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Porsche Will Race At 24 Hours Of Le Mans From P1 On The Starting Grid

This weekend, the Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France, will host its famous 24-hour race. We are talking about the 84th running of the automobile endurance event, and is also the third round of the 2016 FIA World Endurance Championship.
2015 Porsche 919 Hybrid at Le Mans 1 photo
Photo: Porsche
As usual, teams and drivers began testing and qualifying sessions well ahead of the race. The first official practice was held on June 15, and the race will be concluded on June 19, 2016.

However, this year’s edition has suffered from poor weather in the second and third qualifying sessions. The rain was severe enough to make the race director decide to halt the last two rounds of qualifications.

Once it was reopened, the track had so much water in some places that made improving lap times almost impossible, especially for the top class, LMP1.

Therefore, the starting order for this year’s race was decided after the session times set on Wednesday evening, in the first round of qualifying. As Lemans.org explains, the first sessions of that day are usually reserved for additional testing, and most cars are not driven as hard as they can, as drivers are still experimenting with settings.

However, since the other sessions were halted, Le Mans officials had to work with what they had at hand. So, they used the best times set on Wednesday’s Classification Qualifying Practice 1 to arrange the starting order in the 84th edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Porsche had the best time of Wednesday’s session so that the brand will start at the front of the grid for the second consecutive year. Neel Jani is the driver that set the pole for the second time in a row for Porsche. The other car on the first row of the starting grid is also a Porsche 919 Hybrid.

The starting grid has two Toyota TS050 Hybrid models in the second row, followed by tho prototype R18 racers from Audi.
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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