Le Mans 24h: Buemi and Toyota top damp warm-up
Toyota’s Sebastien Buemi has topped a damp Saturday morning warm-up session for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

After overnight rain the Circuit de la Sarthe was in tricky condition at the start of the 15-minute warm-up session, which meant that most teams were reluctant to go out on track.
Although most teams decided to complete one or more reconnaissance laps, just 33 of the 59 participants set some sort of laptime.
Mike Conway initially clocked a best time of 3m39.375s in the #7 Toyota TS050 Hybrid, with teammate Buemi in the #8 sister car going quicker after the chequered flag dropped to post a 3m36.693s, still over 15 seconds slower than Toyota’s dry-weather pace.
Neither the two Rebellion cars or the lone ByKolles entry decided to set a laptime.
Giedo van der Garde was therefore third overall as the quickest LMP2 runner in his #29 Racing Team Nederland Oreca, setting a 3m43.022.
That was over six seconds quicker than Matthieu Vaxiviere in the Panis Racing Oreca and eight seconds ahead of Nick Foster in the Eurasia Motorsport Ligier.
Polesitter United Autosports was one of the many LMP2 teams to not set a laptime.
James Calado set a 4m12.476s to head GTE Pro in the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, three seconds clear of Richard Lietz in the #91 Porsche 911 RSR-19.
The third-fastest GTE entrant was the leading GTE Am car of Giancarlo Fisichella, the #54 AF Corse Ferrari. The former F1 driver put a 4m17.393s on the board.
The short damp session preludes the 88th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, which is also expected to be affected by rain. Many weather forecasts are predicting heavy rain on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday, with further wet spells expected during the final hours of the event.
The mixed conditions will be particularly challenging for the many amateur drivers and the 40-odd Le Mans rookies at the start of the race, with track time limited on a condensed race week schedule.
The French endurance classic will start and finish slightly earlier than usual at 2:30pm local time.
Warm-up results:
Related video

Previous article
Rebellion has "no chance" of win unless Toyota slips up
Next article
Aston Martin qualifying pace "didn't make sense" - Makowiecki

About this article
Series | Le Mans |
Event | 24 Hours of Le Mans |
Drivers | Sébastien Buemi |
Teams | Toyota Gazoo Racing WEC |
Author | Filip Cleeren |
Le Mans 24h: Buemi and Toyota top damp warm-up
Trending
Why Ferrari is ending its 50-year top-flight sportscar racing exile
Making a return to top-flight sportscar racing after 50 years away, Ferrari will enter the Le Mans Hypercar ranks in 2023. The Italian marque denies the link with Formula 1's new cost cap that frees up resources, but it's certainly no coincidence...
Oliver Gavin's Corvette Racing highlights
Oliver Gavin has stepped down from the full-time Corvette Racing line-up after a stellar career with the team spanning nearly 20 years. He looks back on a stint that encompassed, among other successes, five Le Mans 24 Hours victories.
How Tandy joined an exclusive club of endurance legends
Victory at last year's Spa 24 Hours meant Nick Tandy had completed the unofficial sextuple crown of the world's six biggest endurance races, becoming the first Briton to do so. Ahead of his fresh start with Corvette Racing, he explains how he did it…
The cherished curios kept by motorsport's professionals at home
Keeping trophies and momentos of key triumphs is par for the course for motorsport professionals, but what are the most cherished souvenirs picked up by the drivers and engineers who have seen and done it all?
The Porsche icon that forged sportscar racing's greatest era
Porsche is returning to the top class of Le Mans with an LMDh prototype that it hopes will write its next successful chapter in sportscar racing. But it will have to go some to emulate its 956/962, a car which defines the Group C age more than any other.
How Tom Kristensen forged his ‘Mr Le Mans’ legend
He is synonymous with success at the Circuit de la Sarthe, but Tom Kristensen's sportscar legacy amounts to much more than his record-breaking nine Le Mans wins, as the most successful driver ever at Sebring and a world champion to boot…
Why Audi’s shock return promises a new age for sportscars
OPINION: The news that Audi will return to Le Mans means we'll at last get to see the fight promised in 2012 against Peugeot and Toyota. It also gives LMDh a tangible form, which could open the floodgates for more like-minded marques to follow suit…
The eternal debate revived after the 2019/20 WEC season
It may have been missed amid the clamour over Lewis Hamilton's seventh F1 title, but Britain had another world champion crowned last weekend. Mike Conway's WEC crown raises an old conundrum - does title glory make up for the pain of Le Mans defeat?