BMW earned pole position for the Le Mans 24 Hours Hypercar category on June 11, 2023, driving car number 15 with drivers Dries Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen, and Raffaele Marciello at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France [1, 2]. This marked BMW's first pole of the Hypercar era at Le Mans [1, 2].
Cadillac originally posted the fastest lap in qualifying with Jack Aitken in car number 38. However, the team was demoted to 10th on the starting grid after a pitlane infringement penalty erased Aitken's best lap time [1, 2]. Aitken said, "We gained nothing, so that makes it all the more difficult to accept" regarding the penalty [1].
The second starting position went to the number 23 Cadillac. Alpine secured third place on the grid with car number 35, setting the top three starters for the 94th edition of the race [1, 2].
Defending champions Ferrari qualified their factory AF Corse cars in eighth and twelfth positions. Their yellow-liveried AF Corse number 83 car, driven by last year’s winners Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye, and Robert Kubica, qualified further back in 17th [1, 2].
The 94th Le Mans 24 Hours race began at the Circuit de la Sarthe the Saturday following the qualifying session on June 11, 2023 [1, 2].