FIA World Endurance Championship - 6 Hours of Imola - Home Glory for the Tifosi at Imola

The FIA World Endurance Championship returned to Italy for the 6 Hours of Imola, delivering a thrilling weekend packed with drama, heartbreak, and home-soil glory for the Tifosi.

LMGT3 QUALIFYING

Qualifying kicked off with the LMGT3 class, with early pace being shown from the two Team WRT BMW’s of Yasser Shahin and Ahmad Al Harthy in the #31 and #46 respectively, provisionally locking out the front row. However, as the session unfolded, the order shuffled dramatically, with the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F LMGT3 of Arnold Robin jumping into third, and the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of François Heriau into second position, unable to dethrone Al Harthy in the #46 BMW M4 LMGT3. By the end, the sister #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW of Yasser Shahin was pushed out of the top ten, unable to advance to Hyperpole.

LMGT3 HYPERPOLE

Hyperpole saw local hero Valentino Rossi shine, in front of his home crowd, he piloted the #46 Team WRT BMW, and took on the early pace with a 1:43.836. After a tense back-and-forth battle with the #87 Lexus and #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 Evo, the Lexus had a track limit violation on their final lap, seeing their time deleted, handing Rossi a pole position in Imola with a 1:42.355.

HYPERCAR QUALIFYING

In the Hypercar class, Ferrari asserted their dominance and authority, with the #51, #83 and #50 Ferrari’s locking out the top three spots, however a track limit violation knocked the #50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P of Antonio Fuoco out of Hyperpole contention, while the #51 of Antonio Giovinazzi was quickest with a 1:29.623. This late deletion of the track for the #50 Ferrari gave the #93 Peugeot 9X8 the final position to continue through to Hyperpole. Surprisingly, Toyota and Alpine were the only manufacturers with both of their cars within the top ten to advance further.

HYPERCAR HYPERPOLE

During Hyperpole, it was a trading of fastest laps between the #8 Toyota of Ryō Hirakawa and the #15 BMW of Dries Vanthoor, just before the #51 Ferrari of Antonio Giovinazzi unleashed a blistering lap time of a 1:28.920, securing pole position on home soil with a firm seven-tenths advantage. The #83 privateer Ferrari 499P secured second position, with the BMW just behind in third. Toyota occupied fourth and sixth, while the two Alpine’s lined up seventh and ninth, with the #12 Hertz Team Jota Cadillac in fifth, the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry in eighth, and the #93 Peugeot in tenth.

RACE

As the field rolled off for the formation laps, and as the green flag waved, the #50 Ferrari wasted no time at all, gaining three positions on the opening lap, showcasing the aggressive intent of the Prancing Horse on home soil after starting in the last position. Not long after, the first incident of the race occurred, between the two Alpine Hypercars, who were caught up in a tangle that saw them with some minor damage, disrupting their rhythm before the first hour had finished. The #50 Ferrari continued its forward momentum, getting past the #5 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry at Piratella, meanwhile, in LMGT3, the #33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 LMGT3 of Ben Keating ended up in the gravel at turn one after contact with Célia Martin in the #85 Iron Dames Porsche 992 LMGT3, prompting the first full course yellow period to clear debris.

Once the racing resumed, the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 took advantage of the restart, and snatched the lead in the LMGT3 class from Valentino Rossi in the #46 Team WRT BMW. It was the start of an intense back-and-forth, while the #50 Ferrari 499P continued its impressive run through the field, picking off the #94 Peugeot shortly after the restart, while the stewards handed the #85 Iron Dames Porsche a drive-through penalty for the earlier contact, while the #12 Jota Cadillac, #35 Alpine and #88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang LMGT3 were given the same penalties for full course yellow procedures.

Contact between the #38 Cadillac and #94 Peugeot saw the Cadillac forced off at Acque Minerali, while the #5 Porsche lost some ground after the two rejoined dangerously ahead. Soon after, the #88 Mustang and the #54 Ferrari made contact too, forcing the Mustang off-track with damage, with bodywork flapping off the Mustang.

A major part of the race occurred when the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage LMGT3 Evo of Ian James found himself in the wall at the first Rivazza, after contact with the #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 of Yasser Shahin. This prompted a safety car to be deployed, and seeing Shahin hit with a stop and go penalty. After the green flag returned, the attrition continued, seeing the #20 BMW suffering from rear-right damage following contact with the #7 Toyota, dropping debris down the front straight and bringing yet another full course yellow. Interestingly, while the #7 Toyota pitted immediately, the #20 BMW did not, raising questions about pit protocol under FCY. 

In the LMGT3 field, Valentino Rossi, cheered on by his home fans, clawed his way back into the top three, when around the halfway point, he moved up to second position, right before a string of chaotic events unfolded. The #21 Ferrari overtook the #31 BMW for second in class, setting up a lead battle with Rossi that would become one of the race’s most controversial moments. Soon after, Rossi collided with the #21 Ferrari of Simon Mann, punting it into the gravel at the second Rivazza, and snatched the lead in a dramatic and aggressive manoeuvre. The incident brought out a virtual safety car, and ended the race for the #21, marking the second retirement of the race.

With just over two hours of the race remaining, rain began to fall, prompting the race to be officially declared as wet. Rossi was expectedly handed a stop and go penalty for his part in the incident, dropping him to eighth position, but the Italian wasn’t done yet, with a stunning move around the outside of the #10 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin, seeing him regain third position. 

In the Hypercar class, the front-runners engaged in an intense strategic chess match, with the #6 Porsche leading the race until a critical mistake allowed the #51 Ferrari, driven by Antonio Giovinazzi, to reclaim the lead. Meanwhile, the #7 Toyota, piloted by Nyck de Vries, surged up to third place, passing the wounded #20 BMW. As the pit cycles played out, the #50 Ferrari continued its aggressive strategy, only to collide with the #8 Toyota at turn one, cutting through the gravel and suffering a rear-left puncture, from then on, it was a damage-limitation exercise for the weaker of the factory Ferrari cars. 

Further chaos erupted with the #31 BMW earned a black-and-orange flag for a loose end plate, and later a drive-through penalty for an unsafe rejoin, nearly causing another major incident. The final pit stops for the leads began with just over sixty-seven minutes remaining, with the #7 Toyota, #6 Porsche, #15 BMW, #35 Alpine and #94 Peugeot all pitted in a train. Meanwhile, with just thirteen minutes to go, the #51 Ferrari came into the pits to serve it’s final stop, handing over the lead to the #83 Ferrari, but eventually pitted with nine minutes to go.

The last lap saw an electrifying battle in LMGT3 between the #92 Manthey 1st Phorm Porsche 992 LMGT3 and Valentino Rossi’s #46 BMW M4 LMGT3. The pair were nose-to-tail, trading time sector by sector, but ultimately the Porsche held on by the slimmest of margins, claiming a thrilling class win, while the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus finished third. In the Hypercar field, the #51 AF Corse Ferrari crossed the line first, completing a sensational performance that included pole position and a near-flawless race execution, with the #20 BMW and #36 Alpine rounding out the podium, and the #83 Ferrari and #8 Toyota completed the top five. 

HYPERCAR DRIVERS’ & MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

After two rounds of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship complete, the #51 Ferrari of James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi lead the championship after finishing third in Qatar, and winning Imola with 50 points. The privateer #83 AF Corse Ferrari sits second with 39 points, while the Qatar winning Ferrari of Antonio Fuoco, Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen sit just a point behind them in third. The two BMW’s from Team WRT sit nicely in fourth and fifth with 27 and 26 points respectively, while the #8 Toyota with 25 points, and the #7 Toyota with 18 points. After winning the 2024 championship, the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport entry sits eleventh in the standings with just 4 points. Ferrari comfortably lead the manufacturers’ championship with 92 points, with BMW following behind with 63, and Toyota with 53. Aston Martin is the only manufacturer this year not to score points, with Alpine, Porsche, Cadillac and Peugeot sitting with 15, 12, 11 and 10 points respectively.

LMGT3 DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP

After finishing seventh in Imola, the #33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette retains the lead in the LMGT3 championship with 44 points, followed by the #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus with 33 points, and the #59 United Autosports McLaren 720s LMGT3 Evo in third with 27 points. Race winning #92 Manthey 1st Phorm climb to fourth in the standings, while Rossi’s #46 Team WRT BMW sit sixth with 19 points, just behind the sister #31 BMW with 23 points. Similarly to Hypercar, only one manufacturer has not scored points in 2025, with the Iron Lynx Mercedes’ failing to score points on their second outing in the series.

FERRARI DOMINATE

Anticipation builds as the 2025 season is truly underway, while we are less than two months away from the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The next round of the championship heads to the Ardennes for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps on the 9th and 10th May.

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