Ferrari’s factory 499Ps claimed the top positions on the timing screens in the final practice session of the opening WEC weekend of the season at Imola. Antonio Fuoco put the #50 at the top of the pile with a rapid 1:30.370 on soft Michelins. The sister #51 also dipped into the 1:30s, after an Antonio Giovinazzi flyer to go second.
“We will see how it goes. We know the competition will be tight. The competition is getting closer and closer, but it’s good to be up there. We will do our best to give back the support we have in Imola,” #50 driver Miguel Molina said after the session, when asked about the team’s prospects for pole.
The satellite #83 example was also fast, but not quite fast enough to make it another 1-2-3 for the Italian brand this week ahead of Qualifying this afternoon. Alpine Endurance Team once again turned heads, with the #35 A424 claiming third with a 1:30.712; Charles Milesi once again looked like a threat in the upcoming battle for the best space on the grid.
The #83 settled for fourth, with a hot lap less than a tenth up on the #7 Toyota TR010, which completed the top five. It was tight overall in Hypercar, with the top nine all setting times within a second of the #50.
Ninth in the running was, in fact, the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, which hit trouble. The car, which previously underwent an engine change earlier this week, only completed 15 laps, spending the latter part of the session in the garage with a radiator issue.
Making matters worse for the German marque, the sister #20, which was classified 15th, also spent time in the garage for an inspection after Robin Frijns reported vibrations in the drivetrain.
LMGT3 saw Heart of Racing’s #27 Aston Martin Vantage top the session, with a flyer halfway through the hour from Zach Robichon. That dethroned the #87 AKKODIS ASP Lexus that sat atop the category briefly during Clemens Schmid’s stint behind the wheel.
The #87 would eventually slip to fifth in the category after improvements from the #33 TF Sport Corvette that finished second with Jonny Edgar in at the end, the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG of Rui Andrade and the #69 BMW that took third and fourth respectively.
It was a pretty incident-free session, bar a few minor offs. Attention shifts now to a crucial qualifying session, which gets underway at 14:30 local time.
Image courtesy of Andrew Lofthouse
