Le Mans: Kevin Estre: #6 Porsche “ran like a dream from the first lap” of test
Kevin Estre put his factory Porsche 963 car top of the standings during the test at Le Mans.
After Ferrari’s brilliant victory in 2023, Porsche are looking to wrestle back top spot at Le Mans following a very impressive start to 2024.
That impressive start continued during Sunday’s second day of testing ahead of this weekend, as Estre laid down a time of 03:26.907s.
Only one other car got within half a second of Estre’s time and that was the #4 Porsche of Mathieu Jaminet, Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy.
Speaking after the test, Estre said: “Our car ran like a dream from the very first lap and I immediately had a great feeling.
“During the test day we made further progress as part of the normal setup work.
“At the start of the second session, I got two clear laps in without slower traffic and my lap times reflected this.
“We’re definitely in a better position compared to last year.”
Setting the #4 car’s fastest time was Jaminet, who finished two tenths down on Estre’s time.
Jaminet said: “I only drove a few laps today, but it’s a great feeling to be back in Le Mans. We tried out many different vehicle setups and our lap times looked impressive.
“We made it into the top four with all three cars. Let’s hope that we can be that far ahead in all of next week’s sessions.”
Making it three factory Porsche’s inside the top four was the #5 car of Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki.
While it was a busy test in terms of things to try, Christensen said everything they planned went smoothly.
“It feels great to be back driving on this very special Le Mans circuit at last,” said Christensen.
“The conditions were super today. Our car handled beautifully, and we managed to tick off almost everything on our test list.
“However, we still need to try out a few more things in the practice sessions at the start of the race week. The test day is always critical – for us drivers and the whole team.”