Reigning world champion Ferrari continued its commanding form during the afternoon session of today’s FIA World Endurance Championship Prologue at Imola (14 April), although a tightening spread at the sharp end suggested the opposition is closing in ahead of the season opener.
After defending Drivers’ champion Antonio Giovinazzi set the benchmark in the morning, Antonio Fuoco moved to the top of the timesheets in the afternoon, improving by four tenths to edge out his compatriot and secure early honours at Ferrari’s home circuit. Fuoco ultimately led Robert Kubica by just 0.126s, with the Polish driver once again impressing in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P that won last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. Giovinazzi also found further pace to remain firmly in contention, ending the session third and within two tenths of the leading time.
Elsewhere in Hypercar, Genesis Magma Racing continued its productive early mileage, completing 204 laps as the GMR-001 showed steady gains, improving by 0.350s through Mathieu Jaminet’s running. Aston Martin THOR Team’s Valkyrie, however, remained sidelined for the afternoon following Marco Sørensen’s morning incident.
BMW emerged as Ferrari’s closest challenger in the longer runs, with Robin Frijns at the wheel of the #20 car cutting the deficit from over a second in the morning to just 0.532s, while Alpine’s pair of A424s maintained consistent pace in close formation to complete the top six.
In LMGT3, home favourite Mattia Drudi topped the times for Heart of Racing Team in the Aston Martin Vantage, but the class remained exceptionally tight throughout. Alessio Rovera placed second in VISTA AF Corse’s Ferrari 296, with Tom Fleming third in the Garage 59 McLaren. TF Sport’s Corvettes followed closely behind, as Charlie Eastwood narrowly outpaced teammate Jonny Edgar in a field where the top five were separated by just 0.178s.
Track action resumes with free practice on Friday 17 April, ahead of qualifying and Hyperpole at 14:30 CEST on Saturday. The season-opening six-hour race gets underway at 13:00 CEST on Sunday.
Fastest Times (PM Session)
Hypercar
1. Antonio Fuoco Ferrari AF Corse 1m31.177s
2. Robert Kubica AF Corse +0.126s
3. Antonio Giovinazzi Ferrari AF Corse +0.198s
4. Robin Frijns BMW M Team WRT +0.532s
5. Jules Gounon Alpine Endurance Team +0.695s
6. Charles Milesi Alpine Endurance Team +0.699s
7. Malthe Jakobsen Team Peugeot TotalEnergies +0.929s
8. Kevin Magnussen BMW M Team WRT +1.027s
9. Sébastien Buemi TOYOTA RACING +1.232s
10. Stoffel Vandoorne Team Peugeot TotalEnergies +1.291s
LMGT3
1. Mattia Drudi Heart of Racing Team 1m42.698s
2. Alessio Rovera VISTA AF Corse +0.051s
3. Tom Fleming Garage 59 +0.116s
4. Charlie Eastwood Racing Team Turkey by TF +0.128s
5. Jonny Edgar TF Sport +0.178s
6. Parker Thompson Team WRT +0.261s
7. Maxime Martin Iron Lynx +0.353s
8. Augusto Farfus Team WRT +0.380s
9. Finn Gehrsitz Garage 59 +0.400s
10. Davide Rigon VISTA AF Corse +0.444s
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