Le Mans 24 Hours 2026 schedule: Start time, how to watch
June 11, 2026
Earl Bamber guided the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R to the fastest lap in first practice for the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours as Cadillac took a commanding 1-2.
Bamber posted a late benchmark of 3:23.786 beating Jordan Taylor in the No. 101 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac V-Series.R by 1.582 seconds as the third round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship officially kicked off at Circuit de La Sarthe.
The Wayne Taylor Racing entry dominated the better part of the session with its best effort initially 0.670 seconds faster than the No. 38 JOTA-run V-Series.R before Earl Bamber’s late flyering laps transformed the leaderboard.
WEC points leaders Robin Frijns and René Rast placed third in the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh, with Rast setting a 3:26.329 lap time late in the session just under a second shy of the No. 101 Cadillac.
The No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R wound up fourth with Will Stevens at the wheel after losing valuable time in the pits rectifying an issue with the brake pedal, while Ferdinand Habsburg placed the No. 35 Alpine A424 in fifth.
The No. 8 Toyota Racing GR010 Hybrid took sixth in the hands of Brendon Hartley followed by Antonio Fuoco in the No. 50 Ferrari 499P and Alex Riberas in the No. 009 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie.
Pipo Derani slotted the No. 17 Genesis Magma Racing entry into ninth, marking an impressive debut performance for the Korean manufacturer, while Tom Gamble set a late time to take tenth in the No. 007 Valkyrie.
Le Mans 24 Hours 2026 schedule: Start time, how to watch
Full Le Mans 24 Hours 2026 entry list
The Hypercar session was not without drama as Frédéric Makowiecki in the No. 36 Alpine clattered the barriers at the exit of the Forest Esses in the dying moments of the session, while Yifei Ye lost control of the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P at Mulsanne Corner and made light contact with the tyre wall 15 minutes from the chequered flag.
In the LMP2 category, Doriane Pin proved to be the sensation of the class as she punched in a late lap of 3:35.248 to top opening Le Mans 24 Hours practice aboard the No. 30 Duqueine Team Oreca-Gibson.
Kevin Estre paced the No. 14 TDS Racing Oreca to second place with a late flyer just 7 tenths off Pin’s benchmark, while Valerio Rinicella took third in the No. 28 IDEC Sport entry, a further 2 and a bit tenths off Estre.
The LMP2 session ran cleanly for the most part despite an early incident involving Theodor Jensen who beached the No. 37 CLX Oreca in the gravel at the Forest Esses, which caused a slow zone that escalated into a brief full course yellow while the car was pushed back on track by the marshals.
Jack Hawksworth set the LMGT3 pace in the No. 78 ASP Lexus RC F GT3 with a lap time of 3:55.737, beating the No. 32 Team WRT BMW of Augusto Farfus by a tenth of a second, while the sister No. 69 M4 Evo piloted by Dan Harper made it a two-three for the Bavarian marque.
The No. 62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes of Julian Hanses snatched fourth place in the final moments, ahead of Charlie Eastwood in the Racing Team Turkey by TF Corvette, with José María López in the second Akkodis Lexus rounding out the top six.
