The Porsche Penske Motorsport factory team sends its two best-placed race cars into the 24 Hours of Le Mans from positions three and five. In a highly exciting Hyperpole session on Thursday evening, the two Frenchmen Julien Andlauer and Mathieu Jaminet drove their 963 to the second row of the grid. Felipe Nasr from Brazil and Briton Nick Tandy qualified the number 4 Porsche two places behind them. In LMGT3 class, the Porsche 911 GT3 R from Manthey 1st Phorm will start the world-famous endurance race in front of over 320,000 spectators from fifth place. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the greatest challenges in motorsport.

The two-part Hyperpole session turned into a feast for all fans on Thursday evening with an air temperature of 25 degrees Celsius and a picturesque sunset. The first of the two sections was already extremely exciting: in the final phase of the 20-minute session, almost all of the participants in the Hypercar class were able to improve their lap times once again. Julien Andlauer in the number 5 Porsche 963 and Felipe Nasr in the number 4 sister car made the important leap into the top-10 in seventh and ninth positions, meaning that their 511 kW (695 PS) hybrid prototypes entered the final shootout for the best grid positions.

After a driver change for both hybrid prototypes, the second Hyperpole section lasted 15 minutes. Mathieu Jaminet was initially in the lead after his first attempt on fresh Michelin tyres, but was edged out by two Cadillacs in the finale. The Frenchman will start from the second row on Saturday with his compatriot Andlauer and their factory driver colleague Michael Christensen from Denmark. Nick Tandy made it to fifth place on the 13.626-kilometre track. The Briton – overall Le Mans winner with Porsche in 2015 – shares the 963 with the number 4 with Nasr and reigning Formula E world champion Pascal Wehrlein from Germany.

"We are highly satisfied with this great result," summarised Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. "We have the desired pace and were able to show in the practice sessions that our Porsche 963 is also strong over the distance. Now we are looking forward to the race. It has been a great performance by our entire team so far. Thanks to everyone!"

"To be honest, we hadn't necessarily expected these starting positions," says a delighted Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh. "Yesterday evening and during the night, the crew of our number 5 still had a lot of work to do. It was a short night for everyone. So it's all the better that we've now been rewarded for this effort with third place on the grid. Second and third row on the grid - that's a good starting position."

"We've had a busy and quite difficult few days, but today has shown once again: When it comes down to it, our team is fully there," explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. "All the drivers put in a really strong performance. It's a shame that our number 6 was not allowed to drive in the Hyperpole. This race car would certainly also have been among the front runners.“

The Porsche 963 of Kévin Estre, Matt Campbell and Laurens Vanthoor will start the 63rd edition of the endurance classic in France from 21st place. The identical hybrid prototype of the Proton Competition customer team will start from 19th position.

Manthey 1st Phorm's Porsche 911 GT3 R starts from fifth place in LMGT3
In LMGT3 class, one 911 GT3 R took part in the final battle for the best starting positions. In the first of the two Hyperpole sessions, Italian driver Riccardo Pera set the third-fastest time. The Porsche with the starting number 92 from Manthey 1st Phorm thus secured a place in the final round of the fastest eight. In Hyperpole 2, works driver Richard Lietz completed a total of four laps. The Austrian put the 911 in fifth place on the grid in this category.

Programme for Friday, 13 June
13:30 hrs – 14:30 hrs: Porsche Press Conference (Welcome Centre/Porsche Motorsport Lounge)
15:00 hrs – 19:00 hrs: Track walk
16:00 hrs – 19:00: Drivers’ parade (city centre)

The race on TV and stream
In Germany, the free TV channel Nitro from the RTL Group and the sports channel Eurosport will broadcast the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The official apps of the FIA WEC and the Le Mans organiser ACO offer a paid live stream and live timing. The 93rd edition of the endurance classic starts on Saturday, 14 June at 16:00 local time (CEST).

Driver comments after Hyperpole
Mathieu Jaminet (Porsche 963 #5): "It went really well. After we had a minor incident in the Hyperpole 1 session with Julien at the wheel, our car was extremely fast again in the second session. We made exactly the right modifications to the setup before the start of the two sessions. Thanks to Julien for getting us into the second round. I managed a good lap in the second Hyperpole session. Third place is more than I would have expected before the start of the day.”

Julien Andlauer (Porsche 963 #5): "Not everything went according to plan for us in the first stint. My run was over prematurely after losing the right rear wheel. Fortunately, we didn't cause any red flags, because in such a case my times would have been cancelled. The car felt really good on my fastest lap. I made it into the top-10, so I did a good job.”

Nick Tandy (Porsche 963 #4): "I really enjoyed the Hyperpole. During practice, my job was to work on the setup for the race. Meanwhile, Felipe prepared everything for the time attack. In Hyperpole 2, I took to the track for the first time with little fuel on board and brand new tyres – for me personally, it was a journey into the unknown. Third and fifth places are a great team result, and we are all very happy about that."

Felipe Nasr (Porsche 963 #4): “We made noticeable progress with the setup, which paid off in the first Hyperpole session. Driving flat out here in Le Mans with little fuel on board and fresh tyres is incredible fun. And all that with a beautiful sunset – wonderful! Now we're starting the race from a good position and we're all really looking forward to it."

Richard Lietz (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): “That was an ideal lap, and I'm very happy with it. We're starting from fifth place in our class. With a total of 24 starters in our category, that's a good starting position. Now the race is finally about to get underway. Let's see what we can achieve at the end of the 24 hours. I'm really excited.”

Starting positions for the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans
Hypercar class:
1. Stevens/Nato/Lynn (GBR/FRA/GBR), Cadillac #12
2. Bamber/Bourdais/Button (NZL/FRA/GBR), Cadillac #38
3. Andlauer/Christensen/Jaminet (FRA/DNK/FRA), Porsche 963 #5
5. Nasr/Tandy/Wehrlein (BRA/GBR/DEU), Porsche 963 #4
19. Jani/Pino/Varrone (SUI/CHL/ARG), Porsche 963 #99
21. Estre/Vanthoor/Campbell (FRA/BEL/AUS), Porsche 963 #6

LMGT3 class:
1. James/Drudi/Robichon (USA/ITA/CDN), Aston Martin #27
2. Heriau/Mann/Rovera (FRA/GBR/ITA), Ferrari #21
3. Al Harty/Rossi/K. van der Linde (OMA/ITA/RSA), BMW #46
5. Hardwick/Lietz/Pera (USA/AUT/ITA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #92
18. Bovy/Frey/Martin (BEL/SUI/FRA), Porsche 911 GT3 R #85
19. Au/Bachler/Hartog (HKG/AUT/NLD), Porsche 911 GT3 R #90

All results available at fiawec.alkamelsystems.com.