Cadillac leads Le Mans opening practice as Bamber sets the benchmark
Cadillac makes an early statement at Le Mans
Cadillac opened free practice for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans with a commanding show of pace, as Earl Bamber put the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota V-Series.R at the top of the timesheets with a 3:23.786.
It was not just the lap time that stood out, but the shape of the order behind it. Cadillac completed a one-two at the head of the Hypercar field, with Jordan Taylor second in the #101 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac. The gap, however, was significant: Taylor ended the session more than a second and a half adrift of Bamber’s benchmark.
Rene Rast placed the #20 BMW third, less than two tenths behind Taylor, while Will Stevens made it three Cadillacs inside the top four aboard the #12 entry. Ferdinand Habsburg completed the top five as the leading Alpine driver in the #35.
For readers tracking the wider Le Mans build-up, our guide to how 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying works explains the format that will decide who progresses through qualifying and into Hyperpole.
Toyota and Ferrari trail the early Hypercar pace
The quickest LMH-rules car in the Hypercar class was only sixth overall, with Brendon Hartley setting the best Toyota time in the #8. Ferrari’s leading representative sat just behind, as Antonio Fuoco placed the #50 entry seventh.
At this stage of the week, practice pace remains only one piece of the picture, but Cadillac’s early control at the front gives its rivals a clear reference point before the competitive sessions intensify.
Pin and Hawksworth lead LMP2 and LMGT3
In LMP2, Doriane Pin set the standard for Duqueine in the #30 Oreca, posting a 3:35.248. Kevin Estre, making his first Le Mans appearance in LMP2 with the #14 TDS Racing Oreca, was second but more than seven tenths off Pin. Valerio Rinicella completed the top three in the #28 IDEC Sport entry, a further two tenths back.
LMGT3 was led by Jack Hawksworth in the #78 ASP Lexus with a 3:55.737. The two WRT BMWs followed closely: Augusto Farfus was exactly one tenth down in the #32, while Dan Harper was just one thousandth of a second behind his factory BMW team-mate in the #69.
Brief interruption before qualifying
The session was largely clean, though it began with an early incident when Theodor Jensen beached the #37 CLX Oreca in the gravel at the Forest Esses. A slow zone was introduced and briefly escalated to a full course yellow while marshals pushed the car back onto the circuit.
Qualifying begins at 6:45pm local time, with Hyperpole for all three classes scheduled for tomorrow evening.
Simone Scanu
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.