LE MANS 24H: CADILLAC DOMINATES FP1 WITH RIVALS 1.7S DOWN
Cadillac went fastest in Free Practice 1 ahead of the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours, comfortably leading BMW, Alpine, Toyota and Ferrari in the Hypercar classification.
After Aston Martin topped the Test Day in 3m26.293s on Sunday, Cadillac’s Jordan Taylor was the first driver to improve on that reference on Wednesday. Less than half an hour into the session, Taylor set a 3m25.348s with the #101 Wayne Taylor Racing entry he shares with brother Ricky and Filipe Albuquerque.
It took over two hours for anyone to match – and beat – that benchmark, as Earl Bamber drove the sister Jota-run #38 Cadillac to a 3m25.673s, before recording a 3m24.773s. He subsequently went even quicker with a 3m23.786s.
Only BMW lapped within two seconds of the lead car, with Rene Rast (#20) achieving a 3m25.533s at the end of the session – preventing a Cadillac 1-2-3 as Will Stevens lapped in 3m26.033s after the #12 machine encountered a brake pedal problem.
Ferdinand Habsburg brought the #35 Alpine up to fifth in 3m26.078s, more than 0.4s faster than the #8 Toyota (one of two cars not to improve relative to the Test Day, with the #007 Aston Martin), the #50 Ferrari, the #009 Aston Martin and the #17 Genesis.
Peugeot was slowest of all, with a 3.2s deficit to Cadillac, 0.9s to Alpine and 0.4s to Genesis.
The main incidents from the session involved Hypercars. Ye Yifei lost control of Ferrari’s #83 car approaching Mulsanne corner and crashed. The Chinese driver made his way back to the pits, seemingly suffering little damage.
Moments later, veteran Frederic Makowiecki went wide on the approach to Tertre Rouge and substantially hit the outside wall on the left-hand side, with the #36 Alpine crabbing along before stopping trackside.
Doriane Pin fastest in LMP2
There was more action in the LMP2 category, with the #37 CLX Motorsport, #4 APR, #9 Proton and #183 AF Corse entries going off in the first sector, courtesy of Mikkel Jenson, George Kurtz, Harry King and Ben Barnicoat respectively, while the #14 TDS and #99 AO by TF entries had similar shenanigans at Raccordement with Tobias Luetke and PJ Hyett.
Mercedes Formula 1 junior Doriane Pin was fastest by far in LMP2, setting a 3m35.248s in the #30 Duqueine car, outpacing the #14 TDS entry by seven tenths, while IDEC Sport’s #28 car was nearly a full second off.
The GT3 class was as competitive as usual, with Akkodis ASP’s #78 Lexus narrowly edging both Team WRT BMWs, Iron Lynx’ #62 Mercedes and TF’s #34 Corvette – these four manufacturers lapped within 0.41s of one another on the 13.626km track.
Read Also:Le Mans 24 Hours - Free Practice 1 results
| Cla | Team | # | Drivers | Car | Laps | Time | Interval | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR | 38 | S. Bourdais E. Bamber J. Aitken | Cadillac V-Series.R | 41 | 3'23.786 | 240.711 | |
| 2 | Cadillac WTR HYPERCAR | 101 | R. Taylor J. Taylor F. Albuquerque | Cadillac V-Series.R | 38 | +1.562 3'25.348 | 1.562 | 238.880 |
| 3 | BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR | 20 | R. Frijns R. Rast S. Van Der Linde | BMW M Hybrid V8 | 36 | +1.747 3'25.533 | 0.185 | 238.665 |
| 4 | Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR | 12 | L. Deletraz W. Stevens N. Nato | Cadillac V-Series.R | 27 | +2.247 3'26.033 | 0.500 | 238.086 |
| 5 | Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR | 35 | A. Felix da Costa C. Milesi F. Habsburg | Alpine A424 | 35 | +2.292 3'26.078 | 0.045 | 238.034 |
| 6 | Toyota Racing HYPERCAR | 8 | S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa | Toyota TR010 Hybrid | 44 | +2.705 3'26.491 | 0.413 | 237.558 |
| 7 | FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR | 50 | A. Fuoco N. Nielsen M. Molina | Ferrari 499P | 45 | +2.708 3'26.494 | 0.003 | 237.554 |
| 8 | Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR | 009 | A. Riberas M. Sorensen R. De Angelis | Aston Martin Valkyrie | 45 | +2.790 3'26.576 | 0.082 | 237.460 |
| 9 | Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR | 17 | A. Lotterer P. Derani M. Jaubert | Genesis GMR-001 | 34 | +2.817 3'26.603 | 0.027 | 237.429 |
| 10 | Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR | 007 | H. Tincknell T. Gamble R. Gunn | Aston Martin Valkyrie | 34 | +2.919 3'26.705 | 0.102 | 237.312 |
| 11 | Toyota Racing HYPERCAR | 7 | M. Conway K. Kobayashi N. de Vries | Toyota TR010 Hybrid | 42 | +2.814 3'26.600 | 237.432 | |
| 12 | Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR | 36 | F. Makowiecki J. Gounon V. Martins | Alpine A424 | 39 | +3.452 3'27.238 | 0.638 | 236.701 |
| 13 | Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR | 19 | M. Jaminet P. Chatin D. Juncadella | Genesis GMR-001 | 37 | +3.036 3'26.822 | 237.177 | |
| 14 | BMW M Team WRT HYPERCAR | 15 | K. Magnussen R. Marciello D. Vanthoor | BMW M Hybrid V8 | 46 | +3.059 3'26.845 | 0.023 | 237.151 |
| 15 | FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR | 51 | A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi | Ferrari 499P | 44 | +3.150 3'26.936 | 0.091 | 237.047 |
| 16 | PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR | 93 | P. di Resta S. Vandoorne N. Cassidy | Peugeot 9X8 | 41 | +5.139 3'28.925 | 1.989 | 234.790 |
| 17 | AF Corse HYPERCAR | 83 | Y. Yifei R. Kubica P. Hanson | Ferrari 499P | 37 | +3.540 3'27.326 | 236.601 | |
| 18 | PEUGEOT TOTALENERGIES HYPERCAR | 94 | L. Duval M. Jakobsen T. Pourchaire | Peugeot 9X8 | 42 | +3.561 3'27.347 | 0.021 | 236.577 |
| 19 | DUQUEINE TEAM LMP2 | 30 | D. Pin J. Andlauer R. Verschoor | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 34 | +11.462 3'35.248 | 7.901 | 227.893 |
| 20 | TDS Racing LMP2 | 14 | T. Lutke M. Beche K. Estre | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 43 | +12.172 3'35.958 | 0.710 | 227.144 |
| 21 | IDEC SPORT LMP2 | 28 | P. Lafargue V. Rinicella J. Van Uitert | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 38 | +11.651 3'35.437 | 227.693 | |
| 22 | AO by TF LMP2 | 99 | P. Hyett J. Allen D. Cameron | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 42 | +12.438 3'36.224 | 0.787 | 226.864 |
| 23 | United Autosports LMP2 | 22 | R. Lindh G. Saucy M. Jensen | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 32 | +12.592 3'36.378 | 0.154 | 226.703 |
| 24 | AF Corse LMP2 | 183 | F. Perrodo M. Vaxiviere B. Barnicoat | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 41 | +14.290 3'38.076 | 1.698 | 224.938 |
| 25 | Crowdstrike Racing by APR LMP2 | 4 | G. Kurtz A. Quinn L. Heinrich | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 41 | +12.617 3'36.403 | 226.677 | |
| 26 | INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2 | 43 | J. Smiechowski T. Dillmann N. Yelloly | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 42 | +12.620 3'36.406 | 0.003 | 226.673 |
| 27 | Forestier Racing by Panis LMP2 | 29 | L. Rousset E. Masson O. Gray | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 43 | +12.852 3'36.638 | 0.232 | 226.431 |
| 28 | Algarve Pro Racing Team LMP2 | 25 | M. Jensen E. Trulli J. Hughes | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 43 | +13.110 3'36.896 | 0.258 | 226.161 |
| 29 | VECTOR SPORT LMP2 | 26 | R. Cullen V. Lomko P. Fittipaldi | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 42 | +13.350 3'37.136 | 0.240 | 225.911 |
| 30 | NIELSEN RACING LMP2 | 24 | D. Heinemeier Hansson E. Pearson J. Doohan | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 39 | +13.560 3'37.346 | 0.210 | 225.693 |
| 31 | INTER EUROPOL COMPETITION LMP2 | 343 | B. Garg R. de Gerus N. Müller | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 38 | +13.481 3'37.267 | 225.775 | |
| 32 | RD Limited LMP2 | 48 | F. Poordad T. Vautier R. Dumas | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 42 | +14.009 3'37.795 | 0.528 | 225.228 |
| 33 | CLX Motorsport LMP2 | 37 | A. Closmenil I. Aguilera T. Jensen | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 38 | +14.026 3'37.812 | 0.017 | 225.210 |
| 34 | DKR Engineering LMP2 | 3 | J. Farano S. Alvarez R. van der Zande | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 36 | +14.530 3'38.316 | 0.504 | 224.690 |
| 35 | United Autosports LMP2 | 222 | D. Schneider B. Hanley O. Jarvis | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 41 | +14.758 3'38.544 | 0.228 | 224.456 |
| 36 | Proton Competition LMP2 | 44 | H. Felbermayr Jr. H. Felbermayr L. Fluxá | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 40 | +15.048 3'38.834 | 0.290 | 224.158 |
| 37 | Proton Competition LMP2 | 9 | J. Ried K. Ohta H. King | Oreca 07 - Gibson | 10 | +45.936 4'09.722 | 30.888 | 196.432 |
| 38 | AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3 | 78 | T. Rompuy H. David J. Hawksworth | Lexus RC F GT3 | 30 | +31.951 3'55.737 | 208.086 | |
| 39 | TEAM WRT LMGT3 | 32 | D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus | BMW M4 GT3 Evo | 41 | +32.051 3'55.837 | 0.100 | 207.997 |
| 40 | TEAM WRT LMGT3 | 69 | A. McIntosh P. Thompson D. Harper | BMW M4 GT3 Evo | 38 | +32.052 3'55.838 | 0.001 | 207.997 |
| 41 | Team Qatar by Iron Lynx LMGT3 | 62 | A. Ali Al-Khelaifi J. Hanses G. Alesi | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 17 | +32.118 3'55.904 | 0.066 | 207.938 |
| 42 | Racing Team Turkey by TF LMGT3 | 34 | P. Dempsey S. Yoluc C. Eastwood | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | 39 | +32.361 3'56.147 | 0.243 | 207.724 |
| 43 | AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3 | 87 | R. Umbrarescu C. Schmid J. Lopez | Lexus RC F GT3 | 36 | +32.396 3'56.182 | 0.035 | 207.694 |
| 44 | Heart of Racing Team LMGT3 | 27 | I. James Z. Robichon M. Drudi | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | 37 | +32.429 3'56.215 | 0.033 | 207.665 |
| 45 | TF Sport LMGT3 | 33 | B. Keating J. Edgar N. Catsburg | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | 42 | +32.525 3'56.311 | 0.096 | 207.580 |
| 46 | IRON LYNX LMGT3 | 61 | M. Berry R. Andrade M. Martin | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 41 | +32.694 3'56.480 | 0.169 | 207.432 |
| 47 | The Bend Manthey LMGT3 | 92 | Y. Shahin R. Pera R. Lietz | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 43 | +32.710 3'56.496 | 0.016 | 207.418 |
| 48 | Garage 59 LMGT3 | 58 | A. West F. Gehrsitz B. Goethe | McLaren 720S GT3 Evo | 38 | +32.782 3'56.568 | 0.072 | 207.355 |
| 49 | Kessel Racing LMGT3 | 57 | T. Kimura C. Laursen D. Serra | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo | 41 | +32.794 3'56.580 | 0.012 | 207.344 |
| 50 | Garage 59 LMGT3 | 10 | A. Au T. Fleming M. Kirchhofer | McLaren 720S GT3 Evo | 39 | +33.034 3'56.820 | 0.240 | 207.134 |
| 51 | Manthey DK Engineering LMGT3 | 91 | J. Cottingham T. Boguslavskiy A. Güven | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 42 | +33.063 3'56.849 | 0.029 | 207.109 |
| 52 | Vista AF Corse LMGT3 | 21 | F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo | 38 | +33.231 3'57.017 | 0.168 | 206.962 |
| 53 | TF Sport LMGT3 | 2 | J. Ibrahim L. Nicolas Hanafin B. Green | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | 37 | +33.255 3'57.041 | 0.024 | 206.941 |
| 54 | Vista AF Corse LMGT3 | 54 | T. Flohr F. Castellacci D. Rigon | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo | 42 | +33.315 3'57.101 | 0.060 | 206.889 |
| 55 | Heart of Racing Team LMGT3 | 23 | G. Newell D. Barrichello J. Adam | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | 35 | +33.377 3'57.163 | 0.062 | 206.834 |
| 56 | Kessel Racing LMGT3 | 74 | D. Blattner L. Patrese D. Marschall | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo | 40 | +33.445 3'57.231 | 0.068 | 206.775 |
| 57 | Proton Competition LMGT3 | 88 | S. Gattuso G. Levorato L. Sargeant | Ford Mustang GT3 | 31 | +33.943 3'57.729 | 0.498 | 206.342 |
| 58 | RICHARD MILLE AF CORSE LMGT3 | 150 | C. Toledo L. Wadoux R. Agostini | Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo | 38 | +33.585 3'57.371 | 206.653 | |
| 59 | IRON LYNX LMGT3 | 79 | J. Zelger M. Cressoni L. Hodenius | Mercedes AMG GT3 | 39 | +33.597 3'57.383 | 0.012 | 206.643 |
| 60 | Proton Competition LMGT3 | 77 | E. Powell B. Tuck S. Priaulx | Ford Mustang GT3 | 40 | +33.666 3'57.452 | 0.069 | 206.583 |
| 61 | 13 Autosport LMGT3 | 13 | O. Fidani L. Kern M. Bell | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R | 36 | +34.120 3'57.906 | 0.454 | 206.188 |
| 62 | Racing Spirit of Leman LMGT3 | 59 | C. Mateu M. Fossard V. Hasse-Clot | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 | 36 | +34.329 3'58.115 | 0.209 | 206.008 |
