BMW sets the pace in the third practice session at the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The excitement at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2026 continues to build. The first major highlight, the Hyperpole, is scheduled for the evening. Before that, there was the third free practice session - and BMW set the pace at the front of the field. Dries Vanthoor, who shares an M Hybrid V8 with Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello, lapped the legendary 13.626-kilometre circuit in exactly 3:23.302 minutes. The South African set the time shortly before the end of the three-hour session.

As usual throughout the 2026 event at Le Mans, the field was a colourful mix. Second place in the third free practice session went to the Alpine A424 of Jules Gounon, Frédéric Makowiecki and Victor Martin with a time of 3:23.725 minutes. Directly behind them, Louis Delétraz, Norman Nato and Will Stevens in the Cadillac V-Series.R finished the session in third position with a time of 3:23.816 minutes.

Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde finished fourth in the second BMW with a time of 3:24.162 minutes. The top five was completed by the Genesis GMR-001 hypercar of André Lotterer, Luis Felipe Derani and Mathys Jaubert with a time of 3:24.195 minutes.

In the LMP2 class, the Oreca 07 of Forestier Racing by Panis (Louis Rousset/Esteban Masson/Oliver Gray) was in front with a time of 3:34.252 minutes. The best time in the LMGT3 class in the third free practice session went to the Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 of Gray Newell, Eduardo Barrichello and Jonny Adam with a time of 3:53.728 minutes.