JOTA tops Test Day for the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans

Six days ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Centenary, competitors hit the track for the first time for the traditional Test Day. The event was split between one session from 10:00 to 13:00, and a second from 15:30 to 18:30. The track time was an ideal way to get one’s bearings, fine-tune settings and become familiar with the legendary circuit before the big race next weekend on 10-11 June.

After the first three-hour session, COOL Racing’s #47 ORECA 07 topped the standings in a time of 03:36.409, with Vladislav Lomko/Reshad De Gérus/Simon Pagenaud dominating the grid by more than one second. The second fastest time was achieved by IDEC SPORT Racing’s #48 ORECA 07 (03:37.427) shared by Paul-Loup Chatin/Paul Lafargue/Laurents Hörr. Team WRT’s #31 ORECA 07 completed the top 3 (03:37.767), and Inter Europol Competition’s #34 ORECA 07 and Alpine Endurance Team’s #36 rounded out the top 5. In Pro/Am, Nielsen Racing’s #14 ORECA 07 earned the quickest time of 03:38:583.

It took until the last lap of the afternoon session to find out the fastest competitor at Test Day: JOTA’s #28 ORECA 07. Pietro Fittipaldi/David Heinemeier Hansson/Oliver Rasmussen topped the timesheet in 03:35.472.

Team WRT’s #31 ORECA 07 turned in successful performances in both sessions. The car driven by Sean Gelael/Ferdinand Habsburg-Lothringen/Robin Frijns clocked the second best time (03:36.243), followed by the #35 Alpine in third place (03:36.644) and the #36 Alpine (03 :36.782) in fourth. The fifth spot was clinched by the United Autosports team’s #23 (3:36.915). Seventh overall, Racing Team Turkey’s #923 ORECA 07 shared by Salih Yoluç /Tom Gamble/Dries Vanthoor led the Pro/Am class (03:37.151).

With no major technical problems to report, the 24 ORECA 07s are now ready to tackle Free Practice 1, scheduled for Wednesday at 14:00 local time.

Classification test day – morning session

Classification test day – afternoon session

2023 24 HOURS OF LE MANS PROGRAMME:

Wednesday 7 June

14:00 – 17:00 | Free Practice 1

19:00 – 20:00 | Qualifying

22:00 – 00:00 | Free Practice 2

Thursday 8 June

15:00 – 18:00 | Free Practice 3

20:00 – 20:30 | Hyperpole

22:00 – 23:00 | Free Practice 4

Saturday 10 June

12:00 – 12:15 | Warm-Up

16:00 | Race Start

Sunday 11 June 

16:00 | Race Finish