Le Mans 24 Hours: Alex Lynn Claims First Cadillac Pole with Front Row Sweep

Alex Lynn claimed his first pole position at the Le Mans 24 Hours, leading a dramatic front row lockout for Cadillac in the 2025 Hyperpole shootout.

The British driver put the #12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R at the top of the timing sheets with a blistering lap of 3:23.166. This time was over a second faster than last year’s pole, showing clear progress from the team and the car.

Lynn’s performance was matched by teammate Earl Bamber, who clocked a 3:23.333 in the #38 Cadillac to secure the second spot on the front row. This gave Cadillac its strongest qualifying result at Le Mans to date.

Porsche was in contention early but ultimately ended up in third place. Mathieu Jaminet put the #5 Porsche Penske 963 in third position with a best lap of 3:23.475.

His crew had earlier overcome a setback after the car lost its right-rear wheel during the initial session. Jaminet’s first flying lap in Hyperpole put them firmly in the top three.

BMW also made gains late in the session, with Dries Vanthoor setting a 3:23.659 in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 to secure fourth. Nick Tandy in the #4 Porsche took fifth at 3:23.983.

The second BMW, driven by Sheldon van der Linde, posted a 3:24.009 and finished sixth.

Ferrari, which has shown dominance in the World Endurance Championship this season, struggled in qualifying. Antonio Fuoco managed only seventh in the #50 499P with a 3:24.213.

Action Express Racing’s Cadillac, in the hands of Felipe Drugovich, placed eighth, just ahead of the #36 Alpine. The Alpine was driven by Frédéric Makowiecki and turned in a 3:24.398.

Toyota endured a tough outing, with the #7 car failing to reach Hyperpole. Meanwhile, the #8 driven by Sébastien Buemi suffered a major lock-up and visited the gravel at Mulsanne Corner without setting a competitive time.

Outside of the Hypercar class, qualifying was just as close. In LMP2, Mathias Beche secured pole for TDS Racing with a lap of 3:35.062 in the #29 ORECA 07-Gibson.

The four quickest LMP2 cars were separated by only four tenths, with Tom Dillmann and Louis Deletraz following closely behind.

The LMGT3 pole was claimed by Mattia Drudi in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin with a 3:52.769. He led Alessio Rovera in the AF Corse Ferrari and motorcycle racing icon Valentino Rossi, who took third with a 3:54.966.

The Hyperpole session saw drama early when Francesco Castellacci spun the #54 Ferrari into the gravel, causing a red flag. Several strong entries missed the top ten, including two of the Ferraris and the #101 Cadillac.

Alessandro Pier Guidi, last year’s race winner, narrowly missed the final shootout and starts 11th. Yifei Ye in the customer Ferrari was 13th.

Paul-Loup Chatin’s Alpine and Marco Sorensen’s Aston Martin also missed the cut.

With multiple manufacturers inside the top eight across Hypercar, LMP2, and LMGT3, the starting grid for the 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours promises a competitive race.

Cadillac’s one-two in qualifying marks a historic achievement for the brand, as teams now look ahead to a demanding 24-hour battle. The focus shifts from qualifying glory to the challenge of maintaining speed and reliability throughout the world’s most famous endurance race.

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.