Hypercar – Leader: #51 Ferrari AF Corse (Alessandro Pier Guidi)
- The #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P Hypercar driven by Antonio Giovinazzi in the mid-phase of the race continues to lead, but both a strategy gamble by the #6 Porsche Penske entry and a second safety car just before the fifth hour has mixed up the order
- With rain also starting to fall at Imola, the variety of tyre strategies is threatening a Ferrari home win for the second consecutive season, but the #51 Ferrari 499P maintains the lead, now in the hands of Alessandro Pier Guidi, albeit on the softer compound of Michelin tyres
- Pier Guidi leads the #6 Porsche, with Kévin Estre taking over from Matt Campbell who had led for a chunk of the fourth hour with an off-set strategy. That included a fascinating battle with a closing Giovinazzi, who was able to make a move at the second Rivazza corner after the Australian locked-up his front brakes
- Toyota is still in the game as the #7 car bounces back from earlier contact with the #20 BMW and a repeated pit-stop due to a closed pit-lane. Kamui Kobayashi picks up the reins from Nyck de Vries for the final two hours
- Just behind the Toyota is the #15 BMW, as Dries Vanthoor takes over from Raffaele Marciello for the closing stages of the race, meaning four manufacturers appear to be in with a genuine shout of victory
- The #83 AF Corse Ferrari is still also in the mix as Robert Kubica stays at the wheel of the yellow 499P and is sandwiched by the BMWs as the #20 car places sixth with Sheldon van der Linde in the driving seat
- The second Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar of Michael Christensen completes the top six, while the rest of the leaderboard sees the #36 Alpine seventh, the #8 Toyota eighth and the #94 and 93 Peugeots rounding out the top ten
LMGT3 – Leader: #46 Team WRT (Valentino Rossi)
- The #46 Team WRT BMW had opened up a clear 32-second gap at the front of the LMGT3 field as Valentino Rossi exploited the pace of the BMW M4 in the mid-stage of the race
- The MotoGP legend looked to be on-course for his first FIA WEC win at the tenth attempt, demonstrating consistency at the wheel before getting ready to hand over to team-mate Kelvin van der Linde for the final two hours
- However, just before the fifth hour arrived, there was high drama as the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari moved into the lead by taking a fuel-only pit-stop. Rossi, with a tyre advantage, hunted down and caught Simon Mann but made contact at the second Rivazza corner and pitched the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 into the gravel trap
- Rossi continued in the lead, but the incident is under investigation
- That elevated the #77 Proton Competition Ford Mustang to second position, after British driver Ben Tuck completed an excellent double stint at the wheel
- The new Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin sits third after a stealthy run up the order, Eduardo Barrichello surviving a brush with countryman Augusto Farfus in the 31 The Bend BMW along the way. That car, though, was forced to serve a stop-and-go penalty for the early contact that accounted for the #27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin
- Completing the top four in LMGT3 is the #78 Akkodis ASP Lexus, with young German Finn Gehrsitz again impressing as the French-entered team hunts a first-ever FIA WEC podium position
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