Ferrari conquers Imola with first home WEC win in the Hypercar era

Text & Images: Rick Kiewiet

Ferrari gave the Tifosi exactly what they came for with a commanding win in the 6 Hours of Imola. The #51 499P of Calado, Giovinazzi, and Pier Guidi delivered the brand’s first Hypercar victory on home soil, holding off BMW and Alpine in a tense, safety car-heavy race. Track position and tire plus fuel management proved crucial on the tight Italian circuit, and Ferrari executed perfectly when it mattered most.

Hypercar: Ferrari delivers, BMW and Alpine impress, Toyota escapes

From the outset, it was clear that Ferrari held the upper hand in raw pace — but Imola rarely rewards speed without flawless execution. The pole-sitting #51 controlled the opening half, but the race was repeatedly reset by safety cars following incidents at Rivazza. This bunched up the field and allowed challengers from Porsche, BMW, and Toyota to cycle to the front.

A strong middle phase from the #6 Porsche Penske 963 brought it to the front, while Toyota’s #8 GR010 briefly challenged the #51 through strategy. However, neither team could maintain their pace in the final hours. BMW’s #20 M Hybrid V8, driven by van der Linde, Frijns, and Rast, emerged as a legitimate threat after surviving rear-boyd damage and leveraging a smart fuel strategy to cycle into second.

The biggest surprise came from Alpine, who vaulted into podium contention with an aggressive final push on soft tyres. Gounon, Schumacher, and Makowiecki brought the #36 A424 home in third, scoring Alpine’s first top-three in the new Hypercar era.

The second AF Corse-run Ferrari, the #83, started on the front row but slipped down the order after losing track position in the fourth hour. Kubica salvaged fourth but missed out on a double podium for the Prancing Horse.

Toyota’s #8 recovered to fifth after a tense battle with the #50 Ferrari, which had charged from the back of the grid after it had its lap times deleted due to track limits. That car’s comeback fell apart late when contact with the Toyota at Tamburello led to a puncture and a costly extra stop, dropping it out of the points.

Porsche’s Penske entries saw their strategy unravel in the closing stages. The #6 fell from podium contention to eighth, while the #5 finished outside the top ten. Cadillac, Peugeot, and Aston Martin remained largely anonymous throughout, while the #15 BMW faded late after losing downforce.

LMGT3: Manthey edges WRT in dramatic late-race duel

In LMGT3, Manthey EMA claimed its first win of the season with the #92 Porsche 911 GT3 R, driven by Lietz, Hardwick, and Pera. The victory came after a late surge through the order and a daring strategy call to double-stint soft tyres in the final hours. It was just enough to hold off the #46 WRT BMW, which had looked destined to win before a mid-race penalty changed the story.

Valentino Rossi’s clash with Simon Mann’s Ferrari eliminated the #21 Vista AF Corse from podium aspirations and earned the #46 a stop-go penalty. Despite that, van der Linde pushed the BMW back into second with a strong closing stint, but fell just short at the flag.

AKKODIS ASP had its best WEC weekend to date, with both Lexus RC F GT3s finishing inside the top five. The #78 took third ahead of the sister #87, showcasing clear improvements in pace and consistency compared to their 2024 struggles.

Vista AF Corse recovered to fifth with the #54 Ferrari, while the two TF Sport Corvettes made the most of a difficult weekend to secure points in sixth and seventh. The #81 in particular impressed with a clean, error-free run despite lacking front-running speed.

Further down the order, Heart of Racing’s weekend ended early after a heavy crash for Ian James, while The Bend WRT BMW received a penalty for its role in the incident. The #27 Vantage had shown podium-level pace before the accident.

Next race is in three weeks already: Saturday the 10th of May it's time for the 6h of Spa.