WEC News: Ferrari locks out the front row at Imola

Antonio Giovinazzi remains undefeated in qualifying in the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship, after thrilling the tifosi by claiming pole position for Ferrari on home soil at Imola.

In the Qatar curtain-raiser back in February, Giovinazzi topped the timesheets by 0.136secs. Around the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the Italian increased that margin to a staggering 0.758secs, as none of his rivals was able to hold a candle to his extraordinary effort.

That means the #51 Ferrari AF Corse Hypercar will start at the front of the field for the second race in succession, and alongside it will be the privately-run #83 AF Corse entry, piloted in qualifying by Robert Kubica.

Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA have no chance around the demanding 4.909-kilometer (3.050-mile), 21-turn Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in the 6 Hours of Imola on Sunday from the ninth and 15th starting positions.

Alex Lynn, driving the No. 12 Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.R, advanced to the 10-miniute Hyperpole session after placing fifth in the initial 12-minute qualifying with a best lap of 1 minute, 30.497 seconds. He bettered that lap time in Hyperpole with a 1:30.448 – the quickest lap for Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA over the weekend – but came up 0.405 of a second short of the top five.

Rossi claims GT Pole

Ahmad Al-Harthy produced a monster lap behind the wheel of #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO in the first part of the session to go more than three-quarters-of-a-second quicker than any of his rivals, and Rossi then maintained that momentum in the subsequent Imola Hyperpole shootout.

‘The Doctor’ was a factor throughout the ten-minute showdown, mastering the 4.909km Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari with a stellar effort that ultimately nobody else could match to secure his maiden FIA WEC pole – raising BMW’s hopes of replicating its Imola victory from 2024.

Rossi ultimately wound up just under a third-of-a-second clear of Clemens Schmid in the leading Akkodis ASP Team Lexus, with the Japanese sportscar continuing to show much-improved form in 2025. Zacharie Robichon completed the top three in Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin, with Qatar winner Ben Keating able to manage no better than 16th in TF Sport’s Corvette.

Like the GM Cadillacs, the Corvette team is out to lunch. The team’s two Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs will start 10th and 16th in the LM GT3 class for Sunday’s second round of the season. They should have just stayed home.

Full Imola Qualifying Results