Why Cadillac's Alex Lynn "waited 12 months" for 2025 Le Mans 24 Hours qualifying
Cadillac driver Alex Lynn has heralded his pole position for this weekend's Le Mans 24 Hours as extra special after being narrowly beaten into second 12 months ago.
Lynn, who headed a Jota Caddy 1-2 on the completion of the new Le Mans qualifying format, revealed that his thoughts were drawn back to last year when he held the pole as the chequered flag fell only for Porsche driver Kevin Estre to snatch it from his grasp by just over a tenth.
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'Pole at Le Mans is special no matter [what], but I have to say personally I've waited 12 months to do this again,' said the Briton, who last year was racing in the World Endurance Championship for the Ganassi team prior to Jota taking over the factory Cadillac programme.
'P2 last year was one tenth off the pole, but it felt like 100 miles away: there is a big difference between P1 and P2 in the feeling.
'I was remembering last year when I thought I had it and 30s later Kevin Estre comes over the line.'
Lynn, who became the first Briton to take outright pole for Le Mans since Johnny Herbert in 2004, described the period until the other cars on hot laps in the 15-minute Hyperpole 2 session had crossed the line as a 'hard wait'.
Pole sitter Alex Lynn, Cadillac Hertz Team Jota
Pole sitter Alex Lynn, Cadillac Hertz Team Jota
Jota team-mate Earl Bamber did improve his time, ending up just over a tenth behind Lynn to make it a Caddy 1-2.
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Lynn claimed the pole on his third lap on a set of Michelin medium compound tyres. He was third after his first lap before jumping to second behind Porsche driver Mathieu Jaminet next time around.
But Lynn, who shares the #12 Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh with Will Stevens and Norman Nato, revealed that he lost time at Indianapolis Corner and had to make a series of car adjustments on his pole lap as a result.
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'We went very aggressive on diff settings and it wasn't quite the way to go, so on the next lap I was frantically adjusting everything on the fly,' he explained. 'It was a hard-work lap, shall we say.'
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Lynn stopped the clock at 3m23.166s, which compared with Bamber's 3m23.333s and Jaminet's 3m23.475s.
Jota co-owner David Clark described the 1-2 qualifying result as a 'dream'.
'I can't say enough about how hard everyone has worked; that's the whole team not just the drivers,' he said. 'If it is like this at four o'clock on Sunday, bring it on!'
Photos from 24 Hours of Le Mans – Thursday
Cadillac Hertz Team Jota hyperpole celebration
Cadillac Hertz Team Jota hyperpole celebration
Nikolaz Godet
Dirk Müller, Advisor of Mick Schumacher, Roger Penske, Team owner Penske Motorsport
Dirk Müller, Advisor of Mick Schumacher, Roger Penske, Team owner Penske Motorsport
Marc Fleury
Robert Kubica flag
Robert Kubica flag
Andreas Beil
Cyril Abiteboul, Hyundai Motorsport President
Cyril Abiteboul, Hyundai Motorsport President
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#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
#61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius, Maxime Martin
#61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Martin Berry, Lin Hodenius, Maxime Martin
Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina
Alexander Trienitz
#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor
#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor
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#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9x8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne
#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9x8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne
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#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Kelvin Van Der Linde
#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Kelvin Van Der Linde
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Track marshal
Track marshal
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#34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 - Gibson: Nick Boulle, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer, Luca Ghiotto, #37 CLX Pure Rxcing Oreca 07 - Gibson: Aliaksandr Malykhin, Tom Blomqvist, Tristan Vautier
#34 Inter Europol Competition Oreca 07 - Gibson: Nick Boulle, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer, Luca Ghiotto, #37 CLX Pure Rxcing Oreca 07 - Gibson: Aliaksandr Malykhin, Tom Blomqvist, Tristan Vautier
Andreas Beil
#31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Yasser Shahin, Timur Boguslavskiy, Augusto Farfus
#31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Yasser Shahin, Timur Boguslavskiy, Augusto Farfus
Alexander Trienitz
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson
Alexander Trienitz
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell
#6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, Matt Campbell
Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-SeriesR: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button
#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-SeriesR: Earl Bamber, Sebastien Bourdais, Jenson Button
Alexander Trienitz
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina
Alexander Trienitz
#101 Cadillac WTR Cadillac V-SeriesR: Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque
#101 Cadillac WTR Cadillac V-SeriesR: Ricky Taylor, Jordan Taylor, Filipe Albuquerque
Alexander Trienitz
#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9x8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne
#93 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9x8: Paul Di Resta, Mikkel Jensen, Jean-Eric Vergne
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#28 IDEC Sport Oreca 07 - Gibson: Paul Lafargue, Job Van Uitert, Sebastian Alvarez
#28 IDEC Sport Oreca 07 - Gibson: Paul Lafargue, Job Van Uitert, Sebastian Alvarez
Alexander Trienitz
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina
#50 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina
Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
#311 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-SeriesR: Jack Aitken, Felipe Drugovich, Frederik Vesti
#311 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-SeriesR: Jack Aitken, Felipe Drugovich, Frederik Vesti
Alexander Trienitz
#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9x8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Stoffel Vandoorne
#94 Peugeot Totalenergies Peugeot 9x8: Loic Duval, Malthe Jakobsen, Stoffel Vandoorne
Alexander Trienitz
#4 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, Pascal Wehrlein
#4 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Felipe Nasr, Nick Tandy, Pascal Wehrlein
Alexander Trienitz
Dave Richards, Prodrive
Dave Richards, Prodrive
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#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Sarah Bovy
#85 Iron Dames Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Sarah Bovy
Alexander Trienitz
#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Kelvin Van Der Linde
#46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Kelvin Van Der Linde
Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries
#7 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 - Hybrid: Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, Nyck De Vries
Emanuele Clivati | AG Photo
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
#51 Ferrari AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi
Alexander Trienitz
#63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Stephen Grove, Brenton Grove, Luca Stolz
#63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG LMGT3: Stephen Grove, Brenton Grove, Luca Stolz
Alexander Trienitz
Patrick Bourdais
Patrick Bourdais
Nikolaz Godet
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye, Philip Hanson
Andreas Beil
#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Kevin Magnussen
#15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Kevin Magnussen
Andreas Beil
#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen, Mathieu Jaminet
#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Julien Andlauer, Michael Christensen, Mathieu Jaminet
Rainier Ehrhardt
#311 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-SeriesR: Jack Aitken, Felipe Drugovich, Frederik Vesti
#311 Cadillac Whelen Cadillac V-SeriesR: Jack Aitken, Felipe Drugovich, Frederik Vesti
Alexander Trienitz
Pole sitter Alex Lynn, Cadillac Hertz Team Jota
Pole sitter Alex Lynn, Cadillac Hertz Team Jota
Rainier Ehrhardt
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
Alexander Trienitz
#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber
#38 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Earl Bamber
Nikolaz Godet
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
Nikolaz Godet
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
Nikolaz Godet
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
#12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-Series.R: Will Stevens, Norman Nato, Alex Lynn
Nikolaz Godet
Pole sitter Alex Lynn, Cadillac Hertz Team Jota
Pole sitter Alex Lynn, Cadillac Hertz Team Jota
Rainier Ehrhardt
Pole sitter Hypercar, #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-SeriesR: Alex Lynn, LMGT3, #27 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Mattia Drudi, LMP2, #29 TDS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson: Mathias Beche
Pole sitter Hypercar, #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-SeriesR: Alex Lynn, LMGT3, #27 Heart Of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Mattia Drudi, LMP2, #29 TDS Racing Oreca 07 - Gibson: Mathias Beche
Alexander Trienitz
Pole sitter #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-SeriesR: Alex Lynn
Pole sitter #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota Cadillac V-SeriesR: Alex Lynn
Alexander Trienitz
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