No.7 Toyota tops 24 Hours of Le Mans night-time FP2

Credit: Toyota Racing via X

A late effort by Kamui Kobayashi proved just enough to give the No.7 Toyota first, in the night-time FP2, edging out the recovering No.83 AF Corse Ferrari.

The first night session of the 24 Hours of Le Mans ended, with all drivers getting the necessary familiarisation with night-time conditions, at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

Very early, on track action was interrupted by two incidents, one more severe than the other. Around five minutes in, Nyck de Vries lost control of his No.7 Toyota at the Dunlop chicane, spinning and leaving a small piece of debries on the track, with the Dutchman able to get going again.

Moments later however the No.44 Proton Competition Oreca LMP2 car driven by Horst Jr Felbermayr went off the track, being beached at Arnage, with a Full Course Yellow being called alongside a slow zone.

Fast laps were not easy to come by throughout the first 30 minutes of the session, as after the No.44 LMP2 was cleared and green flag conditions resumed, they were again interrupted by a short FCY for the debris left behind by De Vries and a few minutes later, double yellow flags were shown near Indianapolis, as the No.22 United Autosports Oreca of Gregoire Saucy came to a halt.

At that time the early session benchmark was a 3:45.049, set by Kevin Magnussen in the No.15 BMW, indicative of the state in which the session was run.

After that though, times started tumbling down all over the field of the three classes, with Brendon Hartley setting a 3:27.145 in the No.8 Toyota, with Esteban Masson's LMP2 benchmark being a 3:35.164 in the No.29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca and Marvin Kirchhöfer's LMGT3 in the No.10 Garage 59 McLaren respectively being a 3:55.371.

40 minutes in, another yellow flag and slow zone was shown around the Dunlop chicane, as Richard Verschoor was stuck in the gravel trap, in the No.30 Duqueine Team Oreca LMP2.

Nearing the hour mark and the half-way point of the session, Yifei Ye, driving the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari, which only a couple of hours earlier had been eliminated from Thursday's Hyperpole, set the fastest time, with the 3:26.316 fast enough to remain on top for nearly an hour.

After that though, things continued to be of interest, as the No.8 Toyota suffered a rear-left tyre puncture, with a similar fate befalling the No.12 Jota Cadillac later on.

The last interruption of any kind was for the No.15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor, which was beached at the start of the Forest Esses, requiring a Slow Zone to be deployed.

At session's end though, with the drivers and teams completing their programs for the most part, as well as some teams really extending stint with one set of tyres, the No.7 Toyota in the hands of Kamui Kobayashi was fastest overall, ''stealing'' first from the No.83 Ferrari with a 3:26.096. Third was the No.101 WTR Cadillac.

Credit: Evan Roberts

In LMP2, the No.29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca set the fastest time, with a 3:33.645, as the No.4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR Oreca came second, and the No.183 AF Corse Oreca third.

Finally in the LMGT3, the timesheets were topped by the No.32 Team WRT BMW with a 3:55.132, as the No.61 Iron Lynx Mercedes was in second and the No.92 Manthey Porsche in third.

Track action resumes tomorrow, with FP3 starting at 14:45 local time, before Hyperpole sets the grid for the 24-Hour race at 20:00.