A crash for Erik Maris in the No. 33 Eurasia Motorsport Ligier JS P217 Gibson has halted the second of three qualifying sessions for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, but not before the overall and LMP2 provisional pole times have improved.
Maris’ crash has required extensive repairs to the ARMCO barrier; it will delay track activity until at least 8:15 p.m. local time at the Circuit de la Sarthe (2:15 p.m. ET). Maris got out of the car under his own power and is going through medical checks.
The session is due to run until 9 p.m. local time although may be extended into the one-hour break between this second session and the third and final qualifying session, which runs from 10 p.m. to midnight. Wednesday’s first qualifying session was delayed 20 minutes at the start and ran for only an hour and 40 minutes.
That's a lotta equipment!! Gonna be awhile under 🔴 flag. 😞 pic.twitter.com/UZ3TljpBUP
— Erin Cechal (@ErinCechal) June 15, 2017
Before the accident, Mike Conway improved upon teammate Kamui Kobayashi’s best time set Wednesday night in the No. 7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid. The Englishman posted a best time of 3:18.651, a tenth and a half up on the 3:18.793 time, which now stands as the provisional pole in the car these two drivers share with Stephane Sarrazin.
While the No. 7 car improved its time, the No. 8 car has had a precautionary engine change.
Update: Precautionary engine change on the #8 car due to oil supply issue. #FIAWEC #Toyota #LeMans24 pic.twitter.com/QirPRscdvG
— TOYOTA GAZOO Racing WEC (@TGR_WEC) June 15, 2017
The LMP2 mark however was lowered significantly. Thomas Laurent took the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07 Gibson to a blistering lap of 3:26.776 in the car he shares with ex-Audi man and now ‘Bentley Boy’ Oliver Jarvis and Ho-Pin Tung. Wednesday’s provisional pole time was set by fellow Frenchman Mathieu Vaxviere in the No. 28 TDS Racing Oreca of 3:29.333.
Neither of the GTE provisional pole times have changed compared to Wednesday; Aston Martin Racing still holds the top spot in GTE-Pro and GTE-Am.
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DI GRASSI OUT OF ACTION
There is one key GTE change though and it has nothing to do with the timesheets.
Lucas di Grassi is out of this year’s Le Mans with a broken fibula which requires surgery. It will bring Italian veteran Michele Rugolo into the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE alongside James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi.
Di Grassi, who races full-time in the FIA Formula E Championship with ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport, posted a series of tweets for updates.
I'll sadly miss this year's #LeMans24 with a broken fibula that requires surgery. This was a hard decision but I'm following medical advise.
— Lucas Di Grassi (@LucasdiGrassi) June 14, 2017
I wish the best to my fellow team mates @Ale_PierGuidi and @CaladoJames and all @AFCorse family. #winthis #lemans #LeMans24h
— Lucas Di Grassi (@LucasdiGrassi) June 14, 2017
And by the way, fracture happened when I was playing a friendly football game at Stamford Bridge Chelsea for Charity, last Tuesday 6th.
— Lucas Di Grassi (@LucasdiGrassi) June 14, 2017
My fibula was broken during Berlin ePrix. It can only get better. 😬😎 https://t.co/o0bfS0z5hp
— Lucas Di Grassi (@LucasdiGrassi) June 15, 2017