Changes to qualifying format scheduled for twenty-four Hours of Le Mans in 2025

The qualifying format of the 24 Hours of Le Mans will likely be modified in 2025, the event organizer Automobile Club de l'Ouest has announced.

Top-class Hypercar competitors will likely be separated from the LMP2 and LMGT3 categories in a session that may determine the cars that may participate within the Hyperpole shootout.

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

As before, qualifying will happen on Wednesday, with Hyperpole scheduled for the next day.

There may even be separate Hyperpole sessions, with LMP2 and LMGT3 again separated from Hypercar, while each Hyperpole session will consist of two phases, called H1 and H2.

Four cars will likely be eliminated from LMP2 and LMGT3 through the 20-minute H1 session, with the highest eight cars in each class fighting for pole position through the 15-minute session.

Meanwhile, five Hypercar entries will likely be eliminated in the primary half, leaving 10 to fight for pole position within the second half of the session of the identical duration.

This 12 months, eight cars were allowed to enter in each class, with 24 cars on course at anyone time through the key session, ultimately crowned by Kevin Estre's Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.

#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor

Photo: Marc Fleury

The Hyperpole was first unveiled at Le Mans in 2020, when the endurance race was held in September attributable to the coronavirus pandemic.

ACO has already announced that it’ll introduce recent viewing areas on the track, stands, fan parks and screens for next 12 months's event, scheduled for June 14-15.

Mercedes will return to the event for the primary time since 1999, after partnering with Iron Lynx to field two Mercedes-AMG GT3s within the World Endurance Championship. The Italian squad, which previously fielded Lamborghini, also receives an automatic invitation to win the LMGT3 crown within the European Le Mans Series in 2024.

Elsewhere, Aston Martin will enter the highest class at Le Mans for the primary time since 2011 aboard The Heart of Racing's Valkyrie AMR-LMH.

The full entry list will likely be announced next 12 months, after the 2024-25 Asian Le Mans Series concludes in February.