It was a dream day for the Italian faithful at the iconic Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, as two of their greatest motorsport icons lit up qualifying for the 6 Hours of Imola – round two of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship. Ferrari soared to the top in Hypercar, while none other than Valentino Rossi sent the grandstands into a frenzy by grabbing LMGT3 pole, delivering a qualifying masterclass on home soil.
Giovinazzi Unstoppable in Hypercar
Antonio Giovinazzi continues to be the man to beat in Hyperpole this season. After edging out the field in Qatar, the Italian turned the wick up at Imola, posting a blistering lap that left the competition reeling – a staggering 0.758 seconds clear of his closest challenger. It was domination in red as Ferrari’s #51 AF Corse 499P once again asserted its supremacy.
“It’s always incredible to qualify in front of the tifosi,” beamed Giovinazzi. “The car has been amazing since the first session. I was worried about track limits, but I tried to hook everything up. It’s hard to get the perfect lap, but I think we nailed it today.”
The front row has a distinctly Ferrari flavor, with the #83 AF Corse machine – driven by Robert Kubica – lining up alongside, despite the team battling mechanical gremlins earlier in the day.
BMW M Team WRT’s Dries Vanthoor slotted into third with a solid effort in the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, while TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s Ryō Hirakawa and Nyck de Vries were practically inseparable in fourth and fifth – just a microscopic 0.001 seconds apart. Mick Schumacher rounded out the top six for Alpine, continuing to impress in his endurance debut season.
Further down the field, Jean-Éric Vergne put Peugeot into seventh, while Charles Milesi survived a few off-track excursions to claim eighth for Alpine. Alex Lynn bounced back heroically from a crash in FP3 to take ninth in the rebuilt #12 Cadillac, and reigning champ Kévin Estre could only manage tenth for Porsche Penske Motorsport, which continues to search for answers.
Meanwhile, heartbreak struck for the #50 Ferrari AF Corse squad as Antonio Fuoco – last year’s Imola pole-sitter – lost his spot in Hyperpole due to a track limits infraction. The reigning Le Mans winners will now start a distant 18th.
Valentino Rossi Brings the House Down in LMGT3
Just minutes before Giovinazzi’s fireworks, the crowd had already erupted thanks to a heroic performance from Valentino Rossi. The Doctor delivered his first-ever LMGT3 pole position – and BMW’s first of the season – with a vintage display in the #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 EVO.
It was teammate Ahmad Al-Harthy who laid the groundwork with a rocket lap early in the session, but it was Rossi who sealed the deal under pressure in Hyperpole. Despite one of his initial flyers being deleted for a track limits violation, the motorsport legend regrouped and delivered a lap for the ages.
“The track limits were tricky – if you push a little too much, you’re out,” Rossi laughed. “Ahmad put in a fantastic lap, and I felt the pressure! I actually did another track limits mistake, but luckily the car had great grip and I was able to push again and get the time.”
Rossi’s reward? A commanding pole by nearly three-tenths of a second over Clemens Schmid in the ever-improving Akkodis ASP Lexus. Zacharie Robichon completed the top three for Heart of Racing’s Aston Martin. Qatar winner Ben Keating had a tougher time, qualifying only 16th in the TF Sport Corvette.
Race Day Beckons
With the home crowd buzzing and the front rows painted in Ferrari red and Rossi blue, the stage is set for a spectacular showdown at Imola. The 6 Hours of Imola kicks off at 13:00 CET on Sunday, 20 April.
Catch all the action live or on demand via the official FIAWEC TV app – your ticket to every twist and turn of world-class endurance racing.
