Paris, June 12 (QNA) - Team Qatar continued its preparations for its historic first appearance in the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe, completing two additional practice sessions and taking part in the Hyperpole qualifying session.

In the first Hyperpole session, Team Qatar narrowly missed advancing to the second phase by just fractions of a second, securing 12th place on the LMGT3 starting grid for the 93rd edition of one of the world's most prestigious endurance races. The team finished only 0.072 seconds outside the top 10 over the circuit's 13.6-kilometre lap, highlighting the exceptionally competitive nature of the LMGT3 category.

German Silver-rated driver Julian Hanses handled qualifying duties in the Qatar-liveried Mercedes-AMG and recorded the team's fastest lap of race week so far. Hanses posted a time of 3:54.771, averaging 208.9 km/h around the legendary French circuit.

The day's action began with the third free practice session, a three-hour outing that provided teams with further opportunities to fine-tune their cars ahead of the 24-hour endurance classic.

Qatari driver Abdullah Al Khulaifi took the wheel first before handing over to Hanses, who increased the pace towards the end of his stint and set the team's quickest time of the session with a lap of 3:55.232.

Italian driver Giuliano Alesi then completed the driving duties as the team concluded the session after 38 laps, finishing 14th overall in the LMGT3 class.

Following the excitement of qualifying, teams returned to the track for a one-hour night practice session held after sunset, designed to help drivers adapt to the challenging conditions they will face during the overnight stages of the race.

Al Khulaifi started the session before Hanses and Alesi shared driving responsibilities. The trio completed 12 laps, with the team's best time recorded at 3:57.866, placing them 20th in the LMGT3 category.

Abdulrahman bin Abdullahtif Al Mannai, President of the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation and Lusail International Circuit, said preparations for Qatar's historic Le Mans debut were progressing perfectly.

"The first Hyperpole session demonstrated the strength of competition in the LMGT3 category at Le Mans," Al Mannai said. "Missing out on progression by such a small margin reflects the extraordinarily high level of competition throughout the class."

He added: "I am extremely proud of the progress the team has achieved in a short period of time. Our focus now shifts entirely to the race itself, and we are eagerly looking forward to taking our place on the starting grid in what will be a landmark moment for Qatari motorsport." (QNA)