Alex Lynn delivered a commanding performance in the first leg of 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans Qualifying with Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA stamping their authority as the team to beat.
Lynn in the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R clocked a blistering lap time of 3.22.847 , narrowly edging out the BMW M Team WRT’s Dries Vanthoor by just four-hundredths of a second.
The first qualifying for the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans unfolded under hot evening conditions, with track temperatures peaking at 31°C.
From the outset, the Ferrari contingent appeared strong with Yifei Ye in the No. 83 Ferrari 499P setting the early pace at 3m23.994s. His teammates, Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 51 and Nicklas Nielsen in the No. 50 quickly followed, placing Ferrari in a commanding position during the initial laps.
Porsche’s Kevin Estre, last year’s pole-sitter, was also among the early frontrunners, posting a 3m24.233s to briefly slot into second place.
As the session progressed, Pier Guidi responded with a marginally faster 3m23.933s while Lynn and his teammate Sebastien Bourdais fresh off his commanding FP1 run in the No. 38 Cadillac JOTA entry began to make progress, both dipping into the 3m24s range.
2025 Le Mans 24 Hours Qualifying Results Day 1
The No. 311 Cadillac driven by Jack Aitken momentarily seized the top spot with a 3m23.890s only to be surpassed seconds later by Estre’s 3m23.360s in the No. 6 Porsche.
The drama was heightened by a high-speed spin from Paul-Loup Chatin in the No. 35 Alpine which fortunately did not result in any major incident but served as a reminder of the ever-present risks at Le Mans.
The climax of the session came when Alex Lynn on a near-perfect lap delivered the fastest time of 3m22.847s. This lap not only secured Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA the top position for Le Mans Qualifying 1 but also demonstrated the team’s formidable pace and meticulous preparation.
Dries Vanthoor piloting the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8 was Lynn’s closest challenger, finishing a mere 0.040 seconds behind. The No. 51 Ferrari AF Corse driven by Antonio Giovinazzi secured third place with a time of 3m23.163s, just 0.316 seconds adrift from the top.
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Kevin Estre in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 placed fourth with a 3m23.360s while the No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA rounded out the top five with a 3m23.467s courtesy of Sebastien Bourdais. Notably, Jenson Button did not take to the track during this session, with Bourdais handling the qualifying duties for the team.
The No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse took sixth in the hands of Antonio Fuoco who recorded a 3m23.514s while the No. 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry driven by Julien Andlauer finished seventh with a 3m23.544s.
BMW M Team WRT’s second entry, the No. 20 M Hybrid V8 driven by Robin Frijns claimed eighth place with a 3m23.805s. The No. 311 Cadillac Whelen driven by Jack Aitken secured ninth with a 3m23.890s, while the No. 36 Alpine A424 piloted by Mick Schumacher completed the top ten with a 3m23.945s.
Further down the order, Toyota faced a mixed session. The No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid driven by Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley, and Ryo Hirakawa, managed to progress to Hyperpole by finishing eleventh.
However, the No. 7 car suffered a major setback as De Vries could only manage seventeenth overall, missing the Hyperpole cut by 0.385 seconds. This result was a significant disappointment for the team, especially given the car’s iconic GT-One throwback livery and the pedigree of its driver lineup.
Among the other notable performances, the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari finished twelfth, while the No. 101 Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing entry claimed thirteenth.
The No. 4 Porsche Penske Motorsport piloted by Felipe Nasr took fourteenth, narrowly advancing to Hyperpole at the expense of the No. 009 Aston Martin Valkyrie, which was bumped out of contention at the last moment.
The No. 35 Alpine piloted by Paul-Loup Chatin, Ferdinand Habsburg, and Charles Milesi, secured the final Hyperpole spot in fifteenth.
First Le Mans Qualifying session’s format dictated that only the top fifteen hypercars would progress to Hyperpole where they would fight for the coveted pole position in the next qualifying phase.
The remaining six entries were eliminated, including both Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries, both Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8s, the No. 99 Proton Competition Porsche and the aforementioned No. 7 Toyota.
In the LMP2 category, the AO BY TF team, with PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron, and Louis Deletraz, topped the class, followed by United Autosports and Algarve Pro Racing.
The competition was equally fierce in LMGT3, with Team WRT topping qualifying with its No. 46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO piloted by Ahmad Al Harthy who posted a 3:56.875.
