Polish Driver Robert Kubica Dominates Imola WEC Practice Session!
Excitement filled the air as the FIA World Endurance Championship kicked off its Imola weekend with a thrilling Free Practice 1 session. All eyes were on Robert Kubica, who sped his way to the top of the leaderboard in the No. 83 499P Ferrari with a blazing time of 1m32.065s. Kubica’s last-minute flyer knocked Antonio Fuoco’s No. 50 factory Ferrari off its pedestal, finishing with a best lap of 1m32.301s.
Not far behind, the No. 12 JOTA Cadillac V-Series.R, driven by Alex Lynn, secured the third spot with a time of 1m32.331s, preventing a Ferrari sweep of the top positions. The intense session began under tricky conditions after light rain earlier in the day, but as teams switched to slick tires, lap times dropped significantly, with most Hypercar teams surpassing the 40-lap mark.
As the session progressed, the No. 38 Cadillac claimed fifth place, closely followed by the fastest of the two Alpines, the No. 36. The No. 8 Toyota landed in seventh place, with most cars finishing within a two-second range. Bringing up the rear were the Proton 963 and No. 007 Aston Martin, trailing by 2.2 and 2.6 seconds, respectively.
In the LMGT3 class, the No. 31 WRT BMW, driven by Augusto Farfus, set the pace with a time of 1m43.330s. The No. 78 Lexus, continuing its strong form from Qatar, secured second place with quick laps in both wet and dry conditions, thanks to Esteban Masson’s impressive performance with a time of 1m43.423s.
The competition remained fierce as Kelvin van der Linde clinched third place in the No. 46 BMW, adding to WRT’s successful start. Rounding up the top five were the No. 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari and No. 87 Lexus, both finishing within half a second of each other.
Further down the grid, TF Sport’s Corvettes struggled, finishing 1.5s and 1.8s off the pace, with the No. 33 car – carrying the maximum success ballast from Round 1 – bringing up the rear.
The Imola WEC practice session set the stage for an action-packed weekend, with drivers and teams gearing up for more thrilling battles on the iconic circuit. Stay tuned for more updates as the competition heats up at Imola!
