Ferrari owned qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas, sealing a front-row lockout for Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans. Robert Kubica, the hero of June’s Le Mans 24 Hours, scored his first-ever WEC Hypercar pole position in dramatic style.
Driving the AF Corse-run customer Ferrari 499P, Kubica put together a 1m57.655s on slicks in damp conditions to edge out works Ferrari driver Antonio Giovinazzi by just 0.096s. Giovinazzi, who leads the championship with James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi, managed a 1m57.751s but couldn’t quite match Kubica’s effort.
Third originally went to Jean-Eric Vergne in the #93 Peugeot 9X8 2024 with a 1m58.506s, seven-tenths down on the Ferraris. But more than three hours later, the Peugeot camp was rocked when stewards excluded the car from qualifying. The reason: its rear rain light wasn’t switched on during a session officially declared wet. The sanction stripped Vergne of his times and dumped the car to last in Hypercar, P18 on the grid.
Fourth was claimed by Kevin Estre in the only Penske Porsche 963 LMDh to reach the 10-minute Hyperpole shootout. His 1m58.619s kept him just ahead of the second works Ferrari of Nicklas Nielsen, who managed 1m58.640s.
Sixth place went to the Proton Competition Porsche driven by Nicolas Varone, who had surprisingly topped the earlier qualifying session. Charles Milesi was seventh in the #35 Alpine A424, with Ryo Hirakawa eighth in the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid. Dries Vanthoor took ninth for WRT in the BMW M Hybrid V8, while Alex Riberas rounded out the top ten with the #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH.
Just missing the cut for Hyperpole was Julian Andlauer, finishing 11th in the #5 Penske Porsche.
For Cadillac, the Interlagos winners in July, qualifying was a disaster. Neither V-Series.R made Hyperpole after Earl Bamber and Alex Lynn gambled on wet tyres in the lightly damp opening session. They ended up at the very bottom of the times, joined by Kamui Kobayashi in the #7 Toyota GR010, also on grooved Michelins.
Late Hypercar drama
The late Peugeot penalty flipped the order on its head. The exclusion of Vergne’s times dropped the #93 Peugeot to last in class. For a team that had been celebrating a front-row challenge, it was a crushing blow that will force a recovery drive from the back of the grid on Sunday.
LMGT3 Qualifying – Ford domination
In LMGT3, it was all about Ford. The American brand secured its first class pole since the category was introduced at the start of 2024, locking out the front row with Proton Competition’s pair of Mustang GT3s.
Giammarco Levorato, in the #88 entry, stole the show at the death with a stunning 2m07.645s. He retook pole just as the chequered flag dropped, finding over a second in his final attempt.
His teammate Ben Tuck had briefly put the sister #77 Mustang on top, but ended up second once Levorato delivered his lap.
Third went to Sean Gelael in the United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, while fan-favourite Valentino Rossi secured fourth in the WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo.
What’s next?
The Lone Star Le Mans 6 Hours, the sixth round of the 2025 WEC season, gets underway at 13:00 local time on Sunday. With Ferrari starting 1-2, Peugeot sent to the back, and Ford shocking LMGT3, the stage is set for fireworks deep in the heart of Texas.
