WEC Austin: Ferrari takes pole from Cadillac after identical qualifying times

Ferrari driver Antonio Giovinazzi claimed his second pole of the 2026 World Endurance Championship at Austin after ending up tied at the top of the times with Cadillac’s Jack Aitken. 

Giovinazzi led the way after posting a 1m52.445s lap aboard the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar as the chequered flag fell at the end of the 10-minute Hyperpole session on Saturday. 

Aitken then stopped the clocks at exactly the same time aboard the #38 Jota Cadillac V-Series-R LMDh on his second push lap around the 3.43-mile Circuit of the Americas. 

Pole went to Giovinazzi because he set his time first. 

Charles Milesi was another late improver aboard the #35 Alpine A424 LMDh, his 1m52.474s propelling him to third. 

That pushed Harry Tincknell in the #007 Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH down to fourth. 

Aston had looked unlikely to build on the pace it showed in free practice as the clock ticked down at the end of the opening 12-minute qualifying session, before Tincknell found more than half a second to get into the top 10 and proceed to Hyperpole. 

Fifth place on the grid went to the second factory AF Corse Ferrari in Nicklas Nielsen’s hands. 

His 1m52.833s in the #50 car put him just ahead of Victor Martins in the #36 Alpine, which ended up on 1m52.886s.

Ryo Hirakawa was a further tenth back in seventh aboard the #8 Toyota TR010 HYBRID LMH, just ahead of Mathys Jaubert in the #17 Genesis GMR-001 LMDh. 

Kamui Kobayashi will line up directly behind his team-mate on the grid in ninth place in the #7 Toyota, with Mathieu Jaminet behind Jaubert in 10th in the #19 Genesis.

Neither WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh made it through into the Hyperpole session, Dries Vanthoor missing out by a tenth of a second in 11th position in first qualifying aboard the #15 entry. 

Peugeot also failed to get either of its 9X8 LMHs through the first round of qualifying. 

Aston Martin tops LMGT3 qualifying

The Heart of Racing Aston Martin team made it three LMGT3 class poles in a row with its #23 entry driven by Eduardo Barrichello. 

The Brazilian, son of 11-time Formula 1 race winner Rubens, topped the 10-minute Hyperpole session in his Aston Martin Vantage GT3 with a 2m05.160s to follow up on Kobe Pauwels’s pole in the same car last time out at Interlagos in July. 

Barrichello, who missed the Brazilian race due to his IMSA SportsCar Championship commitments, subsequently improved to a 2m05.103s, only to lose the time for a track limits violation. 

Zach Robichon made it a 1-2 for the THOR Aston squad, the Canadian ending up just over a tenth down on his team-mate with a 2m05.284s.

Third in class was taken by Timur Boguslavskiy in the #91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R with a 2m05.483s

The Lone Star Le Mans six-hour race begins at 13:00 local time on Sunday.

Hypercar qualifying results (top 10)

All Stats

 

Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA HYPERCAR	38	E. Bamber S. Bourdais J. Aitken	Cadillac V-Series.R	6	1'52.445		176.502
2	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	51	A. Pier Guidi J. Calado A. Giovinazzi	Ferrari 499P	6	+0.000 1'52.445	0.000	176.502
3	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	35	A. Felix da Costa C. Milesi F. Habsburg	Alpine A424	6	+0.029 1'52.474	0.029	176.456
4	Aston Martin THOR Team HYPERCAR	007	H. Tincknell T. Gamble R. Gunn	Aston Martin Valkyrie	6	+0.050 1'52.495	0.021	176.423
5	FERRARI AF CORSE HYPERCAR	50	A. Fuoco M. Molina N. Nielsen	Ferrari 499P	6	+0.428 1'52.873	0.378	175.833
6	Alpine Endurance Team HYPERCAR	36	F. Makowiecki J. Gounon V. Martins	Alpine A424	6	+0.441 1'52.886	0.013	175.812
7	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	8	S. Buemi B. Hartley R. Hirakawa	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	6	+0.540 1'52.985	0.099	175.658
8	Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR	17	A. Lotterer P. Derani M. Jaubert	Genesis GMR-001	6	+0.561 1'53.006	0.021	175.626
9	Toyota Racing HYPERCAR	7	M. Conway K. Kobayashi N. de Vries	Toyota GR010 - Hybrid	5	+0.848 1'53.293	0.287	175.181
10	Genesis Magma Racing HYPERCAR	19	M. Jaminet P. Chatin D. Juncadella	Genesis GMR-001	6	+1.050 1'53.495	0.202	174.869
View full results

LMGT3 qualifying results (top 10)

All Stats

 

Cla	Team	#	Drivers	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h
1	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	23	G. Newell D. Barrichello J. Adam	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	4	2'05.103		158.643
2	Heart of Racing Team LMGT3	27	I. James Z. Robichon M. Drudi	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3	5	+0.181 2'05.284	0.181	158.414
3	Manthey DK Engineering LMGT3	91	J. Cottingham T. Boguslavskiy A. Güven	Porsche 911 GT3 R	6	+0.380 2'05.483	0.199	158.163
4	Proton Competition LMGT3	77	E. Powell B. Tuck S. Priaulx	Ford Mustang GT3	5	+0.380 2'05.483	0.000	158.163
5	Garage 59 LMGT3	58	A. West F. Gehrsitz B. Goethe	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	5	+0.551 2'05.654	0.171	157.948
6	Vista AF Corse LMGT3	21	F. Heriau S. Mann A. Rovera	Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo	5	+0.662 2'05.765	0.111	157.808
7	TEAM WRT LMGT3	32	D. Leung S. Gelael A. Farfus	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	5	+0.785 2'05.888	0.123	157.654
8	IRON LYNX LMGT3	61	M. Berry R. Andrade M. Martin	Mercedes AMG GT3	5	+0.866 2'05.969	0.081	157.553
9	AKKODIS ASP Team LMGT3	87	R. Umbrarescu C. Schmid J. Lopez	Lexus RC F GT3	5	+1.162 2'06.265	0.296	157.183
10	Proton Competition LMGT3	88	S. Gattuso G. Levorato L. Sargeant	Ford Mustang GT3	5	+1.090 2'06.193		157.273
View full results