Qualifying was unfortunately not kind to any of the four Heart of Racing Hypercar and LMGT3 entries at today’s first round of the FIA World Endurance Championship from Imola in Italy with none of them reaching the lofty heights of Hyperpole.
That came off the back of decent and consistent mid-table laps times during the preceding three Free Practice sessions with #23 Aston Martin Racing Vantage LMGT3 and then the #27 sister car leading the class at the end of FP2 and FP3 respectively.
For the Aston Martin Valkyrie Hypercar powered crews across the garage, their hard work to rebuild the #009 car after its Prologue test accident earlier in the week was rewarded with the car making the first officially timed session yesterday but still somewhat amiss compared to their sister #007 car after they managed to circulate just a few tenths quicker than the #009 car through all three sessions.
Whilst the #007, #009 and #27 Heart of Racing entries of this season feature the same driver base as last, the #23 Vantage LMGT3 features an all new for 2026 crew as ACO rules stalwart and Le Mans 24 class winner Jonny Adam passes on his knowledge to both rookie teammates Kobe Pauwels and Gray Newell.
Despite that lack to racing knowledge at this level, the #23 car still qualified for tomorrows six-hour opener just 0.2 of a second behind the more established #27 to earn themselves a P15 in class start tomorrow against a P12 start for the #27 car.
Up front again, both Valkyries also missed out on their class Hyperpole as the #007 car continued with. Its faster pace (compared to the #009) with their P12 start and a P14 slot for the #009.
We all know that one single lap pace in qualifying is one thing but six hours of single lap pace around Imola is something completely different as thirty five cars will be thundering through the first sequence of corners at the historical Italian circuit for the first time tomorrow afternoon.
Photo credits – Team / AMR