After four hours of racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, at the 6 Hours of Imola, Kamui Kobayashi was leading the race in the Toyota GR010 Hybrid #7. The first two hours of the race were action-packed, including incidents on lap 1 and teams making strategic decisions like refueling lightly or not changing tires. With limited data, teams had to rely on simulations and practice to determine their strategy.
During pit stops in the Hypercar class, most teams were still using used tires, except for Carl Bennett in the Isotta Fraschini #12, who switched to new tires. However, Bennett had some off-track excursions while adjusting to the new tires. Ferrari maintained their 1-2 position at the front of the race with Antonio Giovinazzi in the 499P #51 and Nicklas Nielsen in the 499P #50.
Nyck de Vries in the Toyota GR010 #7 was in third place and setting consistent lap times, keeping up with the pace of the Ferrari drivers on triple stints. Despite the threat of rain, the battle between Ferrari and Toyota remained intense. A smart move by de Vries allowed him to overtake Miguel Molina in the Ferrari #50 after a Safety Car period caused by Bennett’s incident.
There was a moment of tension as de Vries was being investigated for overtaking before a Virtual Safety Car period was deployed due to Callum Ilott’s Porsche JOTA #12 going off track. As rain began to fall in the final sector, Kobayashi made a pit stop with the Toyota #7 in response. However, Ferrari chose to stay on track with slick tires as the rain was only affecting certain parts of the circuit.
Eventually, the Ferraris had to stop for rain tires, giving the lead to Toyota #7 after four hours of racing. Kevin Estre in the Porsche Penske #6 was in second place, followed by Brendon Hartley in the Toyota #8 in third. Sheldon van der Linde in the BMW WRT M Hybrid V8 #20 was in fourth position, with Matt Campbell in the Porsche Penske #5 completing the top five.
In the LMGT3 class, there was an exciting battle for second place between François Heriau in the AF Corse Ferrari #55 and Valentino Rossi in the WRT team’s BMW M4 #46. Unfortunately, the Proton Competition Ford Mustang #88 faced issues with its floor, leading to a pit stop and visit to the pit lane. The United Autosports cars #59 driven by Nico Costa and #95 by Nico Pino were fighting for the last points positions.
The battle between Rossi and Mann continued, with Mann making a successful move on the outside at Variante Tamburello in his Ferrari #55. Despite the rain, the LMGT3 cars were able to handle the conditions with their slick Goodyear tires. The WRT team’s BMWs, driven by Maxime Martin (#46) and Augusto Farfus (#31), were fighting for second and third place in the category.
The Porsche 911 GT3.R #92 of Joel Sturm led the LMGT3 class, followed by the two BMWs from the WRT team. Simon Mann in the AF Corse Ferrari 296 #55 and Daniel Mancinelli in the Heart of Racing Aston Martin #27 completed the top five in the category.
