Albuquerque tops first Le Mans test session for Cadillac WTR

Cadillac WTR’s Filipe Albuquerque turned heads in the first test session at the Circuit de la Sarthe today ahead of next weekend’s Le Mans 24 Hours.

In sunny conditions, the Portuguese racer set a 3m27.011s aboard the No. 101 Cadillac V-Series.R, as part of a flurry of fast times towards the end of the session after a late red flag. Albuquerque’s effort was, remarkably, only 0.001 seconds off the best time in the equivalent session last year, set by AF Corse’s Robert Kubica.

“In the first session, we ended up quickest with our sister car and team at Cadillac close by,” said Cadillac WTR co-owner Wayne Taylor. “So much has been done this year in comparison to last year when we were rushed to prepare. We knew this year we would have the time to prepare the car properly. It is good to have one year under their belt with these cars. This is a really good way to start the weekend.”

Charles Milesi ended up second aboard the No. 35 Alpine Endurance Team A424, 0.328s behind Albuquerque, with the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry of Will Stevens third. The Briton set a 3m27.843s during the first hour of running, leading the session until going 0.833 seconds slower than the equivalent fastest time in the morning last year.

Roman De Angelis was fourth in the No. 009 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie, ahead of Nicklas Nielsen’s No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse 499P, and Sebastien Buemi’s No. 8 Toyota Racing TR010 Hybrid.

The No. 8 Toyota triggered the only red flag of the session when an incident involving Buemi’s co-driver, Ryo Hirakawa, and Jake Hughes’ No. 25 Algarve Pro Racing ORECA LMP2 occurred at the Dunlop Chicane in the final 30 minutes.

Hughes, on an out lap, lost control at the exit of Turn 3 and spun into the path of Hirakawa, with the Toyota being briefly launched into the air and sustaining left-side and rear damage, the ORECA ending up beached in the gravel, and neither car able to return to the pits under their own steam.

Toyota confirmed post-session that the damage to the No. 8 was not critical and the car will run this afternoon. The No. 25 meanwhile escaped remarkably lightly, with damage to a “bit of bodywork and a front toelink”; they too will run in session two.

Seventh went to the No. 7 Toyota, with the pair of BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8s and No. 007 Aston Martin completing the top 10. The best of the Genesis GMR-001s was 11th on their Le Mans debut, following a late flyer from the No. 17 entry of Pipo Derani, with the entire Hypercar field being covered by under three seconds.

“It was important to get a clean lap to learn where we are in terms of balance. We have work to do, but it’s such a pleasure to be here and create history for Korean motorsport,” Derani said.

It is worth emphasizing, though, how little lap times mean at this stage of Le Mans week, especially given a significant chunk of the three-hour session was dedicated to procedural tests such as full course yellows and safety cars.

Multiple teams took the opportunity to give their reserve driver some running, with both Toyota’s Esteban Masson and Genesis’ Jamie Chadwick turning their first laps of the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans aboard a Hypercar.

There was, as expected, plenty of experimentation with the new-for-2026 Michelin tires too. Albuquerque’s best was set on a set of Mediums, after the WTR team spent the early part of the session on the Soft. The only car to sample the Hard was Toyota Racing, with Sebastien Buemi in the No. 8 setting a best time of 3m28.319s on that compound.

In LMP2, Mathieu Vaxiviere topped the times aboard the Pro/Am-entered No. 183 AF Corse ORECA 07-Gibson, with a 1m35.526s.

Tom Dillmann was second in the defending-winning No. 43 Inter Europol Competition ORECA, after setting a 3m35.992s on his final flying lap, with the early session leader, CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s Laurin Heinrich third.

Heinrich’s co-driver in the No. 4 ORECA, George Kurtz, also turned laps this morning, after missing yesterday’s Scrutineering.

The No. 14 TDS Racing ORECA, and TDS-run No. 29 Forestier Racing by Panis entry, completed the top five.

And in LMGT3, Vista AF Corse’s François Heriau was fastest after setting a 3m57.366s aboard the No. 21 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo. The Frenchman ended up only 0.046s ahead of countryman Valentin Hasse-Clot, who set a 3m57.412s aboard the No. 59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3, with the No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 of Jose Maria Lopez third.

Fourth went to the No. 91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) LMGT3, ahead of Garage 59’s pair of McLaren LMGT3 Evos.

The No. 4 ORECA completed the most laps, 39, which was one more than the No. 17 Genesis and pair of BMW Hypercars.All 62 runners completed at least 24 tours.

The Le Mans Test Day continues with three further hours of running this afternoon, starting at 3:30pm local time.

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