{"id":1737,"date":"2026-09-05T18:47:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T21:47:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2026-09-05T18:47:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T21:47:47","slug":"giovinazzi-ties-on-time-with-aitken-but-takes-lone-star-le-mans-pole-as-barrichello-leads-lmgt3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/endurance\/wec\/giovinazzi-ties-on-time-with-aitken-but-takes-lone-star-le-mans-pole-as-barrichello-leads-lmgt3\/","title":{"rendered":"Giovinazzi ties on time with Aitken but takes Lone Star Le Mans pole as Barrichello leads LMGT3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">News Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Antonio Giovinazzi took Hypercar pole for the Lone Star Le Mans<\/strong> with Ferrari #51 after tying Jack Aitken\u2019s 1:52.445 but winning the tiebreak by setting his lap first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Charles Milesi put the Alpine #35 third, while Harry Tincknell and Nicklas Nielsen completed the Hypercar top five with Aston Martin #007 and Ferrari #50.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Dudu Barrichello claimed LMGT3 pole<\/strong> for Aston Martin #23, leading a 1-2 for the British marque alongside Zacharie Robichon.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferrari #51 came out on top in one of the <strong>closest and most exciting qualifying sessions of recent times in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC)<\/strong>. In qualifying for the Lone Star Le Mans, <strong>Antonio Giovinazzi set a 1:52.445<\/strong>, exactly the same time Jack Aitken posted shortly afterwards in the Cadillac #38. Giovinazzi took pole because he completed his lap first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Charles Milesi, driving Alpine #35, completed the Hypercar top three in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Harry Tincknell, who had led two free practice sessions with Aston Martin #007, qualified fourth, ahead of Ferrari #50 driver Nicklas Nielsen. Brazilian Pipo Derani qualified eighth in the Hypercar class with Genesis #17 alongside Andr\u00e9 Lotterer and Mathys Jaubert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The qualifying result continues an encouraging weekend for Ferrari after the #51 opened Friday\u2019s running at the top of the timesheets in FP1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In LMGT3, <strong>Dudu Barrichello claimed pole position with a 2:05.103<\/strong> aboard Aston Martin #23. The Brazilian had his best lap deleted for track limits but recovered to put the car at the front. The sister Aston Martin #27, with Zacharie Robichon, completed the front row, 0.181s behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Timur Boguslavskiy put the Porsche #91 third on the LMGT3 grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Augusto Farfus qualified seventh with BMW #32 alongside Darren Leung and Sean Gelael, earning a place in LMGT3 Hyperpole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The WEC now returns to the Circuit of The Americas for the <strong>6-hour Lone Star Le Mans on Sunday (6) at 13:00 local time in Austin<\/strong>. <strong>GRANDE PR\u00caMIO<\/strong> will provide full coverage of the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How qualifying unfolded at the Lone Star Le Mans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LMGT3 was the first class to take to the track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the opening part of qualifying, Stefano Gattuso moved to the top after two laps with Ford #88, setting a 2:06.331. Gray Newell also impressed, moving into the provisional top three with Aston Martin #23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the track continuing to improve, however, there was still plenty of time for the order to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With just over five minutes remaining in the opening phase, Fran\u00e7ois H\u00e9riau in Ferrari #21 tangled with Alexander West\u2019s McLaren #58. Both cars spun and ended up sideways on the circuit, but they were able to continue without major problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eric Powell then moved into second, briefly creating a Ford 1-2 before Martin Berry, Alexander West, James Cottingham, Ian James and Fran\u00e7ois H\u00e9riau all moved ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With 1m30s remaining, numerous drivers were still improving their times, leaving virtually every position up for grabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the clock expired, however, none of the drivers outside the top 10 managed to break into the qualification zone. Ferrari #54, Corvette #34, Porsche #92, McLaren #10, Lexus #78, BMW #69, Corvette #33 and Mercedes #79 were therefore eliminated and failed to advance to LMGT3 Hyperpole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Brazilian drivers moved through, with BMW #32 of Farfus eighth and Aston Martin #23 of Barrichello tenth at that stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DPPIPRODUCTION_00004897_0253-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1020314044\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DPPIPRODUCTION_00004897_0253-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DPPIPRODUCTION_00004897_0253-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DPPIPRODUCTION_00004897_0253-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DPPIPRODUCTION_00004897_0253-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DPPIPRODUCTION_00004897_0253-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DPPIPRODUCTION_00004897_0253-150x100.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Augusto Farfus\u2019 BMW #32 advanced to Hyperpole (Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni \/ DPPI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Barrichello takes LMGT3 pole<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Hyperpole, Barrichello immediately set the provisional benchmark with a 2:05.160 on his first attempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Brazilian then improved to <strong>2:05.103<\/strong> with Aston Martin #23, establishing a 1-2 for the British manufacturer as Zacharie Robichon followed in Aston Martin #27.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Giammarco Levorato, meanwhile, ran wide and went through the grass, ending Ford #88\u2019s hopes of fighting for pole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finn Gehrsitz was the final driver with a realistic chance of taking the top spot away from Barrichello, but he could manage only fifth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a result, Aston Martin #23 secured its <strong>second pole position of the 2026 season<\/strong>, while Barrichello will start from the front of the WEC grid for the first time this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After a slight delay in Austin, it was finally time for the Hypercars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ry\u014d Hirakawa initially set the pace with Toyota #8, posting a 1:57.820. That benchmark, however, was quickly beaten as the session developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Genesis then produced a surprise 1-2, with Mathieu Jaminet moving to the top ahead of Mathys Jaubert. Victor Martins ended the run shortly afterwards by setting a 1:52.436 in Alpine #36.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The times continued to tumble during the closing stages of the opening phase. Nicklas Nielsen eventually moved Ferrari #50 to the top, with Martins and Antonio Giovinazzi completing the top three when the clock expired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aston Martin #009, Peugeot #93, Cadillac #12, AF Corse #83, BMW #20, Peugeot #94 and BMW #15 were eliminated and failed to advance to Hyperpole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Giovinazzi and Aitken produce a qualifying thriller<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the final battle for the Hypercar grid, Hirakawa again set the early benchmark after the first lap, but the times quickly dropped just as they had in the opening phase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With 3m30s remaining, Jack Aitken set a <strong>1:52.564<\/strong> to put Cadillac #38 provisionally on pole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Giovinazzi responded almost immediately, putting Ferrari #51 at the top with a <strong>1:52.445<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then came the extraordinary finish: <strong>Aitken matched Giovinazzi\u2019s 1:52.445 exactly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because Giovinazzi had completed the identical lap first, the Ferrari #51 was awarded pole position, leaving Aitken second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ferrari therefore starts the Lone Star Le Mans from the front of the Hypercar field, while Cadillac #38 joins it on the front row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WEC 2026: Lone Star Le Mans qualifying results \u2014 Hypercar<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><th>Pos.<\/th><th>No.<\/th><th>Drivers<\/th><th>Team<\/th><th>Time<\/th><th>Gap<\/th><\/tr><tr><td>1<\/td><td>51<\/td><td>A. PIER GUIDI \/ J. CALADO \/ A. GIOVINAZZI<\/td><td>Ferrari<\/td><td>1:52.445<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td>38<\/td><td>E. BAMBER \/ S. BOURDAIS \/ J. AITKEN<\/td><td>Cadillac JOTA<\/td><td>1:52.445<\/td><td>+0.000<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td>35<\/td><td>A. F. DA COSTA \/ F. HABSBURG \/ C. MILESI<\/td><td>Alpine<\/td><td>1:52.474<\/td><td>+0.029<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td>007<\/td><td>H. TINCKNELL \/ T. GAMBLE<\/td><td>Aston Martin<\/td><td>1:52.495<\/td><td>+0.050<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td>50<\/td><td>A. FUOCO \/ M. MOLINA \/ N. NIELSEN<\/td><td>Ferrari<\/td><td>1:52.873<\/td><td>+0.428<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td>36<\/td><td>F. MAKOWIECKI \/ V. MARTINS \/ J. GOUNON<\/td><td>Alpine<\/td><td>1:52.886<\/td><td>+0.441<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td>8<\/td><td>S. BUEMI \/ B. HARTLEY \/ RY\u014c HIRAKAWA<\/td><td>Toyota<\/td><td>1:52.985<\/td><td>+0.540<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8<\/td><td>17<\/td><td>A. LOTTERER \/ P. DERANI \/ M. JAUBERT<\/td><td>Genesis<\/td><td>1:53.006<\/td><td>+0.561<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>9<\/td><td>7<\/td><td>M. CONWAY \/ K. KOBAYASHI \/ N. DE VRIES<\/td><td>Toyota<\/td><td>1:53.293<\/td><td>+0.848<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10<\/td><td>19<\/td><td>M. JAMINET \/ P. L. CHATIN \/ D. JUNCADELLA<\/td><td>Genesis<\/td><td>1:53.495<\/td><td>+1.050<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>11<\/td><td>15<\/td><td>K. MAGNUSSEN \/ R. MARCIELLO \/ D. VANTHOOR<\/td><td>BMW<\/td><td>1:52.841<\/td><td>+0.396<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12<\/td><td>94<\/td><td>L. DUVAL \/ M. JAKOBSEN \/ T. POURCHAIRE<\/td><td>Peugeot<\/td><td>1:52.947<\/td><td>+0.502<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>13<\/td><td>20<\/td><td>R. FRIJNS \/ R. RAST \/ S. VAN DER LINDE<\/td><td>BMW<\/td><td>1:52.998<\/td><td>+0.553<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>14<\/td><td>83<\/td><td>R. KUBICA \/ P. HANSON \/ Y. YE<\/td><td>AF Corse<\/td><td>1:53.043<\/td><td>+0.598<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>15<\/td><td>12<\/td><td>W. STEVENS \/ N. NATO \/ R. TAYLOR<\/td><td>Cadillac JOTA<\/td><td>1:53.080<\/td><td>+0.635<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>16<\/td><td>93<\/td><td>N. CASSIDY \/ P. DI RESTA \/ S. VANDOORNE<\/td><td>Peugeot<\/td><td>1:53.220<\/td><td>+0.775<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>17<\/td><td>009<\/td><td>A. RIBERAS \/ M. S\u00d8RENSEN<\/td><td>Aston Martin<\/td><td>1:53.507<\/td><td>+1.062<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">WEC 2026: Lone Star Le Mans qualifying results \u2014 LMGT3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><th>Pos.<\/th><th>No.<\/th><th>Drivers<\/th><th>Team<\/th><th>Time<\/th><th>Gap<\/th><\/tr><tr><td>1<\/td><td>23<\/td><td>G. NEWELL \/ D. BARRICHELLO \/ J. ADAM<\/td><td>Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin<\/td><td>2:05.103<\/td><td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2<\/td><td>27<\/td><td>I. JAMES \/ Z. ROBICHON \/ M. DRUDI<\/td><td>Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin<\/td><td>2:05.284<\/td><td>+0.181<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3<\/td><td>91<\/td><td>J. COTTINGHAM \/ T. BOGUSLAVSKIY \/ A. G\u00dcVEN<\/td><td>Manthey DK Engineering Porsche<\/td><td>2:05.483<\/td><td>+0.380<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4<\/td><td>77<\/td><td>E. POWELL \/ B. TUCK \/ S. PRIAULX<\/td><td>Proton Competition Ford<\/td><td>2:05.483<\/td><td>+0.380<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5<\/td><td>58<\/td><td>A. WEST \/ F. GEHRSITZ \/ B. GOETHE<\/td><td>Garage 59 McLaren<\/td><td>2:05.654<\/td><td>+0.551<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>6<\/td><td>21<\/td><td>F. H\u00c9RIAU \/ S. MANN \/ A. ROVERA<\/td><td>Vista AF Corse Ferrari<\/td><td>2:05.765<\/td><td>+0.662<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>7<\/td><td>32<\/td><td>D. LEUNG \/ S. GELAEL \/ A. FARFUS<\/td><td>Team WRT BMW<\/td><td>2:05.888<\/td><td>+0.785<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>8<\/td><td>61<\/td><td>M. BERRY \/ R. ANDRADE \/ M. MARTIN<\/td><td>Iron Lynx Mercedes<\/td><td>2:05.969<\/td><td>+0.866<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>9<\/td><td>87<\/td><td>R. UMBR\u0102RESCU \/ C. SCHMID \/ J. M. L\u00d3PEZ<\/td><td>Akkodis ASP Team Lexus<\/td><td>2:06.265<\/td><td>+1.162<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>10<\/td><td>88<\/td><td>S. GATTUSO \/ G. LEVORATO \/ L. SARGEANT<\/td><td>Proton Competition Ford<\/td><td>2:09.196<\/td><td>+4.093<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>11<\/td><td>54<\/td><td>T. FLOHR \/ F. CASTELLACCI \/ D. RIGON<\/td><td>Vista AF Corse Ferrari<\/td><td>2:07.262<\/td><td>+2.159<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>12<\/td><td>34<\/td><td>P. DEMPSEY \/ S. YOLU\u00c7 \/ C. EASTWOOD<\/td><td>Racing Team Turkey Corvette<\/td><td>2:07.443<\/td><td>+2.340<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>13<\/td><td>92<\/td><td>Y. SHAHIN \/ R. PERA \/ R. LIETZ<\/td><td>Manthey Porsche<\/td><td>2:07.479<\/td><td>+2.376<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>14<\/td><td>10<\/td><td>A. AU \/ T. FLEMING \/ M. KIRCHH\u00d6FER<\/td><td>Garage 59 McLaren<\/td><td>2:07.559<\/td><td>+2.456<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>15<\/td><td>78<\/td><td>T. VAN ROMPUY \/ H. DAVID \/ E. MASSON<\/td><td>Akkodis ASP Team Lexus<\/td><td>2:07.622<\/td><td>+2.519<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>16<\/td><td>69<\/td><td>A. MCINTOSH \/ P. THOMPSON \/ D. HARPER<\/td><td>Team WRT BMW<\/td><td>2:08.128<\/td><td>+3.025<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>17<\/td><td>33<\/td><td>B. KEATING \/ J. EDGAR \/ N. CATSBURG<\/td><td>TF Sport Corvette<\/td><td>2:08.864<\/td><td>+3.761<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>18<\/td><td>79<\/td><td>J. ZELGER \/ M. CRESSONI \/ L. HODENIUS<\/td><td>Iron Lynx Mercedes<\/td><td>2:08.968<\/td><td>+3.865<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who took pole position for the 2026 Lone Star Le Mans?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Antonio Giovinazzi took Hypercar pole for Ferrari #51 with a 1:52.445. Jack Aitken matched the exact same time in Cadillac #38 but qualified second because he completed his lap later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who is on pole in LMGT3 at the Lone Star Le Mans?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dudu Barrichello claimed LMGT3 pole with Aston Martin #23 after setting a 2:05.103.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When is the 2026 Lone Star Le Mans race?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The six-hour Lone Star Le Mans takes place on <strong>Sunday, September 6, at 13:00 local time in Austin<\/strong>, at Circuit of The Americas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Antonio Giovinazzi delivered a flying lap to claim pole position for the Lone Star Le Mans with Ferrari #51. Jack Aitken matched the Italian\u2019s time in the Cadillac #38 but had to settle for second after setting his lap later. In LMGT3, Dudu Barrichello led the way for Aston Martin #23.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020314043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Giovinazzi beats Aitken on tiebreak after identical times for Lone Star Le Mans pole","42wp_featured_image_credits":"Fabrizio Boldoni \/ DPPI","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[418,419,379,50],"42wp_author":[48],"class_list":["post-1737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wec","tag-antonio-giovinazzi","tag-dudu-barrichello","tag-lone-star-le-mans","tag-wec","42wp_author-giovani-danjo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1737"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1738,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions\/1738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020314043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=1737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}