6 Hours of Spa 2026, Qualifying: first pole position for Peugeot and Jakobsen

Leading the first weekend of the season in Imola, few would have imagined a qualifying session with a negative outcome for the Ferrari and Toyota, despite the balance seen in the free practice sessions at the start of the weekend. Instead, both the Maranello and the Japanese manufacturers ended their fight for pole position at the end of qualifying, failing to reach the Hyperpole with all their drivers. The only exception was #50 of Antonio Fuoco, who however encountered other difficulties in the decisive session for pole position, as shown by the final eighth place. The one who could celebrate a milestone never reached in its history in this championship was Peugeot, which thanks to the best lap by Malthe Jakobsen will start for the first time from the front row of the grid, with the Dane holding behind him by just a few thousandths of a second the Cadillac #12 of Stevens and the Alpine #35 of Milesi, followed by his teammate.

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Hypercar Qualifying

Immediately author of a spin exiting the pit lane, Jakobsen managed to regain control of his Peugeot #94 to continue a qualifying session that reserved stunning surprises: in the first half of the session Kubica set the best time, with all the Ferraris in the top three positions. However, five minutes before the end, Milesi brought the Alpine #35 to the top of the standings, followed precisely by Jakobsen and the second Alpine #36 of Gounon. The Ferraris, except for Fuoco (4th), dangerously lost positions, to the point of finishing even in the elimination zone: Kubica, in fact, did not go beyond 13th place, moreover behind the Toyota #7 of Kobayashi. A disastrous result also for the second Red #51 of Giovinazzi, and even more so for Hartley, 16th and second to last with the Toyota #8 winner of the first season appointment in Imola. Top-10 thus reached by the two Peugeots, both Cadillacs and the two Aston Martins, as well as the BMW #15.

Hyperpole Hypercar

In the first minutes of the decisive session for the assignment of pole position, the best time was once again set by Milesi, but the goal of taking pole position vanished by a very small margin. The Frenchman, in fact, will start from third position ahead of Gounon, with Alpine monopolizing the second row of the 6 Hours of Spa, but ahead of him Will Stevens took second place, faster by only 33 thousandths. The latter, in addition, missed pole by only 43 thousandths from the Dane Malthe Jakobsen, who after the mistake made at the start of qualifying gave Peugeot its first pole position, achieving his first career pole in the WEC. In difficulty, however, Antonio Fuoco: after initially occupying fourth position, Ferrari #50 was overtaken in the standings by Cadillac #38 and the two Aston Martins, with the Calabrian thus starting from eighth place on the grid.

LMGT3 Qualifying and Hyperpole

Almost always at the top of the standings, Umbrarescu recorded the best time in qualifying, distancing the Ford #88 of Gattuso by four tenths. Lexus #87 thus in command (with #76 last among the qualifiers) and in Hyperpole, as well as the two Fords, while the McLarens disappointed in this session, both not qualified for the Hyperpole, and Ferrari: although Heriau passed the round in seventh position behind Chevrolet #34 and Porsche #91, the #54 from Maranello will start from the very last position on the grid.

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Lexus once again ahead of everyone also in the Hyperpole, but this time with David at the wheel of car #78. Therefore, the drivers of the latter will start from pole position ahead of Aston Martin #27, with the second row completed by Ford #77 and the other Lexus, demonstrating the excellent performance of the British manufacturer at Spa. Sixth position, instead, for Ferrari.

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