Toyota tops Le Mans test, but the race looks wide open

So it’s Toyota out front after the Test Day at Le Mans. The Japanese marque, which is searching for its sixth overall victory in the 24 Hours and its first win of 2025, ended up half a second faster than everyone else after the two sessions on Sunday, with a 3m 26.246s from Brendon Hartley in the No. 8 GR010 HYBRID.

Le Mans is a marathon, not a sprint, and drawing any hard conclusions from the opening exchanges of this year’s event wouldn’t be wise. However, yesterday’s track action did generate some talking points, with most of the brands in the top class satisfied with their performance and one in particular feeling somewhat dejected.

Starting with Toyota, the GR010 HYBRIDs showed speed, with Hartley bettering last year’s best Test Day time by reeling off a 3m 26.246s, and ran like clockwork, racking up 141 combined laps. Nevertheless, TGR’s technical director, David Floury, stressed to reporters that it’s too early to call the reigning Manufacturers’ World Champion the favourite to win.

“We should not get carried away with the fastest lap, as we don’t know what the others are doing. We just focused on ourselves,” he said. “It was tricky with lots of full-course yellows, a safety car and red flags, plus the track action is shorter this year. It was not easy to get through our program.”

It was not a surprise that Hartley’s time bettered that of Kevin Estre 12 months ago at the test, according to Floury, because of the BoP for the event. And when asked about the performance of his competitors, he said Ferrari, which comes into Le Mans having won three races on the bounce, should still be considered the team to beat.

“It’s faster than last year, but we’ve all gained in power, and the track was good, so it’s logical,” he added. “For sure, it will be tight, I think Ferrari is quite strong, and after that, there are five manufacturers in the same ballpark. It should be a good fight, an interesting race. One lap is not representative of the race, Ferrari is still the favourite.

“(After predicting that Porsche would win last year), I predict Ferrari this time, hoping I am wrong again!” he joked.

Of the LMDh manufacturers in the field, it was Alpine that produced the fastest time. Les Blues ended up fourth fastest in the second session when most of the quickest times were set, with Mick Schumacher putting the No. 36 fourth overall in the combined table of fastest laps by driver with his 3m 27.313s.

Staying reliable, after last year’s showing, is clearly a priority, and the early signs are positive for the A424 with its engine updates for 2025; the two ORECA-based prototypes completed 137 combined laps and more than 1,850 kilometers.

Nicolas Lapierre, who now acts as sporting director for the Alpine Endurance Team, was encouraged by the performance.

"We struggled a bit to find the right setup in the morning, but we moved in the right direction this afternoon,” he said.

“We got to try different tire compounds in various conditions and complete most of our program. The overall outcome is satisfactory despite the track time lost due to incidents.

“The drivers performed well and avoided making any mistakes. The pace looks right for now. We are in a good position, which is encouraging for next week.”

Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images

Porsche too emerged from Sunday satisfied. Kevin Estre put the No. 6 from Penske fifth fastest in the combined times, 1.1 seconds off Hartley’s benchmark.

After a rather anonymous, forgettable start to its 2025 WEC campaign, the team is looking to turn a corner here. Urs Kuratle, Porsche’s director of factory LMDh racing, unsurprisingly, explained that the team wasn’t looking to complete fast times. This is understandable. Last year, Porsche ran fastest in the test, set pole, but failed to win the race.

“It was the first time in a year we’ve run three cars at once, and it worked well. Everything is in one piece,” Kuratle said.

“It was important for Pascal (Wehrlein, a Le Mans rookie) and Nico (Mueller, the nominated reserve), too. Nico did laps in the morning in the No. 5, and Pascal (who completed 20 laps) is doing well; he needs to adapt from Formula E. It’s not easy for him, but he’s doing a great job.

“The track changes (resurfacing between Arnage and the entry to the Porsche Curves) are positive, the resurfacing is a good thing, and the car copes well with the changes.”

BMW has grand ambitions for Le Mans like its rival brand Porsche, in its second attempt with WRT and the M Hybrid V8. Andreas Roos, BMW’s motorsport boss, checked in with the media after Robin Frijns set the team’s fastest time, a 3m27.554s to go ninth in the combined driver ranking.

He confirmed that the No. 20’s stoppage in the second session was due to an oil leak, which limited the car to 19 laps. “We stopped the car for safety reasons, and we need to analyze it,” he said.

Looking towards the bottom of the time sheets is where things get perhaps a little more interesting.

Covering off Aston Martin first, the Valkyries didn’t light up the timing screens, finishing with a best time just over three seconds off. But they were never expected to at this early stage of the program.

In fact, it was all smiles in the Heart of Racing pit last night, with the team confident that the only V12-powered non-hybrid LMHs in the field are making real progress.

“It’s our best ever day,” No. 007 driver Harry Tincknell said. “It’s a shame because the timesheet doesn’t really reflect it. I went out on a brand new set of tires at the end when there were only a couple of laps left of running. It was pot luck with traffic; we didn’t pull the winning number out, but we were miles up on our best time when the red flag came out.

“It’s a shame, but the main thing is we can see the delta and the time that’s in the car. The car feels very reactive, compliant and drivable, which is so important over 24 hours. You don’t want something you’re wrestling with. You want something that gives you confidence, you can push, that’s consistent lap after lap.”

Peugeot, on the other hand, appears deflated after failing to set a lap time within three seconds of the No. 8 Toyota. A lot can change over the course of the week, but No. 94 driver Loic Duval is convinced that the French manufacturer’s chances of a first win with the 9X8 are slim.

Without saying it directly, the experienced Frenchman made it clear that Peugeot is not at all satisfied with its BoP for this one…

“We’ve done what we had to do during the two sessions. We tried the (Medium and Soft Michelin) tires available, we tried a few things in terms of set-up,” he told RACER. “The regulation we have for Le Mans, compared to what we have in WEC, it doesn’t go our way, and it will be more difficult here in terms of performance compared to Spa.

“If you look at the lap times and the pace in general, the car’s balance and behavior are not too bad. It’s better than last year. I think what we have done today is what we could do. It is what it is, and for us, it hurts a little bit. We just have to have a clean race.

“Pace-wise, we will never be able to be up there with the other guys, that’s for sure. It’s not a surprise. We are just trying to get the best out of the package. What we see in terms of lap time and position is what we expected.”

It’s not all doom and gloom in the paddock, though, far from it. In general, the Balance of Performance table for the event, plus the early signs from the Test Day, suggest that the race this weekend is shaping up nicely, with Ferrari and Toyota seemingly carrying an edge, and Cadillac, Alpine, Porsche and BMW all seemingly in the game.

“There are 16, 17, 18 cars that easily have the possibility to win this race,” Urs Kuratle claimed last night.