Antonio Fuoco secured the top spot in qualifying for the inaugural Six Hours of Imola event in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The Italian driver led a dominant performance from Ferrari at their home circuit in Emilia Romagna, Italy. Fuoco’s impressive time of 1:29.466 in the #50 Ferrari 499P was untouchable, with Robert Shwartzman coming in second, 0.419 seconds behind in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari. Alessandro Pier Guidi completed the Ferrari one-two-three, posting the third fastest time in the #51 Ferrari, 0.487 seconds off pole position.
The qualifying session started under dry conditions, but dark clouds threatened to disrupt the Hypercar parade. The 19-strong field aimed to secure a top-10 time to advance to the Hyperpole session and secure a front-row starting position for Sunday’s race. Despite the looming rain, the drivers focused on setting strong lap times early in the session. The Porsches and Toyotas initially set the pace, with Brendon Hartley and Kamui Kobayashi battling against the Penske and Jota entries.
Matt Campbell emerged as the frontrunner in the #5 Porsche 963, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:30s with a time of 1:30.963. However, the Ferraris soon took control, with Fuoco, Shwartzman, and Pier Guidi securing the top three spots. Campbell managed to secure second place, just 0.025 seconds behind Fuoco, while Hartley claimed the third-fastest time in the #8 Toyota GR010-Hybrid.
With only two minutes remaining in the session, Dries Vanthoor spun off track in the #15 Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8, causing a brief Red Flag and ending his session. When the session resumed, the top three positions remained unchanged, with Kobayashi in fourth, Shwartzman in fifth, and Pier Guidi in sixth. Julian Andlauer, Rene Rast, Callum Ilott, and Kevin Estre completed the top 10.
Unfortunately, Phil Hanson in the #38 Jota car and Alex Lynn in the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R machine failed to advance, finishing 11th and 12th, respectively. Vanthoor, the all-new Peugeot 9X8s, the Lamborghini SC63, and both Alpine A424 machines also failed to progress.
Moving into the Hyperpole session, the Porsches once again set the early pace, occupying the top positions on the leaderboard. However, the Toyotas of Hartley and Kobayashi quickly responded and took first and second place. Ferrari took longer to warm up their tires but eventually unleashed their speed. Fuoco set the fastest lap time of 1:29.735, followed by Pier Guidi and Shwartzman.
Hartley’s spin at Tosa temporarily brought out the yellow flag, allowing Porsche to improve their positions. However, Ferrari remained dominant. Estre and Campbell improved their times, but it wasn’t enough to challenge the Prancing Horse. Pier Guidi and Shwartzman both surpassed Hartley’s time, with Shwartzman securing second place.
In the end, Fuoco’s impressive lap time of 1:29.466 secured pole position for Sunday’s Six Hours of Imola enduro, further solidifying Ferrari’s dominance at their home circuit.