24 Hours of Le Mans: A Challenger Emerges

The first qualifying session has just ended at Le Mans. However, at the very end on the last lap, the #1 Audi Audi R18 E-tron QuattroAudi R18 e-tron quattroGermany, 2012 > present8 photos
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set the fastest time of 3:25.243, which is about a tenth of a second slower than the time the car set in practice. Still, if there is rain tomorrow, it will likely keep the Quattro on the pole. 

The #2 Audi E-tron Quattro was about a second off the pace with a 3:26.536 lap. The #3 R18 UltraAudi R18 ultraGermany, 2012 > present11 photos
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was third with a 3:26.694. Unlike in practice, Audi did not hold all of the top spots. The #7 Toyota TS030Toyota TS030 HYBRIDJapan, 2012 > present5 photos
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was fourth fastest with a 3:27.191 lap. The other Audi R18 Ultra was fifth with a 3:27.554, and that #8 Toyota with the fresh engine was sixth with a 3:28.295. The fastest of the non-factory cars was Strakka Racing HondaHonda HPD ARX 03aJapan, 2012 > present2 photos
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 again in seventh with a 3:32.750 lap. 

Nissan continues to be strong in the LMP2 class. The #46 TDS Racing Oreca 03-NissanOreca Oreca 03 NissanFrance, 2011 > present2 photos
was fastest in class with a 3:39.252. The same chassis/engine combination was in second from the #48 Murphy Racing team with a 3:39.877. Finally, HondaHonda HPD ARX 03bJapan, 2012 > present2 photos
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}was third fastest with a 3:40.639 from the #44 Starworks team. 

The DeltawingNissan DeltaWingJapan, 2012 > present19 photos
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was 26th overall and still managed to stay ahead of six LMP2 class prototypes with its 3:42.612 lap, which is even faster than in practice. It continues to get faster, and a 3:40 seems possible in perfect conditions. 

The #74 CorvetteChevrolet Corvette C6.RUnited States of America, 2012 > present3 photos
 was fastest in GTE-Pro with a 3:55.910 lap. That is two seconds faster than the Aston Martin's fastest time in practice. Second fastest was the Luxury Racing FerrariFerrari 458 Italia GTCItaly, 2011 > present5 photos
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 that did a 3:56.076. The other Corvette was third with a 3:57.181. That fast Aston MartinAston Martin Vantage GTEUnited Kingdom, 2012 > present4 photos
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from practice was fourth fastest with a 3:57.466. 

The GTE-Am was again led by the Flying Lizard Motorsport PorschePorsche 911 GT3 RSRGermany, 2012 > present6 photos
 with a 3:57.594 lap. That car was also fastest in practice. #75 Prospeed Competition Porsche was second fastest in class with a 3:58.035, and Aston Martin was third fastest in class with a 3:58.725 lap. 

There are two more qualifying sessions tomorrow. The first is from 19:00 to 21:00 local time, and the second is from 22:00 to 24:00 local. If there is rain, then expect these times to stand. However, at the moment no rain is forecasted; so expect even faster laps.