Sébastien Bourdais, unfortunatly third in the hyperpole
The French driver set a time that was thought to be unbeatable during the hyperpole of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But the Cadillac #2 and the Porsche #6 managed to do better in the final seconds.
After the red flag caused by the BMW #15 going off track, Sébastien Bourdais cut everything off. Engine off, the Frenchman got out of his yellow car and removed his helmet. The members of his team congratulated him. With seven tenths of a second ahead of the competition, he was already thought to be on pole position. The Frenchman didn’t have enough fuel left to continue.
But with still 7’41” on the clock, it gave others time to complete two flying laps. They seized this opportunity. The first attempts of everyone fell just short. But the Frenchman’s mark was no longer far away. Alex Lynn, in Cadillac #2, was very behind at the end of the second sector. But he pulled off an impressive third sector and retook the provisional pole. Just a few seconds. Kévin Estre, in Porsche #6, was even faster, thanks to a tow offered by an LMP2.
In the end, it was two men who went faster than the man from Le Mans, while many observers thought he was untouchable. With a short time before the checkered flag, warming up the tires could be a problem.
Unfortunately for him, he missed out on pole position at home. But the result doesn’t affect him, and he remains satisfied with his performance. “It was a really solid lap,” he says. “When they told me I would only have one lap, I thought it was impossible and that I wouldn’t be able to get the tires up to temperature. We were probably going to run out of fuel. That’s just how it is. I’m super happy with what we’ve done. It’s incredible and great for Cadillac. I’m very happy.”
The French driver will start from second place on Saturday at 4 p.m. Indeed, the Cadillac #2 has been penalized with a five-place grid penalty after the big crash it was deemed responsible for at Spa.
