WEC News: Ferrari wins pole, then doesn’t for 6 Hours of Spa

BREAKING: Ferrari has been stripped of its #6hSpa pole position after the No. 50 car of Antonio Fuoco was found to be underweight in post-qualifying tech inspection.

The Ferrari 499P number 50 took center stage in today’s qualifying, securing pole position for the Prancing Horse at the 6 Hours of Spa. Antonio Fuoco secured the result in the Hyperpole, taking his second consecutive pole position following his success at Imola. Thus, he and his teammates Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen will start from the front in the Belgian round.

In spring-like weather with an air temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and an asphalt temperature of almost 30 degrees, the session began with a scare for Porsche Penske Motorsport: While braking for the Les Combes curve at the end of the long Kemmel straight, the two works Porsche 963 racers touched slightly – but both managed to continue. Matt Campbell went on to set the third-fastest time in 2:02.675 minutes.

In the Hyperpole session, the No. 50 Ferrari secured pole position, Matt Campbell came closest in the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963, securing a spot on the front row with a 2:03.107.  The Australian was a mere eight-thousandths of a second ahead of the sole Cadillac. Joined by his works driver teammates Michael Christensen from Denmark and Frédéric Makowiecki from France, Campbell will start from the front row on Saturday.

Ferrari and Antonio Fuoco’s pole position in Belgium is their fourth in the top class of endurance racing. The 499P number 50, piloted by Fuoco, previously secured pole positions at Sebring and Le Mans in 2023 and at Imola and Spa earlier this year.

Antonio Fuoco, driver 499P #50: “We did an excellent job today, and I am delighted to start from pole position at the 6 Hours of Spa. Given the rubber compounds available here at Spa, we knew qualifying wouldn’t be easy, but we focused during free practice on understanding how best to manage the tires. I think this work is visible in qualifying and the Hyperpole. The result is the fruit of the hard work carried out by the entire team over recent weeks and here on track since the first practice session. The race? We know it will be tough, and we recognize the considerable strength of our opponents, but as always, we aim to do our best and achieve a great result.”

In LMGT3 Sarah Bovy went on to take pole for her home race for the first time with a 2:20.755 lap in the #85 Iron Dames Lamborghini. This marked the team’s first pole of the season.

“The feeling was great in the car,” Body said. “I saw such a big crowd in the tribune. It was great. I’m super proud of the Iron Dames today, first pole for Lamborghini in the WEC.”

The #95 United Autosports McLaren will start alongside the Iron Dames Huracan on the front row. Josh Caygill’s 2:21.092 to go second fastest providing further evidence that United is making real progress with the McLaren GT3 EVO.

“It’s really nice to get a result for the boys, everyone’s working so hard at United and McLaren so it’s good to repay them,” Caygill said.

The second row meanwhile, will be occupied by the #46 WRT BMW and #91 Manthey EMA Porsche. James Cottingham in the #59 United McLaren ensured both of the United’s cars will start from a strong position by qualifying fifth.

Qualifying Times