Ferrari's Italian driver Antonio Giovinazzi celebrates his pole position.
DOHA: In challenging conditions at the Lusail International Circuit with chilly winds sweeping across the track, Antonio Giovinazzi delivered a stunning performance to secure Ferrari’s pole position for today’s 10-hour Qatar 1812 KM set to get underway at 2pm.
The Italian driver clocked a time of 1m38.359s, edging out BMW’s Dries Vanthoor to claim the top spot in qualifying ahead of the 2025 World Endurance Championship season opener.
Vanthoor had looked set to take the pole for much of the Hyperpole shootout, but Giovinazzi found an extra burst of speed on his final lap, snatching the top spot with a time that was 0.136 seconds faster than Vanthoor’s.
Ferrari's Antonio Giovinazzi in action during the qualifying yesterday.
“Everybody in the team has done a fantastic job working to improve the car, and to be on pole is a great achievement,” said Giovinazzi.
“I was surprised by how much the wind changed at the start of the session and how tricky that made it, but everything came together at the end. I gave it everything in the final sector – I was on the limit – and to take pole on the last lap was really cool.
“It will be a long, intense race tomorrow and we will need to be smart and make sure we take the right decisions, but we are starting from a good position and I think we have the car and the team to score some good points.”
Meanwhile, Antonio Fuoco’s Ferrari AF Corse No.50 secured third place on the grid, despite a challenging start. Alongside Fuoco’s Ferrari on the second row is the No.2 Cadillac V-Series.R, piloted by Alex Lynn.
Drivers are all smiles at autograph session, where fans had a chance to meet the stars of endurance racing.
The car, run by the Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA squad, saw Lynn set the best time in the No.12 machine, while his teammate Sebastien Bourdais made a solid contribution by qualifying fifth in the No.30 car.
In sixth place is Robin Frijns, who ensured both BMWs would join the Ferraris and Cadillacs in the top six.
United Autosports dominate LMGT3 qualifying
Meanwhile, United Autosports dominated the LMGT3 qualifying, clinching a one-two with Sean Gelael taking the pole position – his first in the WEC.
Making his first appearance for the team, the Indonesian driver defeated his team-mate Sebastien Baud by 0.2 secs.
“The United Autosports guys put in so much effort throughout last year and over the winter, and that work is paying off. It’s obviously a ten-hour race so we will need to be vigilant, but we’re off to a good start,” said Gelael.
Taking third place in the qualifying was WEC rookie Finn Gehrsitz on No.78 Akkodis.
Alongside the Lexus on the second row is the No.54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, piloted by Francesco Castellacci.
Action from the Lusail Classic Challenge race at the Lusail International Circuit yesterday.
In fifth, the No.21 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari rounds out the top five. Completing the top six is the second Akkodis ASP Lexus, driven by Clemens Schmid, who secured his position during the Hyperpole session.
MotoGP icon Valentino Rossi put BMW eighth on the grid for Team WRT.
In the afternoon, during Formula 4 Middle East Championship Race 1, Adam Al Azhari converted his pole position into a win with a time of 32:55.668, ahead of Italy's Emanuele Olivieri and Britain's Kean Nakamura-Berta. Local driver Taha Hassiba claimed a standout result, finishing as the second-placed rookie, an impressive performance for the Qatari competitor.
In Race 2, Alex Powell triumphed with a time of 31:43.699. Reno Francot finished second, just 0.645 seconds behind Powell, while Olivieri rounded out the podium. Qatar's Bader Al Sulaiti showed strong performance, finishing 5th in the rookie category, followed closely by Hassiba in 7th place.
In the FRME Race 1, Italy's Nikita Bedrin, racing for Sainteloc Racing, claimed victory with a time of 30:35.318, also setting the fastest lap at 1:50.541. Ugo Ugochukwu from the USA finished second, 5.535 seconds behind, while France's Evan Giltaire took third. In Race 2, Mexican driver Ernesto Rivera clinched victory with a time of 30:11.611, while Enzo Deligny finished second, 1.851 seconds behind, and also set the fastest lap at 1:51.166. Bedrin secured third, 5.200 seconds off Rivera’s pace.
In the Lusail Classic Race 1, Jamie Constable emerged victorious in his 1971 Chevron B19, narrowly beating the #4 1971 Porsche 908/03 by just 1.499 seconds. S. Brooks finished in third place, driving his 1968 Lola T70 Mk.3B.
With input from WEC
