Porsche has won the pole for the 24 Hours of Le Mans for a record 17th time. Neel Jani led a Porsche sweep of the top three spots in the LMP1 category with a lap at 3:16.887 in the No. 18 Porsche 991 Hybrid. Jani’s time set a qualifying record on the 8.47-mile circuit, eclipsing the mark set by Peugeot in 2008 by 1.626 seconds and bettering last year’s pole-winning time by 4.902 seconds.

The No. 17 Porsche qualified second at 3:17.767 with Timo Bernhard at the wheel, while Nick Tandy put the No. 19 Porsche in the third spot at 3:19.297 to complete the sweep.

Teams had to cope with warmer temperatures, higher humidity, and the threat of thunderstorms during Thursday’s two qualifying sessions. Consequently few cars improved on the times they recorded in more favorable conditions on Wednesday night. Andre Lotterer did move the No. 7 Audi R18 e-tron Quattro up to fifth with a 3:20.561 lap, trading places with the sister No. 9 as the Audi trio of diesel-powered hybrids qualified fourth, fifth, and sixth.

The two Toyota TS040 Hybrids qualified seventh and eighth, followed by a pair of Rebellion Racing prototypes and the Team Bykolles CLM. The three Nissan GT-R LM NISMO prototypes brought up the rear of the LMP1 field.

Nissan found more success in the LMP2 category as the six fastest qualifiers used Nissan engines. The No. 47 KCMG Oreca-Nissan remained on top in the LMP2 category with the 3:38.032 lap by Nicolas Lapierre in Wednesday’s qualifying session.

Thursday’s qualifying sessions were affected by several red flags. Officials ended the first session early due to a shunt in the high-speed Porsche Curves by Corvette Racing driver Jan Magnussen (who was uninjured in the incident), and then extended the second session.

With its 1-2-3 sweep in qualifying, Porsche has shown that it has the speed to outrun its rivals in qualifying. Starting at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, the Porsche team will set out to prove that its powerful 991 Hybrids have the pace and the stamina to prevail in a grueling 24-hour endurance race.