Estre's "exceptional" pole lap "not 100% representative" of Porsche Le Mans pace

The Porsche Penske factory team barely got one 963 into Hyperpole with an initial eighth time in the first qualifying session for Estre, before the #7 Toyota lost its laps due to causing a red flag, promoting Jota's #12 Porsche into the top eight.

Driving the #6 car, Estre went on to snatch pole position for the legendary World Endurance Championship race with a last-gasp Hyperpole effort which was 0.148s clear of the closest Cadillac.

Asked by Autosport if this qualifying result matched what he had been expecting or turned out somewhat better, Estre's team-mate Andre Lotterer said it was "a bit better" and had a lot to do with his French team-mate's remarkable lap at Circuit de la Sarthe.

"After the Test Day, we thought we were good, but after FP1, FP2 and qualifying, we saw it wasn't so easy to be at the front," Lotterer said.

"Kevin really did an exceptional job, putting it in the top eight, in Hyperpole. We saw that not many Porsches were able to.

"Then, in Hyperpole, everything worked out well. An exceptional lap from him. It maybe is not 100% representative of the performance."

Just three Hypercars failed to qualify within two seconds of the fastest car in Q1 – Dries Vanthoor's #15 BMW – despite Le Mans being a particularly long track, with 13.626km covered in under three and a half minutes by the top-class machines.

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

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

"I feel like everyone is pretty level," Lotterer reflected. "If you don't optimise your whole package, you quickly end up left behind."

PLUS: The 2024 Le Mans team by team guide

The three-time Le Mans winner with Audi is not too sure what to expect in the race, with the fastest Porsche reaching 338.1km/h in the speed trap – the ranking being topped by Mikkel Jensen's #93 Peugeot with 343.4km/h. Isotta Fraschini, Alpine, Ferrari, Toyota and BMW also went faster than Porsche, with only Cadillac and Lamborghini less rapid.

"We don't have crazy top speed," Lotterer admits. "We're a bit vulnerable on this.

"But then, overall pace is good. I don't know how this will translate over several hours of racing; that will be interesting."

The dream endurance double Porsche is chasing in 2024

Michael Christensen, who shares the #5 Porsche 963 with Matt Campbell and Frederic Makowiecki, feels it would be a very significant achievement for the Volkswagen Group marque and its partner Penske to take top honours in the two biggest sportscar races of the year.

"That will be amazing," the Dane told Autosport. "To be honest there's many things that would be super cool to be a part of. I really dream of winning this race for Porsche Penske Motorsport.

"It would be the 20th win for Porsche overall, it would be the first win for Roger Penske in Le Mans. And you know how successful Roger has been.

"So it will be a big milestone for Roger and it would be a big milestone for Porsche and it would be a big milestone for us drivers. So it would be a dream for all of us."

#5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963: Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, Frederic Makowiecki

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

It's been more than three decades since a car manufacturer celebrated victories at Daytona and Le Mans in the same year; in 1990, Jaguar won the two big enduros with its Group C-spec XJR-12.

Porsche last enjoyed success in both races in 1987, with Al Holbert and Derek Bell part of the winning line-up in both IMSA and what was then the World SportsCar Championship.

Porsche's LMDh director Urs Kuratle said it's only natural for people to expect the German manufacturer to win in endurance racing given its pedigree, but there is a lot of motivation within the camp to deliver a landmark result this weekend.

PLUS: 10 things we've learned from Le Mans 2024 so far

"This is what we are working since a year to win here in Le Mans," Kuratle told Autosport.

"To have won Daytona, to win Le Mans, Monday after the race you will ask me how important is it to win the championship?!

"Obviously with Porsche in endurance racing you want to win, you have to win and you should win every race because that's very important.

"So when you win it the first time, you have to have it the second time and then you need to win it the third time to keep the trophy again.

"Yeah, it's a good thing but that's also the pressure if you compete with Porsche, and also in Penske.

Roger Penske with Kevin Estre, Porsche Penske Motorsport

Photo by: Nikolaz Godet

"Penske did achieve [a lot] this year with the [Indy] 500 and all these races. It would be really nice to win with Penske and with Porsche and Penske.

"And not to forget also with Roger, to give it to Roger as well. He really wants to win 24-hour races.

"That's an extra push for anybody to work extra hard to achieve it with the brands."