Andre Lotterer (C), Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer

The second evening's qualifying session was full of suspense as the cars fought for pole for Saturday's Le Mans 24 Hours. As a prelude to a no-holds-barred battle with Toyota - and among themselves - the Audi R18 ultras and R18 e-tron quattros kept the many spectators present on tenterhooks as they swapped positions at the top of the time sheets. Finally, André Lotterer put in a stunning lap to clinch pole in the no. 1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro in 3m 23.787s.

The German's time was two seconds quicker than Benôit Tréluyer's pole last year. In addition, the suspense never let up in the LM P2 and LM GTE categories in which the hierarchy set on Wednesday was turned upside down.
After Lotterer's brilliant performance during the first evening nothing indicated that the drivers would go pedal to the metal in the second day's qualifying session. However, the weather conditions were obviously much better and this encouraged them to go quicker. Lotterer was the first to push the envelope further and then Loïc Duval knoked his team-mate's e-tron quattro off the top of the time sheets with a lap in 3m 24.078s in the no. 3 R18 ultra just before the evening break.

In the LM P2 category, Olivier Pla (no. 24 Morgan Judd / OAK Racing) went quicker than the no. 44 Honda Performance Development getting very close to the 3m39s barrier. The driver from Toulouse, whose confidence was boosted by this performance, pushed a bit too hard and went off at Indianpolis without damaging the car too much. In LM GTE Pro, another Frenchman, Fred Makowiecki, looked on course for pole in the no.59 Luxury Racing Ferrari, which was two seconds quicker than the no. 97 Aston Matin, fastest the evening before.

During the hour's break the fans had the pleasure of hearing the melodious sound of the V12 Matra engine as Henri Pescarolo and Gérard Larrousse gave the MS670B and C winners of the 1973 and 74 24 Hours, a canter on the scene of their former triumphs. In addition the Pony Pony Run Run Group attracted 5 000 fans at the Dunlop Footbrige for an open-air concert. At 22h00 battle was resumed out on the track. André Lotterer hit back at his team-mate after fifteen minutes with a lap in 3m 23.787s to retake provisional pole. Toyota wasn't too far behind either as proved by Anthony Davidson's brilliant flyer in 3m 24.842s at the end of the session to give the Japanese manufacturer third place on the grid. It was a very encouraging performance for the whole team proving the speed of the TS030 Hybrid despite the electrical problems that hit nos 7 and 8, which didn't damage the team's morale.

In the third hour Seiji Ara had a big shunt on the exit from the Karting corner. It was another blow to Henri Pescarolo's Sarthe-based team after Boullion's accident in the no. 16 03 the previous evening.

If outright pole provided its fair share of suspense it was the same story in LM P2. Olivier Pla, who was quickest early on in the eveing, was unable to prevent ORECA from topping the time sheets as the ARD Delta 03-Nissan got round in 3m 38.181s. In addition, it was a good eveing for the French manufacturer as it had five cars in the first seven in LM P2! In LM GTE Pro, Ferrari had the final say thanks to Makowiecki as the Luxury Racing driver remained unbeaten in the second part of the session.

Finally, only the quickest time in LM GTE Am didn't change yesterday. The no. 79 Flying Lizard Porsche stayed on top despite a last-minute charge by Prospeed Competition, which moved up from sixth to second place.

Given the very close times in all the categories the 80th Le Mans 24 Hours looks like being a thrilling race.

According to the latest weather forecast the event should take place in dry conditions to the delight of the thousands of fans expected in the Sarthe this weekend.