FERRARI QUICKEST AMONG PROTOTYPES AFTER LE MANS TEST DAY

After two full years of building buzz, the hundredth anniversary 24 Hours of Le Mans finally gets underway next Saturday. That makes today the official test day, the first chance for new top-class prototypes from Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, and Peugeot to get on track at the semi-temporary Circuit de la Sarthe. Through one day of timed testing, each manufacturer has at least some reason to be optimistic heading into the race weekend.

Ferrari led both sessions, pacing the day with a quick time of 3:29.501 in the afternoon running. AF Corse's factory-backed 499Ps were two of just five cars to run in the 3:29s during the session, all during the afternoon. Two Porsche 963s and a single Toyota GR010 joined the Ferraris in the 3:29 range in the afternoon running, while a third factory Porsche, a Peugeot 9X8, and one of the Chip Ganassi Racing Cadillac V-Series.Rs also added times below 3:30.673. So far, the surprising balance-of-performance changes made last week seem to have all five major manufacturers in the same competitive range.

For comparison, Toyota paced this session with a fastest time of 3:29.896 last season. The team then put down a best time of 3:27.247 in group qualifying before ultimately setting the pole at 3:24.408 during the one-lap "Hyperpole" shootout on a clean track. Expect those qualifying practice sessions to be far more revealing of final race pace, but the early signs indicate that this could be a competitive race.

Reliability is another question for all five manufacturers, and at least one will come away from the test puzzled. Peugeot's No. 93 9X8 stopped on track with a hybrid issue late in the first session, marking the first mechanical failure of the race weekend in the top class. The No. 7 Toyota also crashed in that opening session, but both teams were able to complete repairs and run more than 20 laps in the afternoon session.

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2023-06-04T17:18:38Z dg43tfdfdgfd