Friday was Ferrari’s day at Sebring International Raceway, as the Italian manufacturer took both IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT3 class pole positions ahead of Saturday’s 12 Hours of Sebring.
Ferrari topped the charts in both the GTD Pro and GTD classes ahead of the historic event, scheduled for Saturday at 10:10 a.m. ET. The race will be streamed live flag-to-flag on Peacock TV in the United States and on the IMSA YouTube Channel for international viewers.
GTD Pro. Albert Costa reveled in his rare opportunity to qualify and the enthusiasm converted to the time charts. Driving the DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 entry, Costa dropped his pole-winning lap of one minute, 59.225 seconds early into the session.
It was Costa’s first pole position in the WeatherTech Championship, and he with co-drivers Giacomo Altoe and factory driver Davide Rigon will face a fight as they challenge for the endurance victory, with four manufacturers finishing within seven-tenths of a second by the session’s checkered flag.
GTD: The battle was just as tight in the GTD class, but Ferrari factory driver Alessandro Pier Guidi emerged on top for AF Corse. Pier Guidi’s time of one minute, 59.131 seconds was narrowly faster than his Ferrari GTD Pro counterpart, and led four different manufacturers within one second.
Pier Guidi looks to add a 12 Hours of Sebring victory to his already stacked résumé, including podium finishes at the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season-opening round in Qatar and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2024. Pier Guidi will co-drive with Simon Mann and fellow factory driver, Lilou Wadoux Ducellier.
Ferrari had two 296 GT3s in the top five as Sebring newcomer Lorenzo Patrese qualified Cetilar Racing’s entry in fifth. Patrese will run with Giorgio Sernagiotto and factory driver Antonio Fuoco.
Two additional Ferraris placed inside the top 10, with Triarsi Competizione finishing eighth with Mike Skeen and Conquest Racing with Manny Franco in ninth. Skeen partners with Sheena Monk and Stevan McAleer in their 296 GT3, while Franco will share driving duties with factory driver Daniel Serra and Cedric Sbirrazzuoli.
Qualifying 12th was Charles Scardina in Triarsi Competizione’s second entry – which also sees Onofrio Triarsi and factory driver Alessio Rovera behind the wheel. And after an incident in Thursday afternoon’s practice session, Inception Racing chose to work on the car during the qualifying session, but is ready to attack in Saturday’s race with Brendan Iribe, Frederik Schandorff and Ollie Millroy.
Albert Costa, #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3: “I was not planning to do the lap in Lap 1, and I also made small mistakes. But I’m very, very happy because this means a lot to me. Last year racing in Pro-Am, I never had the chance to qualify. When today they told me ‘You’re going to qualify the car and you’re going to send it full push,’ I thought it was a dream come true, finally.
“As a driver, to have the car with no fuel and new tires, it’s always very enjoyable. I really enjoyed the lap and maybe that’s why we were able to pick up the pole position, because I was enjoying. My team, they did a fantastic job. We need to keep calm, and tomorrow is a very long race, very difficult and there will be a lot of fight out there. We need to focus and save the car as much as we can for the last two hours to push like ever.”
Alessandro Pier Guidi, #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3: “For Ferrari, it’s a great day, especially after let’s say, a kind of tough Daytona. Last year, we were really strong. This year, we struggled a bit. So, we worked hard to come back. We prepared the weekend as best as we could. In the end, I think the work paid off. Of course, it’s just a pole position of a 12 hour. Still a long way to go, but I always prefer to start in the front row.”
Lorenzo Patrese, #47 Cetilar Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: “It was quite good. Yesterday was my first time here at Sebring, so it was quite new for me. After three practice sessions, it was just jump right in for qualifying. The feeling was quite good with the car, but I for sure have a little bit of margin to improve on for tomorrow. We have plenty of time this afternoon, so we will be working hard and looking forward for the race.”
Mike Skeen, #021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3: “I think we expect good things, the car feels pretty solid. We maybe missed a bit of outright pace on the fastest lap, but it’s a long day tomorrow. We’re in a decent spot – just stay out of trouble for 12 hours and go race.”
Manny Franco, #34 Conquest Racing Ferrari 296 GT3: “Setup-wise, we were still playing with it a lot. The car had a bit too much of both – understeer and oversteer – on medium speed corners. It kind of hindered a little bit of performance, but it wasn’t too bad and I’m happy with it and at the same time disappointed. That’s probably a good medium for everybody. The car felt like it could do more, for sure. I think we have some work to do after we get some feedback and hopefully make the car better for the race.”
Charles Scardina, #023 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3: “I think qualy was, for the most part, pretty solid. We were fortunate, we didn’t get caught in some traffic. The car is doing amazing right now, so we’re really happy from that respect. For race pace, we’re really focused on especially nighttime, and I think we’re there.”
Ollie Millroy: “Obviously, it looks like the Ferraris are really strong here. Our pace was very good yesterday and we were happy with the car. We didn’t do the test here a few weeks ago, so it’s the first time we’ve run the Ferrari here. But, we felt like we really got up to speed yesterday and the car dialed in. We’re going for the win, that’s the plan. I think we’ve got a really good chance. The main things is to stay out of trouble for 11 hours and make sure you start the last hour with the car in one piece and somewhere near the front, then go from there.”