Le Mans 24 Hours 2016: What time does the race start, what TV channel is it on, where can I watch it and full starting grid

Everything you need to know about the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours

Neel Jani put the No 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid on pole for the Le Mans 24 Hours (Getty)

What happened in qualifying?

The 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours could prove to be one of the most unpredictable races seen in the history of the prestigious event, with mixed weather forecasts, reliability concerns and an alarming lack of dry-weather running time all featuring in the build-up to the showcase event, not to mention that fact that the race itself is a demanding through-the-night challenge.

Last year’s Le Mans winners Porsche will start from pole, but it won’t be the World Endurance Championship-winning car that takes the Tricolor on Saturday afternoon after Neel Jani set the fastest time in qualifying in the No 2 Porsche 919 Hybrid on Wednesday, with Thursday’s qualifying sessions affected by heavy rain.

The No 2 starts ahead of its sister car, with the two Toyotas line astern behind them on the second row with the No 6 out-qualifying the No 5 in the hands of Mike Conway. It means that Audi can only make do with a third-row start for its two cars, with both the No 7 and No 8 hampered by technical issues that meant they missed the best conditions to qualify in.

With Thursday almost washed out – the night session being red flagged for 45 minutes due to the torrential downpour – there is an air of uncertainty heading into Saturday’s race, with the morning warm-up proving the last chance for teams to tinker with their set-up.

In the LMP2 class, G Drive Racing took pole and 9th on the grid overall, with works Audi driver Rene Rast setting the fastest time of Wednesday’s session by over half a second in the No 26 Oreca 05-Nissan. Rast will partner Roman Rusinov and ex-Formula 1 driver Will Stevens, who joins G Drive and JOTA Sport for Le Mans before returning to Manor.

Ford Chip Ganassi dominated the GTE Pro category, although they may not experience the same advantage as they have held this week when the race gets underway. Dirk Muller stuck the No 68 Ford GT on pole with the sister No 69 in second, and had it not been for the No 51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 in the hands of James Calado, they would have sealed the top four positions.

However, the ACO has confirmed that they will change the Balance of Performance regulations for the race with both the Ford and the Ferrari having to carry extra weight, while the Aston Martin Vantages and Chevrolet Corvette C7.R running slightly larger air restrictor plates. The Porsche 911 RSRs will also benefit from an increase in fuel capacity, along with the 488 and the C7.R.

The GTE-Am category will be headed by the No 61 Clearwater Racing Ferrari 458 after Rob Bell set the fastest time, with the No 98 Aston Martin Racing Vantage in second and No 88 Abu Dhabi-Proton Porsche 911 in third.

What time does the race start?

Hollywood star Brad Pitt will was the Tricolor to get the race underway at 3pm CET, meaning a 2pm start in the United Kingdom. Unsurprisingly, the chequered flag will drop at 3pm CET on Sunday.

Where can I watch it?

The race will be broadcast live in its entirety by Eurosport along with segments also on Quest TV. Coverage will flick between Eurosport and Eurosport 2. Here’s a full run down of the TV schedule in the UK:

13:45 to 20:00 – Eurosport

20:00 to 20:30 – Eurosport 2

20:00 to 22:00 – Quest TV

20:30 to 07:30 – Eurosport

07:30 to 08:00 – Eurosport 2

08:00 to 14:15 – Eurosport

10:00 to 11:00 – Quest TV

13:00 to 14:30 – Quest TV

Full grid:

1 LMP1 R.Dumas, N.Jani, M.Lieb Porsche Team Porsche 3m19.733s -

2 LMP1 T.Bernhard, M.Webber, B.Hartley Porsche Team Porsche 3m20.203s 0.470s

3 LMP1 S.Sarrazin, M.Conway, K.Kobayashi Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota 3m20.737s 1.004s

4 LMP1 A.Davidson, S.Buemi, K.Nakajima Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota 3m21.903s 2.170s

5 LMP1 M.Fassler, A.Lotterer, B.Treluyer Audi Sport Team Joest Audi 3m22.780s 3.047s

6 LMP1 L.di Grassi, L.Duval, O.Jarvis Audi Sport Team Joest Audi 3m22.823s 3.090s

7 LMP1 M.Tuscher, A.Imperatori, D.Kraihamer Rebellion Racing Rebellion/AER 3m26.586s 6.853s

8 LMP1 N.Prost, N.Heidfeld, N.Piquet Jr. Rebellion Racing Rebellion/AER 3m27.348s 7.615s

9 LMP1 S.Trummer, O.Webb, P.Kaffer ByKOLLES Racing Team CLM/AER 3m34.168s 14.435s

10 LMP2 R.Rusinov, W.Stevens, R.Rast G-Drive Racing ORECA/Nissan 3m36.605s 16.872s

11 LMP2 D.Cheng, H-Pin Tung, N.Panciatici Baxi DC Racing Alpine Alpine/Nissan 3m37.175s 17.442s

12 LMP2 G.Menezes, N.Lapierre, S.Richelmi Signatech Alpine Alpine/Nissan 3m37.225s 17.492s

13 LMP2 T.Graves, M.Rao, R.Merhi Manor ORECA/Nissan 3m38.037s 18.304s

14 LMP2 J.Pew, O.Negri, L.Vanthoor Michael Shank Racing Ligier/HPD 3m38.837s 19.104s

15 LMP2 R.Dalziel, L.Derani, C.Cumming Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier/Nissan 3m39.366s 19.633s

16 LMP2 P.Thiriet, M.Beche, R.Hirakawa Thiriet by TDS Racing ORECA/Nissan 3m39.375s 19.642s

17 LMP2 N.Leventis, D.Watts, J.Kane Strakka Racing Gibson/Nissan 3m39.394s 19.661s

18 LMP2 T.Matsuda, M.Howson, R.Bradley KCMG ORECA/Nissan 3m39.436s 19.703s

19 LMP2 F.Barthez, P-L.Chatin, T.Buret Panis Barthez Competition Ligier/Nissan 3m39.470s 19.737s

20 LMP2 P.Jun Jin, T.Gommendy, N.de Bruijn Eurasia Motorsport ORECA/Nissan 3m40.631s 20.898s

21 LMP2 S.Dolan, J.Dennis, G.van der Garde G-Drive Racing Gibson/Nissan 3m40.685s 20.952s

22 LMP2 R.Gonzalez, B.Senna, F.Albuquerque RGR Sport by Morand Ligier/Nissan 3m40.899s 21.166s

23 LMP2 N.Minassian, M.Mediani, M.Aleshin SMP Racing BR Engineering/Nissan 3m41.132s 21.399s

24 LMP2 I.Taittinger, R.Striebig, L.Roussel Pegasus Racing Morgan/Nissan 3m41.285s 21.552s

25 LMP2 S.Sharp, E.Brown, J.van Overbeek Extreme Speed Motorsports Ligier/Nissan 3m41.406s 21.673s

26 LMP2 V.Petrov, V.Shaytar, K.Ladygin SMP Racing BR Engineering/Nissan 3m41.776s 22.043s

27 LMP2 M.Munemann, C.Hoy, A.Pizzitola Algarve Pro Racing Ligier/Nissan 3m42.088s 22.355s

28 LMP2 M.Rojas, J.Canal, N.Berthon Greaves Motorsport Ligier/Nissan 3m42.570s 22.837s

29 LMP2 B.Keating, J.Bleekemolen, M.Goossens Murphy Prototypes ORECA/Nissan 3m43.508s 23.775s

30 LMP2 N.Leutwiler, S.Nakano, J.Winslow Race Performance ORECA/Judd 3m43.590s 23.857s

31 LMP2 V.Capillaire, E.Maris, J.Coleman So24 ! By Lombard Racing Ligier/Judd 3m44.347s 24.614s

32 Innov F.Sausset, C.Tinseau, J-B.Bouvet SRT41 By Oak Racing Morgan/Nissan 3m45.178s 25.445s

33 LMP2 T.Krohn, N.Jonsson, J.Barbosa Krohn Racing Ligier/Nissan 3m45.213s 25.480s

34 GTE Pro J.Hand, D.Muller, S.Bourdais Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford 3m51.185s 31.452s

35 GTE Pro R.Briscoe, R.Westbrook, S.Dixon Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA Ford 3m51.497s 31.764s

36 GTE Pro G.Bruni, J.Calado, A.P.Guidi AF Corse Ferrari 3m51.568s 31.835s

37 GTE Pro M.Franchitti, A.Priaulx, H.Tincknell Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford 3m51.590s 31.857s

38 GTE Pro O.Pla, S.Mucke, B.Johnson Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK Ford 3m52.038s 32.305s

39 GTE Pro D.Rigon, S.Bird, A.Bertolini AF Corse Ferrari 3m52.508s 32.775s

40 GTE Pro G.Fisichella, T.Vilander, M.Malucelli Risi Competizione Ferrari 3m53.176s 33.443s

41 GTE Am F.Makowiecki, E.Bamber, J.Bergmeister Porsche Motorsport Porsche 3m54.918s 35.185s

42 GTE Am N.Thiim, M.Sorensen, D.Turner Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 3m55.261s 35.528s

43 GTE Am P.Pilet, K.Estre, N.Tandy Porsche Motorsport Porsche 3m55.332s 35.599s

44 GTE Am R.Stanaway, F.Rees, J.Adam Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 3m55.380s 35.647s

45 GTE Pro R.Lietz, M.Christensen, P.Eng Dempsey Racing - Proton Porsche 3m55.426s 35.693s

46 GTE Pro O.Gavin, T.Milner, J.Taylor Corvette Racing Chevrolet 3m55.848s 36.115s

47 GTE Am W.Sun Mok, K.Sawa, R.Bell Clearwater Racing Ferrari 3m56.827s 37.094s

48 GTE Am P.D.Lana, P.Lamy, M.Lauda Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 3m57.198s 37.465s

49 GTE Am K.Al Qubaisi, D.Hansson, P.Long Abu Dhabi-Proton Racing Porsche 3m57.513s 37.780s

50 GTE Am D.Cameron, M.Griffin, A.Scott AF Corse Ferrari 3m57.596s 37.863s

51 GTE Am F.Perrodo, E.Collard, R.Aguas AF Corse Ferrari 3m57.742s 38.009s

52 GTE Pro J.Magnussen, A.Garcia, R.Taylor Corvette Racing Chevrolet 3m57.967s 38.234s

53 GTE Am Y.Yamagishi, P.Ragues, J-P.Belloc Larbre Competition Chevrolet 3m58.018s 38.285s

54 GTE Am J.Laursen, M.Mac, C.Nielsen Formula Racing Ferrari 3m58.760s 39.027s

55 GTE Pro C.Ried, W.Henzler, J.Camathias KCMG Porsche 3m59.034s 39.301s

56 GTE Am B.Sweedler, T.Bell, J.Segal Scuderia Corsa Ferrari 4m00.008s 40.275s

57 GTE Am C.MacNeil, L.Keen, M.Miller Proton Competition Porsche 4m00.107s 40.374s

58 GTE Am M.Wainwright, A.Carroll, B.Barker Gulf Racing UK Porsche 4m01.046s 41.313s

59 GTE Am J.O'Connell, O.Bryant, M.Patterson Team AAI Chevrolet 4m02.326s 42.593s

60 GTE Am A.Howard, L.Griffin, G.Hirsch Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin 4m03.148s 43.