Valentino Rossi and Antonio Giovinazzi take pole at Imola for the Six Hours

by the envoy

IMOLA

One dream leads to another. Magic of Imola. A little more than half an hour passes. First Valentino Rossi takes pole in Lmgt3 with his BMW M4 Gt3 Team Wrt: a Doctor-like lap, yet another different demonstration of class. Then it's the turn of Antonio Giovinazzi, on the Ferrari 499p number 51, to sign the best time among the Hypercars. It is a double for the Italian team in view of the Six Hours today (start at 13pm) and the cheering that makes this slice of land consecrated to speed vibrate makes all its joy felt. Vale and Antonio smile, commenting on their respective exploits. Then they hug each other spontaneously. Vale starts, at the first pole of his career in the endurance world championship: "It's nice to have done it in front of all these fans - he says - it's really special. We are fast, we have a good pace and we will try to win. Let's hope for the sun during the race...". The Doctor had also made this hope for the qualifications on Friday and was satisfied. His 1'42”355 was peremptory, leaving Lexus and Aston Martin more than three tenths behind. Together with Al-Harthy and Van der Linde, today Valentino will try to score his first success in Lmgt3.

"I really didn't expect to celebrate a pole with Valentino, who I supported so much when he was racing on a motorbike", says Giovinazzi, dripping with emotion. His is the second pole out of two after the one in Qatar. "I overcame the risk of the track limit, the team did a fantastic job - says the Apulian rider -. Being in front is important because it is difficult to overtake here, even if the unknowns about the weather remain now". The time of the number 51 Red shared with Pier Guidi and Calado, 1'28”920, is a lot of stuff. In the front row the other Ferrari 499P, the yellow '83' Af Corse of Kubica, Ye and Hanson whose engine had given up in the morning, 0''758 behind. It was an uphill race for the number 50 Red winner in Qatar, which with Fuoco had achieved the third time in the qualifying before the Hyper pole: two track limits exceeded relegated the car also driven by Molina and Nielsen to eighteenth position. But Ferrari, with a front row taken by force in front of, can still dream. BMW and Toyota were detached yesterday by nine tenths and one second and one respectively.