Qualifying format tweaks planned for 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours

The Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying format will be revamped in 2025, event organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest has announced.

Entrants in the top Hypercar class will be split from the LMP2 and LMGT3 categories in the session that determines the cars that will reach the Hyperpole shootout.

Previously all cars qualified at once in a one-hour session, but now there will be two 30-minute sessions with the fastest 15 Hypercars and fastest 12 from LMP2 and LMGT3 progressing. 

As before, qualifying will take place on Wednesday, with Hyperpole slated for the following day.

There will also be distinct Hyperpole sessions, with LMP2 and LMGT3 again separated from Hypercar, while each Hyperpole session will have two phases, to be called H1 and H2.

Four cars will be eliminated from LMP2 and LMGT3 in the 20-minute H1 session, with the top eight cars in each class fighting for pole during a 15-minute session.

Meanwhile five Hypercar entries will be knocked out in H1, leaving 10 to go for outright pole position in H2 with sessions of the same duration.

This year, eight cars were permitted in each class, with 24 cars on track at once during the crucial session eventually topped by Kevin Estre’s Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.

Hyperpole was introduced for the first time at Le Mans in 2020, when the endurance classic was staged in September due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ACO has already announced that it will introduce new track viewing areas, grandstands, fan parks and screens for next year’s event, scheduled for 14-15 June.

Mercedes will return to the event for the first time since 1999, after partnering with Iron Lynx to enter two Mercedes-AMG GT3s in the World Endurance Championship. The Italian squad that previously fielded Lamborghinis also has an automatic invitation for securing the European Le Mans Series LMGT3 crown in 2024.

Elsewhere, Aston Martin will enter the top class at Le Mans for the first time since 2011 with its Valkyrie AMR-LMH run by The Heart of Racing.

The full entry list is set to be announced next year, following the conclusion of the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series in February.