Aston Martin will start the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans with a front-row class prize in LMGT3 and a top-ten starting place in Hypercar after a dramatic Hyperpole evening at the Circuit de la Sarthe.

The headline result changed after the chequered flag. Jack Aitken appeared to have delivered overall pole for the #38 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA car with a stunning 3:22.559, just five thousandths of a second faster than Dries Vanthoor’s #15 BMW M Team WRT. However, the Cadillac was later dropped to tenth on the grid because of a penalty carried over from earlier in the evening, handing BMW its first Hypercar-era Le Mans pole.

For Aston Martin, the night belonged to the Vantage.

Mattia Drudi produced a superb lap in the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 to secure LMGT3 pole position for the second year in a row. His 3:52.433 was not only enough for class pole, it was also the only LMGT3 lap below the 3:53 barrier. That gives the #27 crew of Ian James, Zacharie Robichon and Mattia Drudi the perfect starting platform for Saturday’s 24-hour race.

A new Hyperpole format, and no margin for error

Le Mans Hyperpole now operates as a two-stage shootout. The cars that made it through Wednesday qualifying first had to survive Hyperpole 1, which reduced the field again before the fastest ten in each category went into Hyperpole 2.

That format created real jeopardy. It was not enough simply to have been quick on Wednesday. Each car had to deliver again, with traffic, track limits, tyre preparation and cooling conditions all playing a part.

For Aston Martin, the evening was split between two very different stories: disappointment for one Valkyrie, solid progress for the other, and a major success for the Vantage LMGT3 programme.

Valkyrie: #009 progresses, #007 narrowly misses out

Both Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyries had reached Hyperpole after a strong qualifying performance on Wednesday. That alone was a clear sign of the programme’s progress. One year ago, the Valkyrie was still in the early stages of learning how to survive and compete at Le Mans. This year, both cars had earned the right to fight deeper into the qualifying process.

In Hyperpole 1, the #009 Valkyrie made it through to the final Hyperpole 2 shootout. Marco Sørensen, sharing the car with Alex Riberas and Roman De Angelis, did enough to keep the #009 inside the top ten, ensuring Aston Martin would be represented in the final Hypercar battle for the front rows.

The #007 Valkyrie, shared by Harry Tincknell, Tom Gamble and Ross Gunn, was less fortunate. After showing excellent pace earlier in the week and looking strong in Wednesday qualifying, the all-British crew missed the Hyperpole 2 cut. That was a shame, because the #007 had been one of the cars carrying real momentum after topping Test Day and reaching Hyperpole with confidence.

Even so, the bigger picture remains positive. Both Valkyries made the main Hyperpole field, and the #009 then went one step further by reaching the final Hypercar shootout. For a programme still early in its Hypercar journey, that’s another important marker of progress.

#009 starts seventh in Hypercar

In Hyperpole 2, the fastest ten Hypercars went out for one final fight. BMW, Cadillac, Alpine, Genesis and Ferrari all featured, with the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie representing Aston Martin in the final shootout.

After the penalty was applied to the #38 Cadillac, the final Hypercar top ten placed the #15 BMW on pole, ahead of the #12 Cadillac, the #35 Alpine, the #20 BMW, the #101 Cadillac and the #19 Genesis. The #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie will start seventh, ahead of the #51 Ferrari, the #17 Genesis and the penalised #38 Cadillac.

That’s a strong place to start the race. Le Mans is not won in qualifying, but starting inside the Hypercar top ten keeps the #009 in clean company and close to the main factory fight. It also means Aston Martin will begin the race ahead of Ferrari’s #51 and the second Genesis, while the rapid but penalised #38 Cadillac will have to come from behind.

For FTP, the significance is clear: Aston Martin is no longer merely taking part in the top class at Le Mans. The Valkyrie is now qualifying among the strongest manufacturers in the world.