Ferrari in Command of 6H Imola at Halfway

Photo: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Ferrari held a commanding lead at the halfway stage of the 6 Hours of Imola, with Antonio Giovinazzi and Yifei Ye fronting a 1-2 for the Prancing Horse with three hours of racing remaining.

Giovinazzi’s No. 51 Ferrari 499P, which has led the race since it started from pole position, held an advantage of some 15 seconds over Ye’s No. 83 machine as pitstops commenced at the halfway stage

The No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8, although pitting shortly before the halfway point, has held firm in the final podium position with Raffaele Marciello at the wheel.

The Swiss racer briefly managed to close within a second of the yellow-liveried Ferrari in the third hour, but was unable to mount a challenge and has since fallen under increased pressure from the No. 50 Ferrari.

Nicklas Nielsen and later Miguel Molina have consistently been able to claw their way towards the sharp end of the Hypercar pack after starting from last place.

Molina ran in fourth before pitting to kick off the third round of scheduled Hypercar pitstops, with the No. 36 Alpine A424 of Jules Gounon as well as the No. 7 Toyota GR010 and No. 6 Porsche 963 in close proximity.

The No. 7 Toyota became the leading runner for the Japanese marque after the sister No. 8 machine was handed a drivethrough penalty for a Full Course Yellow infringement.

However, it became involved in its own problem when Mike Conway and the No. 20 BMW of Rene Rast clashed at Variante Alta, resulting in bodywork damage for the BMW.

However, the resulting Full Course Yellow for debris caught out Conway as the Briton entered a closed pit for emergency fuel, before having to then pit again to complete the scheduled stop to hand over to Nyck de Vries.

The race was neutralised by a safety car after 90 minutes, triggered when The Bend Team WRT driver Yasser Shahin tagged the back of Ian James’ No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, resulting in the latter spinning off into the barriers at Rivazza 1.

James exited the car under his own power and was later checked and released from the on-site medical center, as per an Aston Martin spokesperson.

Team WRT led the LMGT3 ranks with Valentino Rossi at the wheel of the No. 46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, with the No. 87 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus RC F GT3 still a contender although with a potential penalty hanging over it.

The two cars have traded the lead back and forth through the various pitstop cycle, although Rossi regained the upper hand when Bronze-rated Razvan Umbrarescu was reinstalled aboard the Lexus to complete his mandatory driver time.

However, the Lexus remains under investigation for a potential pitlane infringement, with an investigation also ongoing regarding the No. 31 BMW after the contact with the No. 27 Aston Martin after the earlier incident that resulted in the safety car.