Photos: 24-hour Le Mans qualifiying

The 83th 24-hour Le Mans endurance race is set to take place this weekend in France, with the radical Nissan GT-R LM Nismo making its first racing debut and Audi aiming for another consecutive victory in the world’s toughest endurance race with the R18 e-tron quattro hybrid sports.

View a selection of photos from Thursday’s final two qualifying sessions at Le Mans.

(Photos: Brian Cleary/BCPix.com, John Dagys & Brecht Decancq)