WEC – Imola 6 Hours Victory for BMW n.31 of Team WRT in LMGT3

Domination in the standings for Team WRT’s BMWs in the WEC 6 Hours of Imola. The #31 car managed to beat its sister Team WRT #46 driven by Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi and Ahmed Al Harthy, making it a great day for Belgian Team WRT as they added an LMGT3 victory to their many LMP2 victories in previous seasons. . .

With a bold strategy of using Goodyear tires despite the rainy conditions in the third sector of the Imola track, the number 31 car was able to assert its authority in the final two hours. Augusto Farfus produced an excellent performance in his session to take the lead from Maxime Martin in the last minute after passing him on the Variante Alta.

Farfus then left his sister’s car when Martin was forced to issue a drive penalty to team-mate Valentino Rossi who had previously exceeded the speed limit during a routine yellow throughout the session.

The experienced Brazilian made full use of his Goodyear and won the category by a full 22 seconds, securing him and BMW their first WEC win. Sean Gelael became a double class winner following previous success in LMP2, while Leung celebrated his first victory in his second WEC start.

The podium was completed by the Manthey PureRxcing team consisting of Joel Sturm, Aliaksandr Malykhin and Klaus Bachler continuing their excellent start to the season.

Kilometer 1812 winners Qatar led the race from pole position in the hands of Malykhin, but lost the lead when they decided to put on wet tires when it rained at the start of the fifth hour. This dropped them to third place, but they still hold the lead after scoring 16 points for third place and Malykhin’s place on Saturday.

The No. 55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of Simon Mann, Francois Heriau and Alessio Rovera achieved its best result of the season in fourth place, after briefly taking the lead in the hands of Heriau in the second hour.

The top six was completed by the Aston Martin Heart of Racing of Ian James, Daniel Mancinelli and Alex Riberas in fifth and no. 59 United Autosports of Joshua Caygill, Marino Sato and Nicolas Pino McLaren.

Photo ©Massimo Campi

Tags: 6 Ore Imola, Bmw, LMGT3, WEC, WRT

about the author

Massimo Campi Mechanic, photographer, journalist, in the world of motor sports for more than 40 years. Collaboration with various newspapers and journalistic websites in the sector.