He could not have had a better return Ferrari to the highest category of resistance. After 50 years of absence, the house of Maranello opens in the WEC 2023 with a masterful pole for the 1,000 Miles of Sebring for their unit #50, the one they share Nicklas Jensen, Miguel Molina and Antonio Fouco. Against all odds, the Italian placed the Sebring circuit at the 499P ahead of both Toyotadominators of recent times in the category.
It has been an almost express job, from a very young project that since it was put on track on the bumpy Florida track has gone from less to more. He finished the prologue behind the two Japanese cars and one of the Porsches, also on the way back. But when he touched to give the chest, fouco marked a 1:45.067 that they could not overcome even the Toyota #8 piloted by Brendon Harleynor the #7 of Kamui Kobayashi, to 0.21 and 0.48 respectively. From behind, completing the sandwich for the Japanese, the other Ferrari car, the #51 at 0.80.
Fifth place went to Cadillac already more than a second. The Americans are the negative of the Italians. They started strong in Sebring, they had the pleasure of leading one of the days of the prologue, but against the clock things did not go as expected. It was no better for the Porscheto more than two seconds, nor to the Peugeot, unit #93 at 3.1 seconds. They still have problems glickenhaus and vanwallto more than four.
Hugs and gestures of joy became protagonists in the red box, which for the race of the 1,000 Miles (Eurosport, 17:00) they will have a free way to fight for victory. Because that’s the goal. already warned mill In this same medium, “Wherever Ferrari continues to compete, it has to continue winning”, and the author of the pole position endorsed it as soon as he got out of the car: “Today we did it and we are going to try it tomorrow too”, Fouco was right to say.
In the other categories, in LMP2 pole position for United Autosport in a tight fight against JOTA (+0.093), with the car #34 by Albert Costa Balboa (Inter Europol) in 11th place. In GTDomain of Porsche of the team ‘the iron ladies’who already harvested the pole in Monza last year and his first podium. Then they drove for Ferrari, but with the German house, they continue to add great results.