6 Hours of Imola, Qualifying: Pole position for Ferrari #51, ahead of Toyota #8 by just 11 milliseconds

Ferrari starts the season from pole position at Imola

Antonio Giovinazzi takes pole position at the Imola Six Hours with a sensational last lap that guarantees him pole position for the 6 Hours of Imola, which will start tomorrow on the Santerno track. The work for Ferrari seemed like it could be a bit simpler after topping all free practice sessions, but the revamped Toyota TR010 showed its teeth in the final, taking provisional pole with Hirakawa’s #8 one minute from the end of the Hyperpole phase, only to be beaten by the Italian by just 11 thousandths. The second Ferrari, Fuoco’s #50, is in third position. Jakobsen’s Peugeot #94 was also in contention for pole position, finishing only fourth but just 7 hundredths behind Giovinazzi. Kubica, with the yellow #83, was a bit of a surprise in eighth, despite having passed the first qualifying phase thanks to a brilliant provisional second place. Tomorrow’s race promises to be a bit more uncertain compared to the prologue, where Ferrari’s rivals, particularly Toyota, seem closer than what was shown in testing. The weather tomorrow seems to threaten some rain in the first phase of the race, which could reshuffle the cards.

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Hypercar Qualifying

Fuoco, Pier Guidi, and Ye take the Ferrari 499P numbers #50, #51, and #83 onto the track in the first qualifying phase. 17 Hypercars exit the pit lane at 3:10 PM, with drivers aware that they will have to navigate the traffic on the winding Imola track, where the sun shines and the temperature is 25° air and 43° on the asphalt. The Ferraris start slowly, to warm up the tires better but initially staying on high lap times. With 2 minutes to go, the Ferraris are comfortably in the top 10, while Aston and Genesis seem not to have the pace needed to pass the first phase. Cadillac also struggles, placing only the #12 provisionally in the top ten. At the end of the first phase, the top 10, including all Ferraris with #50 and #83 on the provisional front row, advance to the Hyperpole phase. Genesis and Aston are out, while only one Cadillac, surprisingly, makes it through. The revamped Toyota TR010s perform well, starting to show interesting speed potential. Gounon’s Alpine #36 is thwarted by Milesi’s sister car, which inadvertently slows him down on his fast lap.

Hyperpole Hypercar

Jakobsen’s surviving Peugeot #94 takes provisional pole 3 minutes from the end of the 10-minute Hyperpole, but it’s a flash in the pan as the Ferrari 499Ps immediately arrive to show who’s in charge, with Giovinazzi and Fuoco taking the top two positions separated by just 0.025 seconds. Kubica struggles, remaining in tenth position. The Peugeot then drops to third place. Toyota and BMW seem destined for the second half of the top 10. Jakobsen still has something to say and places himself in P2. But then Hirakawa’s Toyota also arrives at the end, taking a surprise pole. Giovinazzi doesn’t give up and reclaims pole on his last fast lap, leaving the Toyota #8 in second position with a lead of just 11 thousandths. Four cars are separated by seven hundredths, a very tight qualifying session.

LMGT3 Qualifying and Hyperpole

Advancing from the first qualifying phase to Hyperpole are the BMWs and the Corvette #34, which takes provisional pole. The two Lexus cars also perform well. Difficulties for the Ferraris, which only manage to pass the first phase with the #21, while Flohr’s #54 remains in last position. Both Aston Martins and the Corvette #33 are also excellent eliminations.

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Hyperpole is decided at the end by a red flag displayed for Yoluc’s Corvette #34 going off at Rivazza 1. Pole goes to Thomas Fleming with the McLaren, who had led the Hyperpole phase practically from the start. Behind the Brit are the two Lexus cars, always formidable on this track, and the two BMWs. The first Ferrari is only seventh,

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