Ready to go
By mid-April, the issue regarding the first round of the 2026 Endurance World Championship would have already been archived if it hadn’t been for the conflict that broke out in the Middle East, a fact that forced the FIA and the organizers to postpone the start of the championship following the cancellation of the Qatar 1812 km. In the hope that the event can take place peacefully at the end of the year as the penultimate round of the season on the Lusail track, the curtain will be raised on the new world championship at the ‘Enzo e Dino Ferrari’ circuit, where the third edition of the 6 Hours of Imola will take place.
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The defending champions
A home event for Ferrari, represented in particular by Antonio Giovinazzi, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado, winners in the last race at Imola but above all defending world champions at the wheel of the 499P. A title that, together with the successes of the other official car of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, also contributed to the victory in the Manufacturers’ world championship.
6 Hours of Imola, where to watch it
The challenge now restarts from zero, with the first kilometers to be covered on Tuesday, April 14, the day of the Prologue. The actual official sessions, however, will be held starting from Friday, April 17, with the first free practice sessions. Even more interesting for the public will be Saturday’s qualifying, which will see the drivers of the LMGT3 category engaged first and, subsequently, those of the Hypercar category. Once the first starting grid of the season is established, the race, obviously lasting 6 hours, will start at 13:00 on Sunday, April 19. The ways to follow the first round of the championship live on television or streaming will be different: in addition to the reconfirmed Discovery+ and Eurosport channels via the subscription to the HBO platform, there will be the debut of the official platform of the competition, namely FIAWEC+. With the latter, it will be possible to follow the single event for 9,99 euros or the entire world championship for 49,99 euros, all without geographic blocks and with exclusive content. In addition, there will be the possibility to watch the race only on Sky Sport or streaming on NOW. It should be noted that there will be no live video of the first two free practice sessions.
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6 Hours of Imola 2026: the schedule and TV times
Friday, April 17
10:15 – Free Practice 1 (live timing only FIAWEC+ and HBO Eurosport channels)
15:15 – Free Practice 2 (live timing only FIAWEC+ and HBO Eurosport channels)
Saturday, April 18
10:30 – Free Practice 3 (Discovery+, FIAWEC+, HBO Eurosport channels and live timing)
14:30 – LMGT3 Qualifying (Discovery+, FIAWEC+, HBO Eurosport channels and live timing)
14:50 – LMGT3 Hyperpole (Discovery+, FIAWEC+, HBO Eurosport channels and live timing)
15:10 – Hypercar Qualifying (Discovery+, FIAWEC+, HBO Eurosport channels and live timing)
15:30 – Hypercar Hyperpole (Discovery+, FIAWEC+, HBO Eurosport channels and live timing)
Sunday, April 19
13:00 – Race (Discovery+, Sky Sport, NOW, FIAWEC+, HBO Eurosport channels and live timing)
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