The second round of qualifying on a cold but dry track at Le Mans this morning turned the line-up established in the rain yesterday upside down. The Pirelli-equipped teams, which were obviously struggling yesterday, took a dazzling revenge this morning in the new track conditions. Mathieu Gines, Kenny Foray and Lukas Pesek turned in the best performance in terms of combined fastest lap times. The riders on the Penz13.com BMW Motorrad machine made up a very consistent trio, and will take up position on the grid in front of the SRC Kawasaki riders Gregory Leblanc, Matthieu Lagrive and Fabien Foret. After his crash yesterday, Gregory Leblanc posted his all-time fastest lap this morning: 1’37.420. But SRC Kawasaki also had a scare this morning, when Fabien Foret fell. The ZX-10R took quite a beating. Fabien Foret is unharmed, but for now it’s not certain he will be in the line-up at the start of the race. YART Yamaha suffered a similar fate when Ivan Silva took a toss, though he too was unscathed. However, his crash didn’t stop Broc Parkes and Max Neukirchner putting YART Yamaha 3rd on the grid.

The Suzuki Endurance Racing Team Right is lying in wait right behind these three teams, none of which made it into the top 5 last evening. “We took a studious approach to qualifying to give our bike every chance of crossing the finish line first at 3pm on Sunday,” says Dominique Méliand, SERT team manager.

SERT will be positioned on the grid in front of the GMT94 Yamaha team, who were delayed by Louis Rossi’s fall (no harm done there either), Honda Endurance Racing and Team April Moto Motors Events, which once again proved the best private team after claiming provisional pole last evening.

The best team in the Superstock class is none other than the winner of the FIM 2015 World Cup: Team Louit Moto 33 Traqueur, which will start the race in 8th place, ahead of Team Bolliger Switzerland and another odds-on favourite to win the Superstock, Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki.

Back on the track tomorrow (Saturday) for the warm-up at 9.45am.

24 Heures Motos Overall qualifications results

What they say
Kenny Foray, Penz13.com BMW Motorrad rider
“We went all out towards the end of the qualifying session, when we saw the Kawaskai had crashed. But we know we’ve got to work some more on the settings in rainy conditions.”

Mathieu Gines, Penz13.com BMW Motorrad rider
“We’ve shown we have a very good hand for the race. It would be great if the wheel were to turn in BMW’s favour.”

Lukas Pesek, Penz13.com BMW Motorrad rider
“It’s a surprise to be in pole position, but my teammates are experienced, hardworking and very quick. The hardest thing for me was to get the handover right at night in the rain.”

Emeric Jonchière, Team Louit Moto 33 Traqueur rider
“The objective is to hold on to our 2015 World Cup. This best performance in the Stocksport category in the tests is a good sign, though we’re somewhat less comfortable in the rain.”

FIM EWC Press release