24 Hours of Le Mans test day results: Ferrari faster than Toyota and Porsche

James Dielhenn's picture
5 Jun 2023
24 Hours of Le Mans test day results: Ferrari faster than Toyota and Porsche

During six hours of track time on Sunday, the 62 teams continued preparing for the upcoming 24 Hours Centenary. Several Hypercars clocked lap times below 03:30, and Ferrari is looking good with the #50 and #51 499Ps both earning the fastest time of a session.

Test Day | top 5 Overall:

  1. #51 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Alessandro Pier Guidi / James Calado / Antonio Giovinazzi – 03:29.504
  2. #6 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport – Kévin Estre / André Lotterer / Laurens Vanthoor – 03:29.648
  3. #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid | TOYOTA GAZOO Racing – Mike Conway / Kamui Kobayashi / José María López – 03:29.827
  4. #50 Ferrari 499P | Ferrari AF Corse – Antonio Fuoco / Miguel Molina / Nicklas Nielsen – 03:29.856
  5. #75 Porsche 963 | Porsche Penske Motorsport – Felipe Nasr / Mathieu Jaminet / Nicholas Tandy – 03:29.905

The top times in the three other classes:

  • LMP2 | #28 ORECA 07-Gibson | JOTA – David Heinemeier Hansson/Oliver Rasmussen/Pietro Fittipaldi – 03:35.872

  • LMGTE Am | #66 Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | JMW Motorsport – Thomas Neubauer/Louis Prette/Giacomo Petrobelli – 03:56.088

  • Innovative Car | #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 | Hendrick Motorsports – Jimmie Johnson/Mike Rockenfeller/Jenson Button – 03:53.761

Did Mercedes' Upgrades in Monaco ACTUALLY Work?

The world's most famous endurance race is next week but the 62 cars put in two sessions of three hours each on Sunday.

The symbolic <03:30 per lap mark had yet to be reached this morning after the first three-hour Test Day session.

But, a handful of Hypercar competitors managed to do so during the second session.

Laurens Vanthoor in Porsche Penske Motorsport's #6 Porsche 963 shared with Kévin Estre and André Lotterer was the first to clock a lap under 03:30 (03:29.648) thanks to a clear track and his signature determination.

The time was achieved about 30 minutes into the session, soon followed by Antonio Fuoco and Antonio Giovinazzi in Ferrari AF Corse's #50 and #51 Ferrari 499Ps, respectively, and Kamui Kobayashi in TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid.

After Test Day had come to a close, competitors in all the classes took advantage of the available track time to fine-tune preparations for the big race.

In the Peugeot camp, the #94 9X8 completed an astonishing 39 laps, while the #93, stopped in the Mulsanne Straight with a mechanical problem shortly after 12:00, only managed 16 laps in the afternoon.