The Hyperpole session was first used at the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans to determine the starting positions for each class, know the 2022 qualifying results
It was included to give the front-runners a chance to get the perfect lap around the 13.626-kilometre track. However, at the Le Mans, qualifying is decided across two sessions, so here’s everything you need to know about the qualifying procedure.
24 Hours Of Le Mans 2022 Qualifying And Hyperpole Results, Drivers, Rules, Format Explained
2022 LE MANS 24 HOURS | STARTING GRID POSITIONS | CIRCUIT DE LA SARTHE, LE MANS, FRANCE | ||||||||
POS. | TEAM | DRIVER #1 | DRIVER #2 | DRIVER #3 | CAR | TIME | NAT. | CLASS |
1 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Sebastien Buemi | Brendon Hartley | Ryo Hirakawa | Toyota GR010 Hybrid | 3m 24.408 | JAP | Hypercar |
2 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Mike Conway | Kamui Kobayashi | Jose Maria-Lopez | Toyota GR010 Hybrid | 3m 24.585 | JAP | Hypercar |
3 | Alpine Elf Matmut | Nicolas Lapierre | Andre Negrao | Matthieu Vaxiviere | Alpine A480-Gibson | 3m 24.850 | FRA | Hypercar |
4 | Glickenhaus Racing | Ryan Briscoe | Franck Mailleux | Richard Westbrook | Glickenhaus 007 LMH | 3m 25.841 | USA | Hypercar |
5 | Glickenhaus Racing | Pipo Derani | Romain Dumas | Olivier Pla | Glickenhaus 007 LMH | 3m 26.359 | USA | Hypercar |
6 | Team WRT | Robin Frijns | Sean Gelael | Rene Rast | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 28.394 | BEL | LMP2 |
7 | RealTeam by WRT | Rui Andrade | Ferdinand Habsburg | Norman Nato | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 29.697 | SUI | LMP2 |
8 | United Autosports USA | Oliver Jarvis | Alex Lynn | Josh Pierson | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 30.070 | USA | LMP2 |
9 | Jota Sport | Antonio Felix da Costa | Roberto Gonzalez | Will Stevens | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 30.373 | GBR | LMP2 |
10 | Prema Orlen Team | Lorenzo Colombo | Louis Deletraz | Robert Kubica | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 31.115 | ITA | LMP2 |
11 | United Autosports USA | Filipe Albuquerque | Philiip Hanson | Will Owen | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 31.596 | USA | LMP2 |
12 | Richard Mille Racing | Charles Milesi | Sebastien Ogier | Lilou Wadoux | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 31.368 | FRA | LMP2 |
14 | Team Penske | Dane Cameron | Emmanuel Collard | Felipe Nasr | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 31.382 | USA | LMP2 |
14 | Panis Racing | Julien Canal | Nico Jamin | Job van Uitert | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 31.462 | FRA | LMP2 |
15 | Team WRT | Mirko Bortolotti | Rolf Ineichen | Dries Vanthoor | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 31.808 | BEL | LMP2 |
16 | Duqueine Team | Richard Bradley | Reshad de Gerus | Memo Rojas | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 32.000 | FRA | LMP2 |
17 | Cool Racing | Niklas Krutten | Ricky Taylor | Ye Yifei | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 32.008 | SUI | LMP2 |
18 | Jota Sport | Jonathan Aberdein | Ed Jones | Oliver Rasmussen | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 32.138 | GBR | LMP2 |
19 | IDEC Sport | Paul-Loup Chatin | Paul Lafargue | Patrick Pilet | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 32.285 | FRA | LMP2 |
20 | Inter Europol Competition | Alex Brundle | Esteban Gutierrez | Jakub Smiechowski | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 32.549 | POL | LMP2 |
21 | Nielsen Racing | Matt Bell | Ben Hanley | Rodrigo Sales | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 32.956 | GBR | LMP2 |
22 | Ultimate | Francois Heriau | Jean-Baptiste Lahaye | Matthieu Lahaye | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 33.463 | FRA | LMP2 |
23 | ARC Bratislava | Miroslav Konopka | Tristan Vautier | Bent Viscaal | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 33.480 | SVK | LMP2 |
24 | Graff Racing | David Droux | Sebastien Page | Eric Trouillet | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 33.483 | FRA | LMP2 |
25 | DKR Engineering | Alexandre Cougnaud | Jean Glorieux | Laurents Horr | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 34.524 | LUX | LMP2 |
26 | AF Corse | Nicklas Nielsen | Francois Perrodo | Alessio Rovera | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 36.371 | ITA | LMP2 |
27 | Algarve Pro Racing | Jack Aitken | John Falb | Sophie Florsch | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 36.548 | POR | LMP2 |
28 | CD Sport | Christophe Cresp | Michael Jensen | Steven Palette | Ligier JS P217 – Gibson | 3m 38.136 | ESP | LMP2 |
29 | Inter Europol Competition | Pietro Fittipaldi | David Heinemeier Hansson | Fabio Scherer | Oreca 07 – Gibson | 3m 38.491 | POL | LMP2 |
30 | Vector Sport | Sebastien Bourdais | Ryan Cullen | Nico Muller | Oreca 07 – Gibson | No Time | GBR | LMP2 |
31 | TDS Racing x Valliante | Mathias Beche | Philippe Cimadomo | Tijmen van der Helm | Oreca 07 – Gibson | No Time | FRA | LMP2 |
32 | Algarve Pro Racing | James Allen | Rene Binder | Steven Thomas | Oreca 07 – Gibson | No Time | POR | LMP2 |
33 | Corvette Racing | Tommy Milner | Alexander Sims | Nick Tandy | Chevrolet Corvette C8.R | 3m 49.985 | USA | GTE Pro |
34 | Corvette Racing | Nicky Catsburg | Antonio Garcia | Jordan Taylor | Chevrolet Corvette C8.R | 3m 50.177 | USA | GTE Pro |
35 | Porsche GT Team | Gianmaria Bruni | Richard Leitz | Frederic Makowiecki | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 50.377 | GER | GTE Pro |
36 | Porsche GT Team | Michael Christensen | Kevin Estre | Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 50.522 | GER | GTE Pro |
37 | AF Corse | Antonio Fuoco | Miguel Molina | Davide Rigon | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 51.779 | ITA | GTE Pro |
38 | AF Corse | James Calado | Alessandro Pier Guidi | Daniel Serra | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 51.816 | ITA | GTE Pro |
39 | Riley Motorsports | Sam Bird | Felipe Fraga | Shane van Gisbergen | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | No Time | USA | GTE Pro |
40 | AF Corse | Vincent Abril | Conrad Grunewald | Louis Prette | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 52.594 | ITA | GTE Am |
41 | Kessel Racing | Mikkel Jensen | Takeshi Kimura | Frederik Schandorff | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 52.751 | SUI | GTE Am |
42 | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Sebasten Priaulx | Christian Reid | Harry Tincknell | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 53.006 | GER | GTE Am |
43 | Northwest AMR | Paul Dalla Lana | David Pittard | Nicki Thiim | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | 3m 53.578 | CAN | GTE Am |
44 | AF Corse | Nick Cassidy | Francesco Castellacci | Thomas Flohr | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 53.757 | ITA | GTE Am |
45 | Iron Ladies | Sarah Bovy | Rahel Frey | Michelle Gatting | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 53.869 | ITA | GTE Am |
46 | GR Racing | Ben Barker | Ricardo Pera | Michael Wainright | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 54.323 | GBR | GTE Am |
47 | Team Project 1 | Ben Barnicoat | Brendan Iribe | Ollie Millroy | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 54.510 | GER | GTE Am |
48 | Team Project 1 | Matteo Cairoli | Nicolas Leutwiler | Mikkel O Pedersen | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 54.533 | GER | GTE Am |
49 | WeatherTech Racing | Julien Andlauer | Cooper MacNeil | Thomas Merrill | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 54.912 | USA | GTE Am |
50 | Inception Racing | Marvin Klein | Come Ledogar | Alexander West | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 55.076 | GBR | GTE Am |
51 | AF Corse | Simon Mann | Christophe Ulrich | Toni Vilander | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 55.162 | ITA | GTE Am |
52 | Spirit of Race | Duncan Cameron | Matt Griffin | David Perel | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 55.308 | SUI | GTE Am |
53 | Iron Lynx | Pierre Ehret | Christian Hook | Nicolas Varrone | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 55.617 | ITA | GTE Am |
54 | JMW Motorsport | Jason Hart | Mark Kvamme | Renger van der Zande | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 55.672 | GBR | GTE Am |
55 | D’station Racing | Charlie Fagg | Tomonobu Fuji | Satoshi Hoshino | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | 3m 56.008 | JPN | GTE Am |
56 | Dempsey-Proton Racing | Jan Heylen | Patrick Lindsey | Fred Poordad | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 3m 56.437 | GER | GTE Am |
57 | TF Sport | Ben Keating | Henrique Chaves | Marco Sorensen | Aston Martin Vantage AMR | 3m 56.516 | GBR | GTE Am |
58 | Iron Lynx | Alessandro Balzan | Raffaele Gianmaria | Claudio Schiavoni | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 3m 57.044 | ITA | GTE Am |
59 | Absolute Racing | Andrew Haryanto | Alessio Picariello | Martin Rump | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 4m 05.633 | HKG | GTE Am |
60 | Proton Competition | Matt Campbell | Michael Fassbender | Zacharie Robichon | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | 4m 07.907 | GER | GTE Am |
61 | Iron Lynx | Matteo Cressoni | Giancarlo Fisichella | Richard Heistand | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | 4m 23.223 | ITA | GTE Am |
62 | Spirit of Race | Gabriel Aubry | Franck Dezoteux | Pierre Ragues | Ferrari 488 GTE Evo | No Time | SUI | GTE Am |
The two sessions are necessary because, despite the circuit’s length, traffic, slow zones, and yellow flags are significant factors to manage with 62 cars on the track at the same time. Before the introduction of Hyperpole, qualifying took place over several sessions, but in each one, all cars would go out on the course to try and achieve the quickest lap.
Only the top six finishers in each class compete in Hyperpole, reducing the number of vehicles on the track from 62 to 24. This decreases the chances of striking traffic on a fast lap and the possibility of many slow zones affecting a possible pole lap, providing drivers with the opportunity to not only go for the fastest lap in class but also to push the limits of their cars to set new fastest lap records.
The first qualifying session, dubbed qualifying, will last one hour and feature all 62 cars on the track. The goal is to place in the top six of each class. Hyperpole is the second session, which will take place nearly 24 hours later on Thursday evening. The majority of the grid will be established by the end of qualification, with only the class pole sitters and top six to be determined.
Because there are just five entrants in that class, all of the Hypercars will advance straight to Hyperpole, bringing the total number of cars in Hyperpole to 23. Only one Pro vehicle will miss out on Hyperpole, even though that class has seven entrants.
Cars are not allowed to refuel during Hyperpole, which is a half-hour period. They can choose their tyres unless weather makes it necessary to do so for safety reasons, and they have eight (two sets) during the session. This implies that it becomes a game of getting out on the track at the correct time, when track evolution is high but rain isn’t expected. If a car qualifies for Hyperpole but fails to set a lap time, it will start sixth in class, behind the other Hyperpole competitors but ahead of those who did not qualify for the top six shootout.
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