Toyota on top; Garage 56 Camaro fast in first practice session at Le Mans

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s No. 8 GR010 HYBRID set the pace in the opening practice session of race week at Le Mans, Brendon Hartley reeling off a 3m27.742s to go just over a tenth faster than the sister No. 7 car. 

Unsurprisingly, the pace at the head of the field improved from the Test Day almost immediately. The best time on Sunday was a 3m29.504s from the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari. It was bettered in the opening minutes by Jose Maria Lopez in the No. 7 Toyota, who set a 3m28.290s.

By the end of the session, 13 cars set times under the 3m30s mark, though there is still almost certainly plenty of pace to come as the week progresses.

The fastest of the other teams in the Hypercar class was Cadillac Racing, which managed to get its No. 2 V-Series. R in the top three with a 3m27.939s. It was the only other car in the session to set a time under 3m28s: an encouraging start for the GM brand.

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The top five was completed by the No. 75 and No. 6 Porsche 963s, both within half a second of the pace-setting Toyota’s time.

A pleasant surprise early on was the pace of the two Peugeot 9X8s, which sat second and third in the times for a decent chunk of the three-hour session. Both cars though hit trouble and spent extended time in the garage. The No. 93 spent 45 minutes in its pit box, while the No. 94 spent 80 minutes stationary being worked on after an off out on the circuit. 

In the end the two French-flagged cars ended up sixth and seventh, notably ahead of both Ferrari 499Ps. But it was not the start to the week the team had hoped for.