Ferrari got here out on high on the finish of an exciting race on residence floor at Imola to say its second victory of the 2025 World Endurance Championship season.
James Calado, Antonio Giovinazzi and Alessandro Pier Guidi triumphed aboard the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar by solely 8.4s on the finish of a race they threatened to dominate.
Two full security automobiles and two of the digital sort turned the Imola 6 Hours right into a tactical chess sport wherein BMW, Alpine, Toyota and Porsche emerged as contenders within the latter phases.
BMW and Alpine equalled their greatest leads to the WEC to this point with their respective LMDh equipment with second and third positions.
The #20 WRT BMW Hybrid V8 shared by Rene Rast, Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde took the runner-up place with the Alpine pushed by Frederic Makowiecki, Jules Gounon and Mick Schumacher 3.8s in arrears.
The profitable manufacturing facility AF Corse Ferrari dominated the opening hours from pole place, Calado establishing some respiratory area over the chasing buyer AF-run buyer 499P with Phil Hanson on the wheel.
On the first spherical of pitstops on the finish of the opening hour, the main Ferrari had a bonus of almost 3s over the privateer entry, whereas best-of-the-rest Kevin Magnussen within the #15 WRT BMW was an extra 15s in arrears.
The 2 Ferraris had been nonetheless sitting fairly on the head of the sector late within the second hour when the primary security automotive was known as.
The intervention allowed the Hypercar groups to combine up their methods on gasoline and tyres, which opened up the race over the ultimate two thirds of the competition.
Pier Guidi was in entrance earlier than nearly all of the main contenders made splash-and-dash gasoline stops within the final hour, the Italian calling into the pits for the ultimate time with simply 12 minutes left on the clock.
The BMW and the Alpine had made their stops barely earlier after short-fuelling so as to achieve monitor place throughout the second security automotive, however moved again up the order within the dying minutes.
The BMW got here again from a conflict with the #7 Toyota with Mike Conway on the wheel that resulted in a broken rear bodywork.
#20 BMW M Crew WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Rene Rast, Robin Frijns, Sheldon Van Der Linde
Photograph by: Shameem Fahath
The client AF Ferrari that Hanson shared with Yifei Ye and Robert Kubica took fourth after the last-named ducked out of the lead with eight minutes remaining.
The #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid LMH shared by Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa and Sebastien Buemi took fifth, having gone onto an alternate technique after dropping time with a drive-through penalty for rushing beneath Full Course Yellow.
The #20 BMW wherein Magnussen was teamed with Raffaelo Marciello and Dries Vanthoor rounded out the highest six.
Toyota claimed seventh with the GR010 wherein Conway was joined by Nyck de Vries and Kamui Kobayashi, forward of the perfect of the manufacturing facility Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 LMDhs, pushed by Matt Campbell, Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre.
Peugeot and Cadillac received a automotive every within the factors, #93 taking ninth for the French producer, #12 tenth for the American.
The efforts of Nicklas Nielsen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fuoco to battle again from final place on the Hypercar grid got here to nought within the closing hour.
Fuoco was battling with Buemi when contact into the Tamburello chicane despatched him into the gravel, the Ferrari sustaining a rear puncture that left it down in fifteenth place on the chequered flag.
LMGT3: Rossi loses out
#46 Crew WRT BMW M4 LMGT3: Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, Kelvin Van Der Linde, #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Francois Heriau, Simon Mann, Alessio Rovera
Photograph by: Andreas Beil
House hero Valentino Rossi misplaced out on victory in LMGT3 with the BMW WRT staff by lower than a second.
Kelvin van der Linde on the wheel of the #46 BMW M4 GT3 Evo was all around the again of the #92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3-R pushed by Richard Lietz over the ultimate lap.
The BMW, wherein Ahmad Al Harthy joined Rossi and van der Linde, was simply three tenths behind the Porsche co-driven by Ryan Hardwick and Riccardo Pera on the flag.
Rossi regarded on the right track to comply with up on his first WEC pole place with a maiden victory till he made contact with the #21 Ferrari 296 GT3 pushed by Simon Mann trying to retake the lead.
The ensuing drive-through penalty disadvantaged him and his team-mates of a near-certain victory.
Third in school went to the Auto Sport Promotion Lexs RC F GT3 shared by Arnold Robin, Finn Gehrsitz and Esteban Masson.
Pictures from 6 Hours of Imola – Race
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