Fernando Rees’ best lap during final qualifying for the 85th 24 Hours of Le Mans ensured that Larbre Competition secured its maiden GTE Am pole position for this weekend’s race.
The Brazilian, who shares the teams’ #50 Corvette C7.R this weekend with Christian Philippon and Romain Brandela, set a great lap time of 3:52.843s, almost four-tenths of a second faster than the #98 Aston Martin Racing entry, with the team doing a remarkable job to repair damage caused by a practice incident.
Rees, competing in third consecutive 24 Hours of Le Mans but his first not in an Aston Martin, was full of praise for his mechanics for readying the car in time for qualifying, with Larbre Competition aiming for their first triumph at the Circuit de la Sarthe since 2012, and their sixth overall.
“I was very happy with the lap I did and we could’ve gone even quicker!” said a thrilled Rees. “The yellow flags meant we lost peak grip so it compromised my lap a little, but it was still good enough for pole position.
“The work the mechanics did was incredible, they were on the decks throughout the night and all morning to get the car ready for us. Thanks also to Jack Leconte and Corvette Racing next door, everybody’s done a great job.”
