Dries Vanthoor’s impressive performance in qualifying was followed by a slip in the Hyperpole, securing sixth place on the grid for the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite a collision with the tyre barriers, Vanthoor, along with teammates Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann, remains in a solid position for the race.
Vanthoor exceeded expectations by clocking the fastest time in qualifying, setting the stage for an intense Hyperpole session. However, a lock-up on Thursday ended his time chase prematurely. Vanthoor expressed mixed emotions, acknowledging the mistake but remaining optimistic about the race ahead. “Luckily we don’t have a lot of damage, it’s just annoying! There is still a long race to go and anything can happen,” he said.
Mixed Results for BMW in Other Categories
The #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 Art Car will start from the 16th position. In the LMGT3 category, the #46 BMW M4 GT3 qualified in 12th place, and the #31 BMW M4 GT3 in 15th.
Team Reactions and Optimism
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport: “In general, we can be happy with qualifying. To have one car in Hyperpole is great. Yesterday’s provisional pole lap by Dries was amazing and a big motivation boost for everybody in the team. It was nice to see what Dries can do with the car. In Hyperpole, everybody went to the limit to get the last hundredth of a second out of the lap. Unfortunately, Dries locked up and went straight into the barriers. Luckily, he is okay, which is by far the most important news.”
Vincent Vosse, Team Principal BMW M Team WRT: “Of course, I am a little disappointed with the outcome of the Hyperpole, especially for the crew who had some extra work with the repairs. On Wednesday, we were in high spirits after setting the fastest time in qualifying, but now we are fully focused on the race. I think we can make it into the top-5 with a flawless race. In the LMGT3 class, I was very disappointed with the qualifying result. But here too, I am optimistic for the race. Why shouldn’t we be able to fight for the podium and maybe even the win?”
