Fuoco Narrowly Pips Jaminet to Give Ferrari Pole at Monza

Antonio Fuoco has taken a first FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar pole for Ferrari at Monza after topping a thrilling Hyperpole session on a drying track.

Fuoco clocked a 1:33.364 in the No. 50 Ferrari 499P to ultimately beat Mathieu Jaminet to the fastest time by 0.096 seconds as Genesis narrowly missed out on a second consecutive pole.

It was a challenging session for all the drivers as it represented their driest experience of the weekend of the Monza circuit, which had been resurfaced since the WEC last visited in 2023.

Earl Bamber in the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R was just two-tenths adrift of Fuoco in third, while Antonio Giovinazzi in the second factory Ferrari was fractionally slower in fourth.

Theo Pourchaire qualified an impressive fifth in the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8, within three-tenths of pole, while Victor Martins rounded out the top-six in the No. 36 Signatech Alpine A424 on a 1:33.858.

Norman Nato was seventh in the second Cadillac, while Robert Kubica failed to improve on his final lap in the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari and had to make do with eighth.

The top-ten was then completed by the second Peugeot of Nick Cassidy and the sole WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 that made Hyperpole, the No. 20 machine of Sheldon van der Linde.

Despite looking strong in practice, Charles Milesi missed out on making Hyperpole in the No. 36 Alpine by just 0.074 seconds.

Neither of the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyries progressed and nor did Barcelona polesitter Mathys Jaubert, who will line up in 13th in the No. 17 Genesis.

Both of the Toyota TR010s that are fighting for the drivers’ title also missed out, with points leader Ryo Hirakawa in the No. 8 car edging teammate Kamui Kobayashi by three-tenths in 15th and 16th positions.

Lexus Achieves LMGT3 Pole On Final Outing as Barrichello Misses Out

Hadrien David secured LMGT3 pole on the final WEC appearance for the Lexus RC F GT3 after benefiting from Eduardo Barrichello losing his quickest time for exceeding track limits.

It had looked like the No. 23 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo would steal pole away from the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus until Barrichello’s time, which was nearly half a second faster than David’s, was deleted.

This meant David took a second pole of the season with a 1:47.523, which was just 0.014 seconds faster than the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R of class points leader Jonny Edgar as all the best times were posted on the final laps with the track drying.

Third fastest was Ben Tuck in the No. 77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3 EVO, only 0.058 seconds adrift of David.

Barrichello had to settle for fourth, while the second Lexus of Clemens Schmid was fifth quickest.

A notable car that failed to make it through to Hyperpole was the No. 69 WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Anthony McIntosh, which needed to take pole in order to keep its faintest of title hopes alive.

But McIntosh had several laps deleted and could ultimately set the 16th fastest time.

Closest to making it through was the No. 92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Yasser Shahin, who is Edgar’s nearest rival in the points, was just 0.078 seconds slower than the sister Porsche, which made it through in tenth.

Among those also eliminated were the second of the BMWs, both of the Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 Evos and the pair of AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evos.

There was a red flag almost immediately in the opening session when conditions were at their dampest as Francois Heriau spun into the barriers at the Ascari chicane on his outlap in the No. 21 Ferrari, while Martin Berry had earlier rotated at the Roggia chicane in the No. 61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo but was still able to progress.

Attention now turns to Sunday’s race, which is due to get under way at 11 a.m. CET (5 a.m. ET) and can be watched via FIAWEC+.

RESULTS: Qualifying