This page contains archived information and may not display perfectly

WEC – Kobayashi Claims Pole for Toyota at 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans

19.08.21

Kamui Kobayashi put the #7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 on pole position for this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.  The outright track record holder Kobayashi sealed the top spot with a sensational 3m23.900s lap. 

The session was red flagged early on after an accident for Kevin Estre’s #92 Porsche 911 RSR-19 at Indianapolis Corner. 

The #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid took the second-best time in Hypercar as Brendon Hartley posted a 3m24.195s lap just 0.295s off pole.

The #36 Alpine ELF Matmut, with Nicolas Lapierre at the wheel finished third with a 3m25.574s lap, while the #708 Glickenhaus Racing entry driven by Olivier Pla placed fourth with a 3m25.639s lap just 0.065s behind the Alpine. 

Dries Vanthoor stars for Hub Auto Porsche as he takes surprise pole position with sensational lap of 3m46.882.  The Belgian beat the #52 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE driven by Daniel Serra into second spot, the Brazilian driver setting a lap just 0.171s off the polesitter. 

Antonio Felix da Costa continued his great pace in the earlier sessions to seal the LMP2 pole for JOTA. The lap set by da Costa to claim the LMP2 pole Portuguese was 0.5s quicker than Louis Deletraz in #41 Team WRT Oreca, with Panis Racing’s Will Stevens claiming third place with 3m28.586s.

The #88 Dempsey Proton Racing Porsche’s 3m47.987s set by Julien Andlauer pushed the #86 GR Racing into second spot as Tom Gamble was visibly happy with his 3m48.560s lap. The #56 Team Project 1 Porsche, driven by Matteo Cairoli, finished third ahead of No.47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari.