IMSA Stars, Teams Feature Near Front of All Class Grids
By Tony DiZinno
Hypercar Results: Hyperpole 2, Hyperpole 1, Qualifying
LMP2/LMGT3 Results: Hyperpole 2, Hyperpole 1, Qualifying
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Dries Vanthoor made a habit of qualifying on pole throughout 2025 in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competition with four straight poles to start the season. He’ll now have the same vantage point for June’s major endurance sports car racing classic, the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Vanthoor starts first overall and in the leading 18-car Hypercar category aboard his No. 15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 which he’ll share with Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen.
Linear distribution of the race is available on TruTV with digital distribution available via Max, FIAWEC+ and HBO MAX, with radio coverage all week via Radio Le Mans. The race starts at 4 p.m. local and Central European Time (CET) on Saturday, June 13 (10 a.m. ET).
The Belgian qualified second on the road, what had been just 0.005 of a second behind Jack Aitken’s last-lap flyer in his No. 38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R. Aitken’s 3:22.559 lap only barely eclipsed Vanthoor’s 3:22.564.
However, race officials deleted the No. 38 car’s times in the final Hyperpole 2, 15-minute session, which was set to determine the pole position. The car was placed under investigation for not respecting Race Director instructions as it emerged at the head of the queue at pit out.
“That is a great surprise!” said Vincent Vosse, Team Principal of BMW M Team WRT. “I am very happy to be on pole position for the first time in Hypercar. I take that, of course, but at the same time congratulations to Cadillac and Jack Aitken for putting on a great show! Overall, we at WRT can be extremely happy with the qualifying results. Now let’s focus on the race.”
It promotes BMW to the top spot in qualifying for the first time in the race’s history. BMW last won the race overall in 1999.
“To have now secured BMW M Motorsport’s first ever pole position at Le Mans is simply fantastic!” said BMW M Motorsport Head Andreas Roos. “Congratulations to Dries Vanthoor on a brilliant lap and many thanks to everyone who has worked on this project over the years. This is a fantastic reward for their efforts. We’ll relish seeing our BMW M Hybrid V8 right at the front of the grid on Saturday. But now we’re focusing fully on race preparation.”
Vanthoor added, “I’m super happy to be on pole in Le Mans! This is such a great event and now being on pole here and giving everyone in the team what they deserve is awesome. At the same time our goal is to win the race, so we need to keep it clean over 24 hours to be right there on Sunday.”
Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s second entry moves up to the front row, with Norman Nato, Will Stevens and Louis Deletraz sharing the No. 12 Cadillac.
The No. 35 Alpine Endurance Team Alpine A424 (Charles Milesi, Ferdinand Habsburg, Antonio Felix da Costa) led Wednesday’s preliminary qualifying practice and Hyperpole 1 and slotted into third ahead of the second BMW (the No. 20 car of Rene Rast, Sheldon van der Linde and Robin Frijns).
Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing will fly the IMSA flag from fifth with the trio of Ricky and Jordan Taylor alongside Filipe Albuquerque sharing the No. 101 Cadillac V-Series.R.
Here’s how some key members of a sizable IMSA contingent racing at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans fared in qualifying:
Heart of Racing Team Scores LMGT3 Pole
The Heart of Racing Team scored its second straight Le Mans pole in LMGT3. The team runs parallel programs in both IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship and one of its two LMGT3 entries, the No. 27 Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 Evo, flew to pole in the hands of Mattia Drudi for a second straight year.
The Italian set a best time of 3:52.433 in the car he shares with IMSA veterans Zacharie Robichon and Ian James.
“It feels really great and it’s nice to be here on pole after last year,” Drudi said. “The car has been so good. Zach and Ian too. The car is quick. We are feeling really quick. The race is another story. But it’s always a good starting point.”
The team’s second LMGT3 made it home in eighth, and the pair of Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries that include IMSA full-timers Roman De Angelis (No. 009) and Ross Gunn (No. 007) will roll from seventh and 11th, respectively, in Hypercar.
IDEC Inherits LMP2 Pole; Flurry of IMSA Contenders
IDEC Sport inherits the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) pole after a one grid spot penalty was assessed to the class’ fastest car from Forestier Racing by Panis following an infringement in Wednesday’s sessions. Paul Lafargue, Valerio Rinicella and Job van Uitert share the No. 28 IDEC ORECA 07 Gibson. The No. 29 Forestier ORECA that includes Toyota protégé Esteban Masson, who qualified fastest, starts second.
IMSA regulars feature in the next eight cars in the top 10, all ORECAs. David Heinemeier Hansson (No. 24 Nielsen Racing), Tom Dillmann, Nick Yelloly and Jakub Smiechowski (No. 43 Inter Europol Competition), George Kurtz, Alex Quinn and Laurin Heinrich (No. 4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR), Julien Andlauer (No. 30 Duqueine Team), Tobi Lutke, Mathias Beche and Kevin Estre (No. 14 TDS Racing), PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron (No. 99 AO by TF), Ben Barnicoat (No. 183 AF Corse) and Bijoy Garg (No. 343 Inter Europol Competition) are all racing either a full WeatherTech Championship or full IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup program in 2026 and seek to add a Le Mans win to their yearly record.
Hyett, the 2025 Jim Trueman Award winner, rolls off eighth as he, Cameron and James Allen seek to deliver AO by TF an encore Le Mans LMP2 Pro/Am win. Kurtz, Quinn and Heinrich’s No. 4 CrowdStrike by APR car is the fastest LMP2 Pro/Am car on the grid.
Hawksworth Rallies After Brief Delay in LMGT3
Among LMGT3 entries, Akkodis ASP had a scare before Hyperpole 2 even started when mechanics struggled to close the left-side door of Jack Hawksworth’s No. 78 Lexus RC F LMGT3. Luckily they got it sorted and the Englishman flew to fourth on the grid, behind the polesitting Aston Martin, No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari and second Akkodis ASP Lexus.
IMSA regulars Parker Thompson (No. 69 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo), Lorenzo Patrese (No. 74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD) championship leader Eduardo “Dudu” Barrichello (No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin) slotted in sixth, seventh and eighth.
Bob Akin Award recipient Orey Fidani will look to bring 13 Autosport’s No. 13 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R forward from 24th in the field in the car he shares with Matt Bell and Lars Kern.
BMW Photos Courtesy of BMW M Motorsport
Aston Martin Photo Courtesy of Aston Martin Racing