In an exciting 15-minute session the battle for the pole in Italy went down to the chequered flag with the top three cars being split by just 0.062 seconds. Masson’s time of 1m30.866 was 0.032s ahead of the no37 CLX Motorsport Oreca, the Mexican driver moving up to second place in the final minutes of the session with a 1m30.898 lap of the 4.909km Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari.
After making an early bid for pole, 4 Hours of Le Castellet winner Gregoire Saucy finished at the head of row 2 in the no22 United Autosports Oreca, the Swiss driver’s time of 1m30.928 just 0.03s behind Aguilera and just 0.054s ahead of the fourth fastest car, the no34 Inter Europol Competition of Reshad De Gerus.
LMP2 Pro/Am: Roda Takes Home Pole
Giorgio Roda scored his second pole position of the 2026 season in a dramatic LMP2 Pro/Am qualifying session for the 4 Hours of Imola. The Italian’s finial time of 1m33.195 in the no30 Duqueine Team Oreca-Gibson was just 0.007s ahead of Jean Glorieux in the no3 DKR Engineering Oreca.
The session started with Glorieux making an early bid for pole, with Steven Thomas in the no14 TDS Racing and Georgios Kolovos in the no47 CLX Motorsport all holding the top spot in the opening half of the 15-minute session.
Roda then put in a 1m34.004 lap to go ahead by seven tenths but Kolovos then went back ahead with a 1m33.908 as Roda lost his next lap to track limits. Glorieux then went into provisional pole position for a few seconds before Roda crossed the line in 1m33.233. On the next lap Glorieux went ahead by 0.031s before Roda posted a 1m33.195 to go ahead by seven thousandths. Thomas moved back to third in the no14 TDS Racing with a 1m33.254, meaning the top three were covered by just 0.056s.
On the last lap the no3 DKR Engineering Oreca went off into the barriers at the final corner as Glorieux pushed a little too hard, the Belgian driver recovering to the pits. At the chequered flag PJ Hyett moved up to 4th in the no99 AO by TF.
LMP3: Iglesias Claims Pole on his ELMS Debut
The no17 CLX Motorsport Ligier-Toyota will start from pole position for the first time in 2026 after Louis Iglesias posted a 1m38.367 lap at the chequered flag to claim pole on his ELMS debut.
The battle for pole was a three way battle between Iglesias, the no4 DKR Engineering Ligier of Wyatt Brichacek and the no85 R-ace GP Duqueine of Pierre-Alexandre Provost, with the three drivers taking it in turn to post the provisional pole time, only to be displaced by their rivals by a few thousandths of a second.
With four minutes left of the 15-minute session, Provost was holding the provisional pole with a 1m39.296, just 0.018s ahead of Brichacek but then Iglesias posted a 1m39.046 lap, 0.250s ahead. Provost then responded with a 1m38.731 only to be displaced by Iglesias by 0.075s, the French driver posting a 1m38.806. He then took the chequered flag in 1m38.367, to claim pole by 0.232s from Provost’s improved time of 1m38.599.
Row two will be headed by the no4 DKR Engineering Ligier, with Lenny Ried finishing fourth in the no31 Racing Spirit of Leman Ligier-Toyota.
LMGT3: American McDonald Clinches Pole on Independence Day
A ding-dong battle between the no33 TF Sport Corvette and the no59 Racing Spirit of Leman Aston Martin saw Blake McDonald claim the class pole position in the Corvette for the 4 Hours of Imola at the chequered flag at the end of the 15-minute session.
Clement Mateu set the early pace in the no59 Aston Martin, posting the provisional pole time for three laps in a row before heading to pits for fresh Goodyear Eagles. Double pole position holder Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi was also in the mix for his hattrick in the no62 Team Qatar by Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, pushing the French driver.
With three minutes left on the clock McDonald went into provisional pole position with a 1m42.664, 0.06s ahead of Mateu but on the next lap the roles were reversed with the Aston Martin going ahead by just 0.035s with a 1m42.441 lap.
Both drivers were up on the pole time on the last lap of the session, but Blake McDonald crossed the line in 1m42.339, 0.102s ahead as Mateu didn’t improve his time but will start on the front row for tomorrow’s race. The no62 Mercedes-AMG will head the second row, with the no50 Richard Mille AF Corse Ferrari 296 will start 4th.
Martin Berry made it five different manufacturers in the top five as he finished 5th in the no77 Proton Competition Porsche 911, just ahead of Max Moritz in the no54 High Class Racing Porsche.
The 2026 4 Hours of Imola will start at 13h00 tomorrow afternoon, which will be shown live on the FIAWEC+ App HERE.
CLICK HERE for the result from Qualifying.
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