Ferrari celebrated a win on home soil for the first time in the FIA World Endurance Championship after a battling to victory at the 6 Hours of Imola on Sunday. Although not as comfortable as the team’s pace in qualifying and free practice suggested, Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi kept a cool head across multiple interruptions to secure the win for the #51 Ferrari AF Corse by just over 8 seconds.
The victory was the first for a Ferrari on home turf in sportscar racing since 1973, when Brian Redman and Jacky Ickx triumphed in the 1000 Kilometers in Monza. It also marked a return to the winner’s circle for Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinaazi for the first time since the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In a race that was dominated by off-sync tyre strategy, the top ten were regularly reshuffled over the course of each stint. Only towards the end of the race did it become clear that the #51 Ferrari would maintain its advantage through to the chequered flag.
Second was the #20 BMW M Team WRT of René Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde – matching the best result achieved by the German manufacturer returned to the global prototype stage. At times, both the #20 and the #15 cars challenged for the lead in what was an extremely promising performance by the BMW team.
The final step on the podium went the way of Alpine Endurance Team after a strong showing by the #36 A424 of Mick Schumacher, Frédéric Makowiecki and Jules Gounon. The French squad sprung a surprise on the likes of Toyota, AF Corse and Porsche by leapfrogging the trio over the course of the final stint. Stand-out performer was undoubtedly Schumacher, who once again was one of the quickest drivers of the weekend.
Toyota and Porsche hopes dashed despite heroic defence
Porsche’s Kévin Estre (#6) and Toyota’s Sébastien Buemi (#8) put on an exhibition of defensive driving as they attempted to hold strong positions in the second half of the race while on older tyres.
Benefiting from the narrow track at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Estre held Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi (#7) at bay for numerous laps before the Japanese driver edged past shortly before the penultimate pit stops. Estre and his teammates Laurens Vanthoor and Matt Campbell put in an excellent performance despite not having an advantage on pace, even leading the race as it reached a conclusion. However, the final pit stop relegated the Porsche crew down the order, and they ultimately finished 8th.
Toyota will be frustrated with their weekend in Italy, with both the #7 and #8 GR010 Hybrids unable to capitalise on solid race pace. Choosing an alternate strategy for the final part of the race, Buemi, Hartley and Hirakawa looked in with a shot of the podium as the race came to a conclusion. However, the older tyres on the works Toyotas denied them a final podium push as they settled for P5 and P7.
Porsche victorious in LMGT3 after gripping finale
The #92 Manthey 1ST Phorm Porsche prevailed in the LMGT3 category despite the best efforts of the hard-charging #46 Team WRT BMW behind. Entering the final stint, Porsche driver Richard Lietz held a slim advantage over Kelvin van der Linde and managed to stay in front, winning by just 0.3 seconds to deny van der Linde’s teammate Valentino Rossi a famous home win.
Lexus finally arrived in the FIA WEC after a disappointing 2024, taking the final spot on the podium as well as P4. The #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 of Arnold Robin, Finn Gehrsitz and Estaban Masson took the honours of the Japanese manufacturer’s maiden WEC podium.
Relive the race action as it happened with our Live Ticker here. The full race results are available here. The next round of the FIA WEC, the 6 Hours of Spa, takes place in just three weeks’ time at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
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