6 Hours of Imola

Starting from pole with Calado at the wheel, the number 51 499P was a constant frontrunner throughout the race, remaining firmly in the top two positions and making the most of a strong team strategy. It was Pier Guidi who took the chequered flag at the end of 212 laps.

It was a trickier race for the number 50 crew, who began from 18th on the grid. Despite a remarkable recovery by Nielsen and Molina, who climbed to fourth place, the final stages saw a setback when Fuoco – at the wheel – made contact with the number 8 Toyota, causing a puncture to the left rear tyre. The unscheduled pit stop proved decisive in the final classification. The incident resulted in a 45-second penalty for the number 50 crew, who nonetheless leave Imola with the fastest lap of the race – 1:32.504 – set by Fuoco.

Also putting in a noteworthy performance was the number 83 499P. Starting from second on the grid with Kubica, the Giallo Modena-liveried car was in podium contention for much of the race, eventually crossing the line in fourth, 20 seconds behind the winners.

The number of overall wins for the 499P in the FIA WEC has now risen to five: the two victories this season – at Imola and in Qatar, with Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen – add to the extraordinary triumphs at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023 and 2024, respectively with the number 51 and number 50 crews. The car fielded by privateer team AF Corse, meanwhile, had triumphed in the 2024 Lone Star Le Mans.

The Imola weekend – which saw Ferrari top all the sessions held on track – is set to enter motorsport history. On the circuit hosting a world championship round for only the second time, Ferrari became the fifth constructor to achieve at least five victories in the World Endurance Championship. With today’s result, Pier Guidi, Calado and Giovinazzi gave the Prancing Horse its first overall victory in a race on Italian soil in 52 years – the last occasion being in 1973, when Brian Redman and Jacky Ickx triumphed at the 1000 Kilometres of Monza in the Ferrari 312 PB. For the second consecutive round, the 499Ps also secured pole position, fastest lap and the race win.

It is also known as Imola or the Santerno circuit, named after the river that flows nearby.

Officially opened in 1953, with the moniker 'Autodromo Prototipo Coni', in 1970 it was renamed Dino Ferrari, in memory of Enzo Ferrari’s late son, whose own name would be subsequently added.

Initially known as a motorcycle racing venue, Imola gained international status in 1979 with the establishment of the Formula 1 ‘Dino Ferrari Grand Prix’ (Gran Premio Dino Ferrari). In 1980 it became the 'Italian Grand Prix', while from the following year until 2006 it would be known as the 'San Marino Grand Prix'. A hiatus followed, with no more single-seaters until 2020, when Imola returned to host the 'Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix' (Gran Premio dell'Emilia-Romagna). In addition to Formula 1, the venue stages various endurance, GT and other single-seater series races.

Imola is universally recognised as a very technical track, with fairly demanding braking into turns and acceleration into straights. The 4,909-metres course, featuring 12 left-hand and 9 right-hand bends, has, since its inception, been considered a mini Nürburgring.

Following the sad events of 1994, with the death of the two drivers Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger, the track underwent major modifications, slowing down some of the more excessively dangerous sections. In 2006, the circuit and its adjoining facilities were the subject of a redevelopment project by the renowned German architect Hermann Tilke, a specialist in motor racing circuit construction.