6 Hours of Imola: Giovinazzi gives Ferrari pole position ahead of surprise Toyota, Peugeot on the second row

Antonio Givonazzi was expected, just like Antonio Fuoco in the Classic Ferrari for sale No. 50. In this instance, although both drivers from the two most supported Italian teams on the sidelines of the Imola 6 Hours were present, they truly believed they had lost pole position for a moment. While Antonio Giovinazzi managed to snatch the fastest time in the very last moments with a lap of 1:30.127, the Toyota Ryo Hirakawa's No. 8 almost spoiled the party in Emilia-Romagna. By just 11 thousandths of a second, the Japanese driver nearly snatched the top spot from the Ferraris, already a few thousandths of a second ahead of Antonio Fuoco, who was third.

Far from being a poor result, Malthe Jakobsen's fourth place, secured thanks to a superb lap of exactly 1:30.200 – just 73 thousandths of a second off pole position – certainly confirms the strong form of the #94 crew throughout the weekend. This is the smallest gap between the top four in qualifying in the history of the premier category. Regularly in the top 5, even during Free Practice, the Peugeot team, for example, qualified ahead of Norman Nato's #12 Cadillac, and also...Alpine No. 35 of Charles Milesi (7th). It's worth noting that Charles Milesi experienced a brief moment of excitement when he took his Alpine A424 in the gravel, before setting off again on another fast lap.

Right at the gates of the Hyperpole, the other AlpineThe No. 36 car, driven by Jules Gounon during qualifying, missed the top 10 by a few thousandths of a second. Despite a small gap created with theAston Martin Number 007, the French driver, did not allow the A team to position both its cars in Hyperpole. Unfortunately, for Genesis Magma Racing, the expected scenario played out, but the two crews will start from 16th and 17th places. With only a small gap to their rivals, the two Genesis cars still seem too unstable, although they possess interesting potential for the 6 Hours of Imola and the rest of the season. WEC.

Finally, in the LMGT3 category, Thomas Fleming managed to take the McLaren Entered by Garage 59, he secured pole position. With a time of 1:41.181, the Briton outpaced Frenchman Hadrien David in his Akkodis Lexus. The Hyperpole session was somewhat disrupted when Turkish driver Salih Yoluc, piloting the No. 34 Corvette, got stuck in the gravel trap just minutes after an initial scare. This crew had, however, set the fastest time in qualifying prior to the Hyperpole session.

The 6 Hours of Imola will now see all these drivers meet this Sunday at 1 p.m. (French time) for the start of the race. Our live text commentary will be available from noon until the end of the Italian race.

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WEC – 6 Hours of Imola
The standings after qualifying and the Hyperpole

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LMGT3