Ferrari Back on Top in FP3 at Imola, Alpine Third

Ferrari returned to the top of the FIA World Endurance Championship timesheets in final practice ahead of Sunday’s 6 Hours of Imola, with Antonio Fuoco leading the way.

The Italian posted a 1:30.370 in the opening minutes of the hour-long FP3 at the wheel of the No. 50 Ferrari 499P to finish up three tenths quicker than the sister No. 51 car of Antonio Giovinazzi, who managed a 1:30.693.

Alpine had topped FP2 on Friday and the French manufacturer prevented Ferrari from locking out the top-three positions with Charles Milesi clocking a 1:30.712 in the No. 35 Alpine A424 to be four tenths adrift of Fuoco’s benchmark.

The satellite AF Corse-run No. 83 Ferrari was fourth fastest in the hands of Robert Kubica, who posted a 1:30.894.

While the top four all used the soft compound Michelin tires to set their laps, the best of the medium-shod runners was Nyck de Vries in the No. 7 Toyota TR010 Hybrid, the Dutchman achieving a 1:30.946 to be six tenths off the fastest Ferrari.

Sixth quickest was the best of the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA V-Series.Rs, the No. 12 machine of Norman Nato managing a 1:31.121 with the American manufacturer another to use medium rubber in FP3.

Seventh and eighth fastest were the respective second Toyota and Cadillac crews, while ninth was the pick of the Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8s, the No. 15 machine of Kevin Magnussen with a 1:31.343. It was a tricky session for the German manufacturer as its No. 15 car had radiator trouble and ended the session early, while the sister No. 20 missed a chunk of the session while drivetrain vibrations were investigated.

The top ten was then rounded out by the best of the Peugeot 9X8s, the No. 94 entry of Malthe Jakobsen registering a 1:31.415 with the French marque another to use the medium compound.

The first of the Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Valkyries occupied 11th spot, thanks to a 1:31.464 from Harry Tincknell in the No. 007 car.

It was a strong showing from Genesis Magma Racing as the lead GMR-001 was 12th among the 17-strong Hypercar class, with Mathieu Jaminet setting a 1:31.601 in the No. 19 car to be just 1.2 seconds adrift of Ferrari.

Among the LMGT3 ranks, it was again the No. 27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo that has frequently been towards the top of the class leaderboard that set the pace with Mattia Drudi registering a 1:41.973.

That put the Aston just 0.025 seconds ahead of the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of Jonny Edgar as the class was again very tightly-matched.

Maxime Martin in the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was third fastest on a 1:42.139, while the No. 69 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO was fourth with a 1:42.203 set by Parker Thompson.

The best of the Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3s occupied fifth spot, the No. 87 of Clemens Schmid fractionally quicker of the squad’s two cars with a 1:42.343.

The competitive times continued down the leaderboard with 16 of the 18 crews within a second of Drudi’s benchmark.

There were again no major interruptions to the session with teams able to bag plenty more mileage around the Imola circuit.

Attention now turns to qualifying this afternoon, with the first LMGT3 session due to begin at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. EST), with the Hypercars then set to head out at 3:10 p.m (9:10 a.m. EST).

RESULTS: FP3