June 11 (Reuters) - BMW took ⁠pole position for the Le Mans 24 Hours ⁠on Thursday after Cadillac seized the top slot ‌but then dropped to 10th due to a pitlane infringement.

Cadillac had hoped for a second successive pole in the main event of the ​world endurance calendar but although Jack ⁠Aitken was fastest in ⁠the number 38 car it was the number 15 BMW, ⁠with ‌Belgian Dries Vanthoor at the wheel, that came out on top.

Vanthoor shares his car with Danish ⁠former F1 driver Kevin Magnussen and Swiss-born Italian ​Raffaele Marciello.

Briton ‌Aitken was penalised, by having his fastest lap deleted, ⁠for joining ​the pitlane fast lane a minute before cars were allowed to ahead of the final session.

"We gained nothing, so that ⁠makes it all the more difficult ​to accept," said Aitken of the penalty.

The number 23 Cadillac will line up second on the grid at the Circuit ⁠de la Sarthe in westernFrance with the number 35 Alpine qualifying third for the 94th edition of the race that starts on Saturday.

The pole was BMW's first of ​the Hypercar era at Le Mans.

Defending ⁠champions Ferrari qualified their factory AF Corse cars eighth and ​12th. The separate, yellow-liveried AF Corse ‌number 83 of last year's winners ​Phil Hanson, Yifei Ye and Robert Kubica qualified 17th.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; editing by Clare Fallon)