BMW M Motorsport Claims First-Ever Pole Position at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
In a historic qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, BMW M Motorsport has achieved its very first pole position at the legendary French endurance race. Dries Vanthoor of Belgium, driving the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 for BMW M Team WRT, delivered a stunning lap time of 3:22.564 minutes to secure the top spot on the Hypercar grid for Saturday's race.
Vanthoor's achievement was particularly dramatic. Initially, the Belgian driver was classified in second place by the narrowest of margins — just 0.005 seconds behind the leading Cadillac. However, the fastest lap of the Cadillac ahead was subsequently canceled, elevating Vanthoor to the pole position and etching BMW M Motorsport's name into the Le Mans history books.
The performance of BMW M Team WRT extended beyond the pole-winning #15 car. Robin Frijns of the Netherlands, piloting the #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8, delivered an outstanding performance of his own, securing fourth place in the Hypercar class. The result means both BMW M Hybrid V8 entries will start from the front half of the Hypercar field, giving the team a strong strategic advantage for the 24-hour contest.
Strong LMGT3 Showing for BMW M4 GT3 EVO
In the LMGT3 category, both WRT entries successfully advanced into Hyperpole 2. Sean Gelael of Indonesia put the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO into fifth position, while Canadian Parker Thompson qualified the #69 BMW M4 GT3 EVO in sixth. The result places both cars in excellent starting positions, avoiding the potential chaos further back in the pack.
Team Reaction
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, expressed his delight at the historic result: "A fantastic qualifying session for the 24 Hours of Le Mans — it couldn't have gone any better. Just getting all four cars into Hyperpole 2 was a huge success in itself, but to have now secured BMW M Motorsport's first ever pole position at Le Mans is simply fantastic!"
Roos continued: "Congratulations to Dries Vanthoor on a brilliant lap and many thanks to everyone who has worked on this project over the years. Now we're focusing fully on race preparation."
Vincent Vosse, Team Principal of BMW M Team WRT, admitted the result was unexpected: "That is a great surprise! I am very happy to be on pole position for the first time in Hypercar. Overall, we at WRT can be extremely happy with the qualifying results. Now let's focus on the race."
Pole-sitter Dries Vanthoor said: "I'm super happy to be on pole at Le Mans! This is such a great event, and now being on pole here and giving everyone in the team what they deserve, is awesome. At the same time our goal is to win the race, so we need to keep it clean over 24 hours to be right there on Sunday."
What's Next
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is scheduled to start on Saturday at 16:00 CEST. For BMW M Motorsport, the historic pole position sets the stage for what the team hopes will be a breakthrough victory in the world's most famous endurance race. With a strong qualifying performance across both the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes, the Bavarian manufacturer has sent a clear message to its competitors that it is ready to fight for the overall win.
The pole position marks a significant milestone in BMW's return to top-level endurance racing with the M Hybrid V8 prototype, proving that the brand's commitment to motorsport excellence continues to deliver results at the highest level.
Image Source: BMW Group PressClub
