24 Hours of Le Mans: The scene is set

The 93rd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans is in full swing. After hours of testing and practice sessions, the action ramped up on Wednesday and Thursday with Qualifying and Hyperpole. Proton Competition fought for the best starting positions with its five cars competing across all three classes.

How it works: In Qualifying, drivers fight for a spot in the top 15 in Hypercar or the top 12 in LMP2 and LMGT3, securing a coveted place in the Hyperpole. The session consists of two segments in which the pilots fight for pole position.

LMGT3: Successfully into Hyperpole

With 24 cars on the grid, the LMGT3 class is especially competitive this year for the pair of Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 entries. However, thanks to strong performances from both crews, the two cars were right in the thick of the battle for top grid positions. For the fourth time in a row, Stefano Gattuso advanced to the pole shootout, where Giammarco Levorato secured a promising tenth place on the grid, narrowly missing out on a spot in the second phase of the session. The sister car will line up 13th.

#77 B. Sousa / B. Tuck / B. Barker: P13
#88 S. Gattuso / G. Levorato / D. Olsen: P10

Hypercar: Close battles with strong competition

In the top-tier Hypercar class, Neel Jani, Nicolás Varrone and Nicolas Pino gave it their all in pursuit of a Hyperpole spot. In the end, Varrone missed out by just 0.6 seconds. The trio will now aim to work their way up from 20th on the grid and complete the 24-hour marathon trouble-free.

#99 N. Jani / N. Varrone / N. Pino: P20

LMP2: Foundations in place

Normally, the two LMP2 crews compete in the European Le Mans Series, but this weekend they had the opportunity to measure themselves against the FIA World Endurance Championship teams – and they delivered. Early on, it looked as though the trio in the #11 car might secure a spot in Hyperpole, but following a brief red flag interruption, the crew was unable to improve their lap time.

#9 J. Ried / M. Capietto / R. De Gerus: P15
#11 G. Roda / R. Binder / B. Viscaal: P13

The race gets going on Saturday at 16:00. Fans can follow the action on NITRO and Eurosport and via live stream.