In the fourth free practice session of the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, Toyota showed their strength, comfortably leading during the nighttime practice.
The fourth and final free practice session for the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans provided teams with one last opportunity to gather crucial data and fine-tune their race setups ahead of the legendary endurance race on June 15-16. The session began under the threat of rain, which eventually turned into a light drizzle, giving teams a taste of the wet conditions expected, particularly on Sunday. Despite the weather, the 60-minute session was incident-free, with all competitors safely returning to their garages.
Following the excitement of Hyperpole, the field quickly returned to action, although the session started 30 minutes late due to an earlier accident that prematurely ended the Road To Le Mans race. Dries Vanthoor, back in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 after a crash during Hyperpole, was the first to break the 3:30 barrier on his second lap. He was soon joined by Sheldon van der Linde in the #20 BMW, Charles Milesi in the #35 Alpine A424, and Brendon Hartley in the #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid, with Hartley setting the fastest time of 3:29.451. Miguel Molina in the #50 Ferrari 499P and Nico Müller in the #93 Peugeot 9X8 also posted sub-3:30 times.
Notably, three of the top four Hyperpole contenders—the #6 Porsche 963, the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R, and the #51 Ferrari 499P—sat out much of the session, focusing on conserving their cars for the race.
In the LMP2 class, all 16 Oreca 07-Gibsons hit the track early. Ben Hanley in the #23 United Autosports USA car set the initial pace, closely followed by the #22 United Autosports entry. The #24 Nielsen Racing machine then split the United Autosports pair to claim a top spot.
The LMGT3 class saw the Akkodis ASP Team’s #87 Lexus RC F setting the fastest time with a 3:58.755, followed by the Proton Competition #77 Ford Mustang and the Spirit of Race #155 Ferrari. However, the TF Sport #82 Corvette and the Proton Competition #88 Ford Mustang skipped the session.
As the teams wrap up their final preparations, Toyota’s strong performance in the night session sets the stage for an exciting 92nd edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. With changing weather conditions on the horizon, the legendary race promises to deliver drama and excitement from start to finish.
