Tag: Antonio Fuoco

Ferrari goes back to back with No. 50 victorious at Le Mans

Ferrari AF Corse claimed a second Le Mans 24 Hours overall victory in a row with the 499P, its No. 50 trio of Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen triumphant after fighting through rain showers and gruelling conditions to beat the …

Ferrari AF Corse claimed a second Le Mans 24 Hours overall victory in a row with the 499P, its No. 50 trio of Miguel Molina, Antonio Fuoco and Nicklas Nielsen triumphant after fighting through rain showers and gruelling conditions to beat the Toyota, Porsche and Cadillac front-runners at the Circuit de La Sarthe

The first overall Le Mans (and WEC) win for the No. 50 crew came in front of a sellout crowd that stayed to the end to catch the conclusion of what will surely be considered an all-time classic; an epic-multi-manufacturer fight that was action-packed from lap one to 311.

In years to come this race will of course be remembered for its gripping finale, when Nielsen crossed the line running on air in the winning car, sparking tears of joy and wild celebrations in the Ferrari garage.

What will stand out most on reflection is surely the weather, and the role it played in the outcome. Rain showers came and went from the second hour all the way through to the end.

Time and time again the running order was shuffled in all three classes by sudden downpours — sometimes light, sometimes heavy — which forced all teams to make periodic gambles on tire choice. It also caused multiple safety cars which reset the field after comfortable gaps had been built by class leaders.

For everyone watching, it was a highly entertaining contest as the race ebbed and flowed through the changing conditions. It remained highly unpredictable right up to the flag and delivered on the promise that Balance of Performance racing makes.

The first half was a true battle for survival, many cars retiring or hitting trouble by nightfall before the race’s longest safety car for barrier repairs in heavy rain that lasted hours.

When the sun rose again, the field bunched up by safety cars, all three classes became a sprint in the closing hours between the cars on the lead lap. Proof of just how tight this was can be found on the final results sheet, the top nine in Hypercar finishing on the lead lap (remarkably, the first time in history more than two cars have done so), with the top four separated by less than 40s. If you ran this race again multiple times, you’d have likely seen wildly different outcomes.

The closing stages came down to a battle between four manufacturers. Porsche had its moments, and Cadillac did too, before Toyota and Ferrari became engaged in a head-to-head showdown while time ticked away.

 

In the end, Ferrari AF Corse survived the challenges of Mother Nature to defend its 2023 win and score its 11th overall victory.

With the trio of Fuoco, Nielsen and Molina prevailing, it was a stark change in fortunes after they were forced to watch from the sidelines as their teammates in the sister car claimed the historic victory in last year’s centenary edition.

Unsurprisingly, due to the conditions and the level of competition in Hypercar, this was a race that took everything out of the winning crew.

En route to victory, they overcame a late order to the pits to fix a malfunctioning door that wouldn’t stay closed, a rapidly depleting energy store and worn out rain tires on their third stint to beat the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 to the line. The winners also narrowly avoided being handed a penalty for an unsafe release late in the race, and a penalty for a “technical infringement” that was investigated but not acted on by race control.

The final hour became a nail-biter with the No. 50 off sequence due to the dramas with the door. It pitted for a final time with 50 minutes remaining, forcing Nielsen to manage a lead gap and fuel save at the same time, while being chased hard by Toyota’s super sub Jose Maria Lopez.

Lopez, who got the call to replace injured Mike Conway just last week, was pushed to his limit in the run to the flag, fighting through power issues that required a control-alt-delete and recovering from a costly spin at the Dunlop Bridge. All this after the car had dropped precious time in the final hours to a pair of slow punctures that forced the car in for unscheduled tire changes.

 

Ultimately Lopez was unsuccessful in his pursuit of Nielsen — who finished with just two percent of his virtual energy tank left in the final stint — finishing 14s back in an admirable job of reminding the paddock of his talents behind the wheel of a prototype.

He, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck De Vries can leave La Sarthe with their heads held high. They weren’t always the quickest (or even the quickest Toyota crew), but they left it all out on the field.

“There is no word at the moment,” declared Fuoco in reaction to the victory. “This is just amazing. All the team did an amazing job today and we deserve it.”

Nielsen waxed about how much of an achievement it is to have back-to-back victories shared by both Ferrari factory entries.

“It was, to be honest, a very long one,” he said. “Especially after the issue we had with the door…I actually thought everything was lost. I knew the pace was really good in the wet by the end. I mean, it was a very long last lap as well.

“I don’t even know what to say. It’s just amazing to be here, to finally win the race that I’ve always wanted to win. Seeing the sister car win it last year, was obviously a proud moment for everyone. And then, I think for us to take it this year – it’s an even greater achievement to do it back to back.”

Completing the podium was the sister factory Ferrari, which spent the closing moments trying to hold off the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 that Kevin Estre put on the pole Thursday night.

Laurens Vanthoor — who drove more than half the race in the No. 6 — clawed the Porsche closer to the No. 51 piloted by Pier Guidi and narrowed the gap a little over a second, but Pier Guidi held on for a third-place finish alongside James Calado and Antonio Giovinazzi.

Vanthoor, Estre and Andre Lotterer were fourth — Porsche’s wait for a 20th overall win here continues — with the No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 of Sebastien Buemi, Brendon Hartley and Ryo Hirakawa fifth.

One of the big question marks from the race concerns the No. 8 Toyota. The car was in the running for the win in the second half of the race, and would likely have been there or thereabouts for the victory at the end had the No. 51 Ferrari not turned it into a spin at Mulsanne Corner in the 22nd hour.

The time lost from that collision will surely be a topic of conversation in the race’s aftermath.

Buemi was captured by the TV cameras distraught after Pier Guidi and Hartley came together. He knew that was likely the moment their chances of scoring Toyota a sixth Le Mans win ended.

The No. 2 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R of Earl Bamber, Alex Lynn and Alex Palou looked in contention for a podium, but eventually finished seventh.

It was an extremely tough race for the three-pronged GM effort in the top class with Cadillac, but the No. 2, despite its finishing position, looked more likely to win than it did last year when it finished on the overall podium.

It wasn’t a fully clean race for the WEC-entered prototype, but it had pace in certain conditions and led during the final hours as the team was on a different pit strategy before fading. A detached wiper blade in heavy rain cost Lynn time and eventually dropped the car behind the No. 5 PPM 963 of Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki.

Further back, JOTA’s pair of 963s came home eighth and ninth, as the final cars on the lead lap. For the plucky HERTZ Team JOTA squad, this wasn’t a barnstorming, romping victory like its most recent result in the WEC 6 Hours of Spa, but Sam Hignett, David Clarke and the whole team will leave Le Mans filled with pride.

JOTA was taxed to the extreme this week, particularly the mechanics on the No. 12 963 who had to build a car up from scratch ahead of the race after the original tub was damaged beyond repair in a practice incident. In just 24 hours the sleep-deprived team turned a bare monocoque into a fully built-up 963, in time to complete a pre-race shakedown on the airfield.

 

Remarkably, that car finished the race without any significant hiccups, coming home first of the four privateer Hypercars.

The No. 38 sister car took second in the Hypercar World Cup classification, while Proton claimed third despite a dire weekend for its privateer Porsche crew who battled a broken door and mechanical issues all the way to the end, finishing 60 laps down.

Off the lead lap, the first of Lamborghini’s SC63s came home 10th in what was an encouraging but quiet 24-hour debut for the new LMDh.

Peugeot also finished off the lead lap and outside the top 10 with its pair of 2024 9X8s. Both cars stayed reliable, though mostly invisible. It was not the performance on home soil the French marque would have hoped for when it finished the development work on its revised LMH challenger…

Due to the conditions, and the size of the Hypercar field (23 cars), there was a fair amount of attrition throughout.

For Alpine and its pair of A424s, the race was a total disaster, both cars retired with engine trouble before the 90-lap mark.

BMW’s M Hybrid V8s operated by Team WRT also had a weekend to forget — the No. 15’s performance in qualifying will seem like an age ago to the team, which now need to bounce back fast after both cars crashed out.

Ganassi’s No. 3 Cadillac was another car that showed pace pre-race, but failed to finish, the car suffering a punctured oil-tank.

Perhaps the most dramatic retirement, though, was that of the No. 83 AF Corse privately-entered 499P of Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman and Ye Yifei (which notably was penalized for wiping out the No. 15 BMW overnight).

The car, on occasion, looked like the strongest of the three Ferraris. Early on, as one of a few cars that stayed out on slicks during the first rain shower (the correct decision), the yellow 499P led the race on strategy and pace, only to be undone by a hybrid issue that prevented it from making the end.

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Inter Europol Competition made a valiant effort to defend its 2023 LMP2 title, but in the end, the United Autosports No. 22 ORECA Gibson was just too strong. Anchored by the experienced Oliver Jarvis, a previous winner, with two Le Mans rookies in Bijoy Garg and rising star Nolan Siegel, the team demonstrated its strength throughout the race, putting a stamp on it at the end with a 18.651s gap to the No. 34 Inter Europol ORECA of Jakub Smiechowski, Vladislav Lomko and Clement Novalak.

“It’s unbelievable! First time here, there was so much to learn, and I’m so lucky to have done it with such a great group of people,” said Siegel before Garg added: “This is the best moment of my life.”

The No. 28 IDEC Sport team finished third with Paul Lafargue, Job van Uitert and Reshad de Gerus. AF Corse won the Pro-Am sub-category of LMP2, Francois Perrodo, Ben Barnicoat and Nicolas Varrone piloting the No. 183 ORECA to fourth in LMP2 overall.

Porsche claimed the first contest for LMGT3 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Yasser Shahin, Morris Schuring and Richard Lietz piloting the No. 91 Manthey EMA 911 GT3 R to victory in the class’s introduction. The team had a comfortable margin over the No. 31 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Augusto Farfus, Darren Leung and Sean Geleal. It appeared early on that the sister WRT BMW was in with a shot of victory for Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin and Ahmad Al Harthy, but the No. 46 ended its day in a gravel trap.

Proton Competition’s Fords shocked with their performance and reliability, both of which had been largely absent in previous rounds of the World Endurance Championship, to not only claim the first podium for the Mustang GT3 but back it up with a fourth-place finish as well. It was the No. 88 of Dennis Olsen, Mikkel Pedersen and Giorgio Roda claiming the podium over Christopher Mies, Ben Tuck and John Hartshorne in the No. 44 Mustang GT3.

Full reports to follow.

HOUR 24 STANDINGS

Fuoco wins Le Mans pole for Ferrari

Ferrari AF Corse has locked out the front row for the 100th anniversary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, after Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi produced blistering times in the team’s pair of 499Ps during tonight’s Hyperpole session. It was a …

Ferrari AF Corse has locked out the front row for the 100th anniversary running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, after Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi produced blistering times in the team’s pair of 499Ps during tonight’s Hyperpole session. It was a landmark result for the Italian manufacturer, which will start the French endurance classic from pole for the first time since 1973.

The two works drivers traded provisional pole times during the 30-minute session, with Pier Guidi in the No. 51 setting an astonishing 3m23.897s benchmark time on his first flying lap. This easily eclipsed the 2022 pole time (a 3m24.408s by the No. 8 Toyota) and was the first time of the week to dip under 3m24s.

After Pier Guidi set the bar, Fuoco in the No. 50 made it his mission to raise it, and with eight minutes left set a remarkable 3m22.982s. This was an improvement of almost a second, putting him 0.7s up on his teammate. What was most impressive was that the lap was set despite the Italian losing time at Indianapolis when he came up behind the No. 57 Kessel Ferrari on the entry to the slow left-hander.

Fuoco’s lap was also nearly a full second faster than the previous qualifying lap record set in the admittedly young history of the Le Mans Hypercar class, a 3m23.900s, set by the Toyota GR010 HYBRID in 2021.

“It was a really good lap, really tough qualifying. My first lap was slower than the sister car, then I put it all together. It’s something special, to be honest!” Fuoco said. “I want to enjoy the moment, then we will think about the race.”

While the Ferraris were pushing for improvements, the remaining six cars in Hypercar were also pushing to challenge the 499Ps. Kamui Kobayashi in the No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRID was on course to move up the order from fourth, but halfway through his most promising flying lap local hero Sebastien Bourdais in the No. 3 Cadillac Racing V-Series.R stopped on the Mulsanne Straight, with the rear end of his car on fire. Replays showed the car briefly bursting into flames before the fire settled under the car.

Thankfully Bourdais was able to climb out of the car unharmed. It was a major blow for Cadillac though, after it had opted to change the engines on all three of its V-Series.Rs earlier in the day to ensure its fleet had fresh motors for Hyperpole and the race. Adding to the misery was the news that filtered through shortly after that Bourdais’ best time, a 3m24.908s that briefly put him third overall, would be deleted by regulation because he caused a red flag. As a result, the car dropped to eighth (last) by the end of the session, with its best time a 3m25.521s.

Cadillac Racing engineers have determined that a burst high pressure fuel hose caused the fire, and Cadillac Racing and Dallara engineers and the Chip Ganassi Racing crew are working to prepare the car for the race.

When the session went green again, Ferrari AF Corse opted to stay in the garage, confident they wouldn’t improve. On the other end of pit lane, Toyota sent both GR010 HYBRIDs out for a final stand, but neither Kobayashi nor Brendon Hartley in the No. 8 sister car could split the Ferraris or come close to pole. In fact, no Hypercar came within a second of pole-setting No. 50.

“We have no words. For all these people it’s less than a year since the car first turned laps at Fiorano. This is for all the people working on the project,” Fuoco’s teammate Miguel Molina said.

Both Toyota drivers did set better times, although Kobayashi lost his best tour to a track limits violation and dropped to fifth. Hartley’s best time in the No. 8 — a 3m24.451s at the end of the session — put him and his teammates third on the grid, a tenth up on the fastest of the two Penske Porsches that made it into the session, the No. 75. It was an interesting strategy from Porsche, which opted to keep its cars in the garage for half the session, before setting times late on.

The No. 75 guest-entered IMSA car will start fourth, while the No. 5 WEC entry will start from seventh, behind the No. 7 Toyota and No. 2 Cadillac.

Paul Loup Chatin was in brilliant form for IDEC Sport to take pole in LMP2. Alexander Trienitz/Motorsport Images

In LMP2, Paul Loup Chatin was the man of the half-hour, setting a blistering 3m32.923s in the IDEC Sport No. 48 ORECA to beat JOTA to the class pole. The Frenchman the only driver in the class to set a time under 3m33s. Pietro Fittipaldi ended up second in the JOTA example, which continued its fine showing of pace in the session and was just a tenth off.

“I am so proud of this. I am proud of Pau Loup, and the team — big respect,” IDEC Sporting Director Nicolas Minassian said. “To do this at Le Mans at the hundred years, it’s all aligned. There’s a long way to go but we have to enjoy what’s here,”

The top five in LMP2 was completed by the No. 41 WRT, No. 47 COOL Racing and No. 63 Prema ORECAs.

Ben Keating set up a great GTE sendoff for the Corvette C8.R by taking the GTE Am pole in the car he’ll share with Nicky Catsburg and Nicolas Varrone. Motorsport Images

In GTE, Ben Keating put the factory Corvette Racing team atop the times for the final GTE race at Le Mans. The Texan was fast throughout the session and sat on provisional pole before the red flag. He then went out for one final lap and set a 3m52.376s to improve by 0.8s and set pole by over a second. If Keating continues this form in the race, the Pratt Miller-run team will be extremely hard to beat this weekend…

Corvette will be joined on the front row by the ORT by TF Sport Aston Martin. Ahmad Al Harthy put in a fine effort ahead of his first start. The Omani driver reeled off a 3m53.905s which secured second. The No. 54 Ferrari will start third after a strong showing from Thomas Flohr.

This story has been updated since it was originally published to include additional details about the fire on the No.3 Cadillac.

RESULTS

Ferrari tops Toyota in first Le Mans qualifying

Ferrari AF Corse flexed its muscles in qualifying tonight for the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Its pair of 499Ps set blistering times in the red-flag interrupted hour to secure spots in Hyperpole in fine style, ending up first …

Ferrari AF Corse flexed its muscles in qualifying tonight for the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe. Its pair of 499Ps set blistering times in the red-flag interrupted hour to secure spots in Hyperpole in fine style, ending up first and second on the timing screens.

The No. 50 499P ran fastest, after Antonio Fuoco set a 3m25.213s with 16 minutes left, seconds after Alessandro Pier Guidi in the No. 51 briefly topped the times with a 3m25.412s. Pier Guidi appeared to have even more pace up his sleeve, as the Italian was held up on his lap and yet still came within two-tenths of the sister car. Nevertheless, Fuoco’s time was still mightily impressive so early in the week, in a car new to the circuit.

“It was a really intense qualifying. The guys did an amazing job and stayed calm and focused,” related Fuoco. “It’s really good for the guys. I hope we can continue with this trend. We know tomorrow will be tough.”

The two Ferraris, with times that were within a second of last year’s pole time from Toyota, were half a second up from the rest of the Hypercar pack. The two Toyotas ended up third and fourth, with the No. 7 ahead of the No. 8.

The remaining cars that sealed a place in the Hyperpole session in the Hypercar class were the No. 5 and No. 75 Penske Porsches and the two Cadillac Racing V-Series.Rs.

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With only eight spots in the shootout available for each class, plenty of teams missed out and already have their grid spaces decided.

In Hypercar, the No. 6 Penske Porsche missed out by almost 0.9s. The eighth and final spot was filled by the No. 2 Cadillac, after a 3m26.020s from Earl Bamber, and all Kevin Estre could muster in his Porsche was a 3m26.900s.

Neither Peugeot made the cut either, nor did the Action Express Cadillac, the Glickenhaus and Vanwall entries or the Hertz Team JOTA. For JOTA, it was a hugely disappointing session. Hybrid system issues limited the team to just three out laps and no flyers.

“We keep getting hybrid failure alarms, I don’t need to say more,” Antonio Felix da Costa said. “We can restart and move again, but the same thing keeps happening, so the team are looking at it. Everything is very new to us.”

It was a far better performance from JOTA in LMP2, however, where the team’s No. 28 ORECA set a 3m34.751s with Pietro Fittipaldi at the wheel and claimed both the top spot and a place in Hyperpole.

It was incredibly tight in LMP2, the top 14 within a second. With the class being so deep, many big teams missed out.

Making the cut behind the JOTA ORECA was the No. 41 WRT example, both PREMA cars, the Vector Sport 07 Gibson, COOL Racing’s car (despite an off at Indianapolis for Malthe Jakobsen that caused a red flag) and Racing Team Turkey’s car.

This meant that neither United Autosports ORECA ended up in the top eight, nor did WRT’s No. 31 car, the No, 34 Inter Europol crew or the No. 36 Alpine which ended up in the gravel early on after a collision with the No. 22 United ORECA at the Ford Chicane.

In GTE Am, Nicky Catsburg almost stole the show for Corvette Racing. The Dutchman put the car at the top of the rankings right at the end of the session on his first flying lap in the hour, extracting real pace from the C8.R which was delayed out on track after its Free Practice 1 incident.

In the end, his 3m52.228s wasn’t good enough to set the pace in the category, but it was good enough for third, and more than enough to ensure the team will take part in tomorrow’s Hyperpole session. Alessio Rovera bettered Catsburg’s time in the No. 83 Richard Mille AF Corse ORECA, which managed a 3m51.877s and Davide Rigon, who set a 3m51.914s in the No. 54 AF Corse Ferrari.

Alessio Rovera kept the Ferrari party going with top time in GTE Am with the  Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE EVO. Nikolaz Godet/Motorsports Images

Elsewhere in the class, the No. 25 ORT by TF Aston Martin, No. 57 Kessel Ferrari, No. 55 GMB Aston Martin, No. 21 AF Corse Ferrari and No. 74 Kessel Racing Ferrari all made it into Hyperpole.

The Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 once again ran significantly faster than all the GTE cars in the field, with a best time of 3m47.976s.

Like Free Practice 1, Qualifying was heavily interrupted by various incidents that caused yellow flags and slow zones as drivers pushed their cars to the limits on the evolving track to set fast times. The first was for the aforementioned collision between the No. 36 Alpine and No. 22 United ORECA. The second for Jakobsen’s off at Indianapolis.

Track action continues tonight with Free Practice 2 at 10pm local time.

RESULTS

Debut WEC pole ‘important for Ferrari and for Italian motorsport’

Ferrari’s Head of Ferrari Attivita Sportive GT, Antonello Coletta, hailed Antonio Fuoco’s pole-winning performance Thursday night as a historic moment for Ferrari, Italian motorsport and the World Endurance Championship. The Italian (pictured …

Ferrari’s Head of Ferrari Attivita Sportive GT, Antonello Coletta, hailed Antonio Fuoco’s pole-winning performance Thursday night as a historic moment for Ferrari, Italian motorsport and the World Endurance Championship. The Italian (pictured above), who shocked the WEC paddock with a lap that put the No. 50 499P two-tenths clear of the two new-look Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 HYBRIDs, set up prospects for a fascinating opening round of the 2023 season at Sebring.

Coletta told RACER the result in qualifying was a surprise. Until last night, Toyota had set the pace in every session.

“Honestly, it’s a big surprise for us,” he said. “But I think that with the method we took and with the passion we all had it was an amazing job and in the end the result came.

“This is Ferrari. The real Ferrari that all the fans know very well,” he continued. “And for me, honestly, is a big, big satisfaction because I have the honor to manage this unbelievable group. And I’m very, very proud to manage Ferrari on their comeback after 50 years. And to start with a pole position!

“It’s clear though that (Friday) is another day, the season is very long but to start with a pole after just seven and a half months in preparation with this program, I think that is a job very, very well done by the whole team involved with this amazing car.

“This is æt. I’m very happy to have three Italian drivers in our team. Because honestly, for our nation it is not an amazing moment in the sport because, in Formula 1, we don’t have any drivers. With the long history of Ferrari and the Italian people in racing, I think that it needs to have a great Italian driver in one of the best cars.”

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To many of the fans trackside in Florida, last night during qualifying will have been their first time seeing Fuoco’s talent on full display. Coletta says he was unlucky not to reach F1 with his ability and is delighted to have him in the team.

“He was a big talent in Formula 2, and probably was unlucky in his career in some ways,” he said. “In Formula 2 he was in the same team at the same time as Charles Leclerc. Now though he has restarted his career and I’m sure that for him, the future will be full of success.

“I am over the moon generally. This comes after an unbelievable amount of hard work by the whole team, working every day since the program was started – including at Christmas!

“This is the best result to start this program’s competitive life to reward all the staff that did some unbelievably hard work. We are a very special group because there is a real bond between these people. Now we have to go and try to win the race!”

Fuoco claims debut Hypercar pole for Ferrari at Sebring

History was made in the first FIA World Endurance Championship qualifying session of the season, as AF Corse’s No. 50 Ferrari 499P snatched pole position for tomorrow’s 1000 Miles of Sebring. A stunning performance from Antonio Fuoco means the …

History was made in the first FIA World Endurance Championship qualifying session of the season, as AF Corse’s No. 50 Ferrari 499P snatched pole position for tomorrow’s 1000 Miles of Sebring.

A stunning performance from Antonio Fuoco means the Italian brand will lead the field across the line at the start for its first race in the Hypercar category and its first top-class sports car race for 50 years.

Fuoco’s 1m45.067s with the sun setting over the pit straight stunned the Toyota personnel behind the pit wall, who would have been confident of securing pole position after setting the pace in the Prologue test and Free Practice.

The Italian’s lap was by far the quickest time of the meeting so far, and means AF Corse has become the first team to score pole position in each FIA WEC category.

“I feel really good at the moment, I want to thank the guys,” said Fuoco. “Getting pole for Ferrari after 50 years is amazing. The team has done an amazing job — we are putting everything together.

“It was quite difficult because the sun was setting, and visibility was low in the final corners. The car felt really nice though. It’s good to start from a nice position.

“The key tomorrow will be managing tires — we will try to do our best in our first experience. We are really motivated and will do our best.”

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The best a Toyota could muster was a 1m45.281s from Brendon Hartley in the No. 8, two-tenths off the pole time. The No. 7 of Kamui Kobayashi ended up third, almost half a second adrift.

“Today we did our best but Ferrari was a bit quicker in qualifying; they did a great job,” conceded Kobayashi. “We knew they were competitive after the Prologue and free practice sessions, and everyone could see their performance in qualifying. We are definitely part of a fight, and I am enjoying it.

“We have worked hard over the past days to get our cars set up for the race, because obviously this is endurance racing so Friday is the most important day for us. I think we have prepared well and we’re in a promising starting position so we have a great chance. It is going to be an exciting race.”

The sister No. 51 AF Corse 499P slotted in fourth and was the final car to set a time under 1m46s, Alessandro Pier Guidi managing a 1m45.874s after regrouping from an early error, kicking up the dust at the exit of Turn 1.

Best of the rest was the Cadillac Racing V-Series.R following a 1m46.082s from Alex Lynn who secured a top-five spot on the grid for Cadillac’s debut race as a WEC manufacturer.

It was a tough session for Porsche and Peugeot. The No. 6 was the fastest of the two 963s, Kevin Estre setting a lap time two seconds off.

Loic Duval was the fastest driver for Peugeot. The French team’s struggles for speed continued here after a lackluster showing since arriving in Florida, its two 9X8s 2.3 and 3.1 seconds off the pace.

Glickenhaus and Vanwall were also nowhere on pace, both non-hybrid LMHs over four seconds back.

In the LMP2 class, it was Oliver Jarvis who snatched pole position. The Briton in the No. 23 United Autosports ORECA overcame challenges from JOTA, WRT and Alpine and set the fastest time, which was a 1m49.974s.

“I wouldn’t say it was a perfect lap, there was a bit left on the table, but I am really pleased with the lap we got. Delighted to start on pole after a great week of running,” Jarvis said.

His time was just 0.093s quicker than the No. 28 JOTA ORECA of Pietro Fittipaldi, who sat atop the timing screens briefly before Jarvis responded with his flyer with five minutes to go.

Robin Frijns, who told DailySportsCar the team had been struggling with the setup and balance of the No. 31 prior to the session, ended up third. It was a strong performance from Frijns here, to give the Belgian team a spot on row two. A late improvement from Matthieu Vaxiviere put the No. 36 Alpine fourth.

Sarah Bovy saw off the challenge from Ben Keating to take GTE AM pole with the Iron Dames Porsche. JEP/Motorsports Images

The first of the three sessions saw the Bronze-rated drivers battle it out in GTE AM.

After a thrilling 15 minutes, it was Iron Dames’ Porsche 911 RSR 19 that emerged as the polesitter. It was achieved after a superb performance in the first qualifying session of the season from Sarah Bovy.

It was a shootout between Bovy and Corvette Racing’s Ben Keating after their tires got up to temperature, Bovy setting the best time and with two minutes to go, a 1m58.949s. After multiple improvements by both drivers throughout the session, the pair trading the provisional pole position, her time bettered Keating’s best effort in the C8.R by four-tenths.

“It’s amazing, Sarah is doing very well,” said Bovy’s teammate Rahel Frey. “She loves it, but the time to celebrate is tomorrow.”

Third in the running was the ORT by TF Aston Martin, which made it three makes in the top three.

Ahmad Al Harthy, in his first WEC qualifying session will be full of confidence ahead of his world championship race debut tomorrow. It also marked a significant improvement for the Vantages, which had struggled to find pace until today’s track action.

Making it four in the top four, in fourth, was Luis Perez Companc in the Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari.

UP NEXT: Friday’s 1000 Miles of Sebring is set to get underway at 12:00pm local time.

RESULTS