Dries Vanthoor put BMW M Team WRT on top in FP3 for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the Hypercar field completed its final daylight practice session before Hyperpole.
The Belgian set a 3:23.302 in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the final moments of the three-hour session. His lap placed BMW 0.423s clear of the #36 Alpine A424, driven by Victor Martins.
Will Stevens completed the top three in the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R with a 3:23.816, while the sister #20 BMW ended the session fourth.
Heart of Racing led LMGT3 with the #23 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3, while Forestier Racing by Panis topped LMP2 by just 0.001s from Duqueine Team.
2026 FIA WEC: 24 Hours of Le Mans: FP3: Hypercar
Vanthoor delivers late BMW benchmark
BMW left its strongest lap until the closing minutes of FP3, as Vanthoor charged to a 3:23.302 in the #15 BMW M Team WRT entry.
The lap moved the Bavarian manufacturer to the top of the order after Cadillac had controlled much of the late session narrative. It also confirmed BMW as a serious contender before Hyperpole, with both M Hybrid V8s finishing inside the top four.
Robin Frijns placed the #20 BMW fourth with a 3:24.162, just 0.860s away from Vanthoor’s session-topping time.
Alpine and Cadillac stay in the pole fight
Alpine kept itself firmly in the fight as Martins took second in the #36 A424. His 3:23.725 left the French manufacturer within half a second of BMW’s benchmark.
The #35 Alpine also finished seventh, ensuring both Alpine entries remained close to the sharp end before the evening shootout.
Meanwhile, Cadillac again showed strong one-lap pace. Stevens put the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA car third, while the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA entry finished sixth. The #101 Cadillac WTR car added another top-ten result in eighth.
As a result, Alpine, BMW and Cadillac all head into Hyperpole with clear front-row potential.
Genesis continues impressive first Le Mans showing
Genesis Magma Racing continued its strong first appearance at Le Mans. Mathys Jaubert put the #17 Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar fifth with a 3:24.195, only 0.893s off the fastest time.
The #19 Genesis also reached the top ten, finishing tenth with a 3:24.795.
Therefore, the South Korean manufacturer completed another highly positive session before Hyperpole. Its race reliability remains a major question for the full 24 hours, but its single-lap speed has kept it in the conversation throughout the week.
Ferrari and Toyota remain outside the top ten
Ferrari placed one car inside the top ten, with the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P finishing ninth on a 3:24.598. The #50 Ferrari followed in 11th, while the #83 AF Corse entry took 16th.
Toyota ended FP3 12th and 13th with the #8 and #7 GR010 Hybrids respectively. The Japanese manufacturer did not match the late pace of BMW, Alpine or Cadillac, but it still completed significant running before the race weekend’s decisive sessions.
Aston Martin placed 14th and 15th with the #009 and #007 Valkyries, while Peugeot completed the Hypercar classification with the #94 and #93 entries.
Hypercar classification — FP2
- BMW #15 — BMW M Team WRT — 3:23.302 — 45 laps
- Alpine #36 — Alpine Endurance Team — 3:23.725 — 41 laps
- Cadillac #12 — Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — 3:23.816 — 44 laps
- BMW #20 — BMW M Team WRT — 3:24.162 — 43 laps
- Genesis #17 — Genesis Magma Racing — 3:24.195 — 38 laps
- Cadillac #38 — Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA — 3:24.217 — 42 laps
- Alpine #35 — Alpine Endurance Team — 3:24.287 — 40 laps
- Cadillac #101 — Cadillac WTR — 3:24.456 — 41 laps
- Ferrari #51 — Ferrari AF Corse — 3:24.598 — 41 laps
- Genesis #19 — Genesis Magma Racing — 3:24.795 — 23 laps
- Ferrari #50 — Ferrari AF Corse — 3:25.112 — 46 laps
- Toyota #8 — Toyota Racing — 3:25.231 — 43 laps
- Toyota #7 — Toyota Racing — 3:25.348 — 44 laps
- Aston Martin #009 — Aston Martin THOR Team — 3:25.588 — 44 laps
- Aston Martin #007 — Aston Martin THOR Team — 3:26.398 — 37 laps
- Ferrari #83 — AF Corse — 3:26.696 — 43 laps
- Peugeot #94 — Peugeot TotalEnergies — 3:27.720 — 42 laps
- Peugeot #93 — Peugeot TotalEnergies — 3:28.038 — 42 laps
2026 FIA WEC: 24 Hours of Le Mans: FP3: LMGT3
Barrichello puts Heart of Racing on top
Heart of Racing continued its strong Thursday pace as the #23 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 topped FP3.
Eduardo Barrichello set the fastest LMGT3 time with a 3:53.728 in the car he shares with Jonny Adam and Gray Newell. His effort placed the Aston Martin 0.208s clear of the #32 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3.
The result continued a strong build-up for Heart of Racing before Hyperpole, with the #27 Aston Martin also finishing seventh in class.
Team WRT and Akkodis ASP remain close
Team WRT placed second in LMGT3 with the #32 BMW of Sean Gelael, Augusto Farfus and Darren Leung. The car finished within just over two tenths of the class-leading Aston Martin.
Akkodis ASP Team also maintained its consistent pace. The #87 Lexus took third with a 3:54.115, while the #78 Lexus moved into fifth late in the session.
Jack Hawksworth again showed strong pace in the #78 car, as the Lexus squad kept both entries inside the top five.
Ferrari and McLaren complete the top six
Vista AF Corse remained part of the leading LMGT3 group. The #54 Ferrari finished fourth with a 3:54.447, while the #21 Ferrari placed ninth after showing early pace.
Garage 59 completed the top six with the #10 McLaren. The Spa-winning crew of Tom Fleming, Marvin Kirchhöfer and Andreas Au continued its strong momentum before Hyperpole.
The top seven cars finished within 0.792s, underlining the depth of the 25-car LMGT3 field.
LMGT3 classification — FP3
- Aston Martin #23 — Heart of Racing Team — 3:53.728 — 36 laps
- BMW #32 — Team WRT — 3:53.936 — 36 laps
- Lexus #87 — Akkodis ASP Team — 3:54.115 — 32 laps
- Ferrari #54 — Vista AF Corse — 3:54.447 — 37 laps
- Lexus #78 — Akkodis ASP Team — 3:54.476 — 34 laps
- McLaren #10 — Garage 59 — 3:54.503 — 36 laps
- Aston Martin #27 — Heart of Racing Team — 3:54.520 — 35 laps
- Porsche #92 — The Bend Manthey — 3:54.754 — 36 laps
- Ferrari #21 — Vista AF Corse — 3:54.782 — 38 laps
- Ferrari #74 — Kessel Racing — 3:54.907 — 39 laps
- BMW #69 — Team WRT — 3:55.161 — 33 laps
- Aston Martin #59 — Racing Spirit of Léman — 3:55.167 — 38 laps
- Ferrari #57 — Kessel Racing — 3:55.203 — 39 laps
- Mercedes #62 — Team Qatar by Iron Lynx — 3:55.232 — 38 laps
- Mercedes #61 — Iron Lynx — 3:55.318 — 33 laps
- Corvette #33 — TF Sport — 3:55.321 — 32 laps
- McLaren #58 — Garage 59 — 3:55.649 — 37 laps
- Ferrari #150 — Richard Mille AF Corse — 3:55.669 — 36 laps
- Porsche #91 — Manthey DK Engineering — 3:55.838 — 39 laps
- Corvette #2 — TF Sport — 3:56.090 — 34 laps
- Corvette #34 — Racing Team Turkey by TF — 3:56.196 — 30 laps
- Ford #88 — Proton Competition — 3:56.429 — 32 laps
- Ford #77 — Proton Competition — 3:56.741 — 36 laps
- Corvette #13 — 13 Autosport — 3:56.928 — 33 laps
- Mercedes #79 — Iron Lynx — 3:57.156 — 34 laps
2026 FIA WEC: 24 Hours of Le Mans: FP3: LMP2
Forestier Racing by Panis beats Duqueine by 0.001s
Forestier Racing by Panis topped LMP2 in an extraordinarily tight FP3 battle.
Oliver Gray set a 3:34.252 in the #29 Oreca-Gibson to beat the #30 Duqueine Team entry by just 0.001s. Julien Andlauer produced Duqueine’s best lap, leaving the two cars almost inseparable around the 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe.
Inter Europol Competition placed third with the #343 car, as Reshad de Gerus posted a 3:34.680.
TDS Racing leads Pro/Am
TDS Racing led the Pro/Am runners and finished fourth overall in LMP2. The #14 Oreca-Gibson set a 3:34.769 and ended the session 0.517s away from the class benchmark.
Nielsen Racing completed the top five, ahead of CrowdStrike Racing by APR, AF Corse and Vector Sport.
With several cars covered by small margins, LMP2 again showed how close the category remains before the race.
Proton and United incidents disrupt session
Several incidents interrupted LMP2 running during FP3.
Horst Felix Felbermayr Jnr crashed the #44 Proton Competition entry at Porsche Curves. He returned to the pits, but the team started significant repairs after the impact.
Ben Hanley also had a rare off at Indianapolis. He skated through the gravel but recovered without major damage.
Later, Daniel Schneider hit the wall at the Ford Chicane in the #222 United Autosports car. The impact damaged the front-left corner and brought out a brief red flag in the final 25 minutes.
Richard Verschoor also had contact in the #30 Duqueine Oreca-Gibson when Roman de Angelis hit him in the #009 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie. Both cars continued.
Meanwhile, Theo Jensen hit the guardrail at the exit of the Forest Esses in the #37 CLX Motorsport entry, but he returned to the pits with minimal damage.
LMP2 classification — FP3
- Oreca #29 — Forestier Racing by Panis — 3:34.252 — 35 laps
- Oreca #30 — Duqueine Team — 3:34.253 — 31 laps
- Oreca #343 — Inter Europol Competition — 3:34.680 — 35 laps
- Oreca #14 — TDS Racing — 3:34.769 — 40 laps
- Oreca #24 — Nielsen Racing — 3:35.082 — 43 laps
- Oreca #4 — CrowdStrike Racing by APR — 3:35.169 — 41 laps
- Oreca #183 — AF Corse — 3:35.295 — 37 laps
- Oreca #26 — Vector Sport — 3:35.428 — 39 laps
- Oreca #43 — Inter Europol Competition — 3:35.500 — 41 laps
- Oreca #37 — CLX Motorsport — 3:35.537 — 20 laps
- Oreca #28 — IDEC Sport — 3:35.542 — 34 laps
- Oreca #222 — United Autosports — 3:35.551 — 31 laps
- Oreca #25 — Algarve Pro Racing — 3:35.858 — 39 laps
- Oreca #99 — AO by TF — 3:35.946 — 39 laps
- Oreca #3 — DKR Engineering — 3:36.027 — 40 laps
- Oreca #22 — United Autosports — 3:36.994 — 28 laps
- Oreca #9 — Proton Competition — 3:37.012 — 36 laps
- Oreca #48 — RD Limited — 3:37.823 — 38 laps
- Oreca #44 — Proton Competition — 3:38.342 — 25 laps
What comes next at Le Mans
FP3 gave the field one final daylight opportunity before Hyperpole and Sunday’s warm-up.
BMW ended the session with the headline time, but Alpine and Cadillac remained close enough to set up a three-way pole fight in Hypercar. Genesis also kept itself in the conversation after another strong session.
In LMGT3, Heart of Racing, Team WRT, Akkodis ASP Team and Vista AF Corse all showed front-running pace. Meanwhile, Forestier Racing by Panis and Duqueine Team produced the closest fight of the session in LMP2.
Therefore, Hyperpole now arrives with momentum spread across several manufacturers and categories. BMW holds the final practice benchmark, but the fight for pole remains wide open.
See the full entry list for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.
See the full schedule for the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Follow the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans via the Pit Debrief live blog.
