The 20-minute qualifying session was run 30 minutes after the conclusion of free practice. ANS Motorsport and M Racing followed on from their performances in free practice to secure the pole position in the JS P4 and JS2 R categories, respectively, with Iko Segret and Natan Bihel.
First pole position for Frenchman Iko Segret and ANS Motorsport in JS P4
Iko Segret and ANS Motorsport (#6 JS P4) improved their time by nearly 3 seconds to 4m07.592s and claimed their first pole position of the season in the JS P4 category. It was a close call for the Frenchman as there was little in it among the first drivers. Jeronimo Berrio in the #66 Team Virage finished the session in 4:07.935s ahead of third-best sister car, the #1, thanks to Theo Micouris best time in 4m08.765s.
Jacques Nicolet in the #58 of Les Deux Arbres took pole position in AM (4m19.308). Michael Dopplemayr and Pierre Kaffer in the #81 from LR Motorsport will start first in PRO-AM.
Romain Favre in the #7 Inter Europol Competition Ligier JS P4 had initially set the fastest time of the category in 4:09.082. He was demoted to 5th position after the end of the qualifying session for not respecting the track limits and shortcutting a turn.
Iko Segret, ANS Motorsport, #6 Ligier JS P4, Pole position Le Mans Heat:
“It’s a real team effort. We’ve put in a lot of hard work since the start of the season and we’ve been rewarded. We’ve managed to make progress with each race and today was our first pole position on this magnificent Le Mans circuit! It was a difficult qualifying session, what was really tough was the traffic on track and the track limits, which are tricky on this circuit. We did the best we could. Now all we have to do is win the race!”
JS2 R: Natan Bihel and M Racing clinched pole
Natan Bihel and M Racing, reunited for the Le Mans Heat after their victory last year, let nothing slip their grasp. After setting the fastest time in free practice, the Frenchman improved by one second to secure the pole in 4m21.476s in the #69 JS2 R, ahead of Clément Loeul in the #90 LADC Ligier JS2 R (4m23.190s). Clément Moreno in the #31 ANS Motorsport completed the top three in 4m24.837s and was first in the AM class. Julien Schell claimed the PRO-AM pole position in the #29 of Pegasus Racing in 4m27.614s.
Natan Bihel, M Racing, #69 Ligier JS2 R, Pole position Le Mans Heat:
“Qualifying went very well. I won last year and don’t want someone else to win it! I’ll be back every year if I have to. It’s a good thing to take pole, but in the race, anything can happen, and the handicaps during the mandatory pitstop are also a factor. We will do everything we can to win.”
For the complete results, CLICK HERE.
The one-hour race will run from 2 to 3 pm.
