-fastest and Sebastien Buemi third-fastest. Hartley was the only driver within half second from Gamble’s benchmark.

Toyota #8 — 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day 2026. #8 TR010 HYBRID

Ryō Hirakawa (Driver, car #8): “It was a solid day and nice to be back at Le Mans with the TR010 HYBRID, which felt really good today. The main target was to assess the tyres, and we tried all three compounds. We learned a lot about the tyres, the car systems, and the set-ups. It looks positive and we seem to have made a step compared to last year. The accident in the morning was really unfortunate. I couldn’t do anything about it, but it’s better to get the bad luck out of the way before the race. The mechanics did a great job and allowed us to go through our full programme, so hats off to them.” Source: Toyota

Cadillac V-Series.R third

Norman Nato’s fourth fastest lap got the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R in third place of Hypercars with a best lap of 3:26.853.

Norman Nato “It was quite a good test day. We managed to follow the plan. We tried many things on tyres, listening to the tyre in different track conditions, understanding our new package. The aim of the test was to prepare as much as we can ahead of next week, focusing on all the details, like making sure the driver changes are as smooth as possible, making sure we feel good in the car in terms of driving position. So, a positive day, in terms of performance as well, the car seems to be in the window at the moment, even though the conditions were still quite “green” as always on a test day. I’m looking forwards to next week and seeing where we are with the focus more on long runs and qualifying.” Source: Cadillac Racing

Alpine A424 fourth

Ferdinand Habsburg in the #35 Alpine A424 and his co-driver Charles Milesi did set the fifth and sixth fastest lap of the day.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day 2026. #35 Alpine A424

Charles Milesi: “It was a good first day, with no mistakes or major issues, which is really important at Le Mans. We managed to do everything we planned despite a few interruptions this morning due to race procedures simulations. There is definitely an improvement compared to previous years, with a more enjoyable and consistent car, particularly in fast corners. The new tyres also seem easier to manage during the warm-up phase. We must now keep progressing and put all the lessons we've learnt today to good use.”

Ferdinand Habsburg: “I think the changes we've made to the car work well on this track. We might not have the fastest package at the moment, but it looks like we're in the hunt. That said, it means there's no moment to be comfortable as we still have some pace to find against the competition. I like that as I like to chase and be chased!” Source: Alpine

Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac fifth

Filipe Albuquerque, who is co-driving the #101 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R for Wayne Taylor Racing with Ricky Tayor and Jordan Taylor posted the fastest lap of the morning session with a 3:27.011 which was enough to get his Cadillac fifth of the day.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Le Mans Test Day 2026. #101 Cadillac V-Series.R

Filipe Albuquerque, Co-driver, #101 Cadillac WTR V-Series.R: “I drove in the afternoon, again, more fun with the car. Sometimes I wish there were not three drivers as I would like to drive a little more (laughs). Everything is going well with the car. The track is evolving and car balance is good. So far, so good. It has been a good day.” Source: Cadillac Racing