{"id":1658,"date":"2026-06-26T16:30:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T16:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/?p=1658"},"modified":"2026-06-26T22:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T22:19:16","slug":"unstoppable-rovera-crushes-rivals-as-ferrari-claims-historic-spa-24h-superpole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/unstoppable-rovera-crushes-rivals-as-ferrari-claims-historic-spa-24h-superpole\/","title":{"rendered":"Unstoppable Rovera Crushes Rivals As Ferrari Claims Historic Spa 24h Superpole"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ferrari\u2019s absolute dominance at the 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa showed zero signs of slowing down during Friday\u2019s high-stakes shootout.<\/sup> In a high-octane spectacle under the scorching Ardennes sun, Alessio Rovera put on a driving masterclass to secure pole position for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo<\/strong>.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The victory marks an emotional, statement performance for the Maranello camp, securing Ferrari\u2019s first overall pole position at the legendary endurance classic since 2017. It punctuates a flawless weekend build-up where the Italian manufacturer has systematically swept virtually every timed session on the schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Format & The Ultimate Catch<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This year, the GT World Challenge introduced a dramatic, multi-tiered shake-up to the traditional Superpole format. Instead of a straightforward single-lap run for the top 20 cars, a grueling, four-segment knockout structure expanded the field to the top 32 cars<\/strong> promoted from Thursday night’s chaotic qualifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defining rule change? All four knockout sessions had to be completed on a single set of Pirelli tires<\/strong>.<\/sup> Drivers had to balance absolute raw pace with tire preservation\u2014pushing too hard in the opening stints would leave them defenseless if they made the final cutoff.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superpole 1 (SP1): The 32-Car Shakedown<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The opening stanza saw all 32 transferred cars hit the track simultaneously for a rapid-fire session to decide who would make the top 16. With traffic management critical on the 7.004 km circuit, Alessio Rovera immediately stamped his authority on the field, posting the fastest time without over-stressing his rubber.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opening segment proved to be an absolute graveyard for the BMW contingent. Despite entering the weekend as historical favorites, the M4 GT3s struggled immensely with rear tire traction in the heat. Jordan Pepper came closest to saving the brand’s honor in the #32 Team WRT BMW<\/strong>, but missed the top-16 cut by a frustrating two-tenths, finishing a disappointing P18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superpole 2 (SP2): Cutting to the Elite 8<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With the grid trimmed to 16, the remaining drivers faced a surface that was continuing to slick up. Rovera again dictated the pace, putting down a clinical flyer before bringing the #51 Ferrari right back into the pits to save tire life.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This second block claimed major headline victims who simply couldn’t extract pace from their degrading rubber. Defending Superpole winner Marvin Kirchh\u00f6fer, who had barely scraped through the first cut in his #59 Garage 59 McLaren<\/strong>, found no extra grip and bowed out in 12th. Joining him on the sidelines was the highly fancied #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche<\/strong> driven by Ricardo Feller, who bowed out in 16th after struggling to keep the rear end stable under braking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superpole 3 (SP3): The Bubble Drama<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Eight cars went head-to-head for a chance to make it into the final pole shootout, creating pure theater on the timing screens.<\/sup> While Rovera comfortably laid down a benchmark time, a chaotic battle raged behind him, with positions on the bubble changing by the second.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ultimate surprise of the entire afternoon came from Ariel Levi in the #66 Attempto Audi<\/strong>.<\/sup> As the sole remaining Silver Cup entry in the top eight, Levi put on a fantastic show in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, twice jumping into the top four on the live timing sheets.<\/sup> However, the fairytale was crushed at the final buzzer. Jules Gounon pulled off a blistering, last-second flyer in the #3 Verstappen Racing Mercedes<\/strong> to bump the Audi underdogs out of the transfer spots.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superpole 4 (SP4): The Final Shootout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By the time the track cleared for the final dash to settle the front two rows, only four drivers remained. Rovera\u2019s calculated tire-saving strategy across the first three segments paid off massively.<\/sup> While his rivals were sliding on heavily degraded rubber, the Italian had just enough tire life left to mount a full assault.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unleashing a flawless lap, Rovera dropped an untouchable 2:18.330<\/strong>.<\/sup> It was an absolute hammer blow that left his closest competitor, Gold Cup standout Tom Fleming, trailing by a massive 0.428 seconds<\/strong>.<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arthur Leclerc anchored a spectacular day for Maranello, bringing the sister #50 AF Corse Ferrari<\/strong> home in P3. He will share the second row with Jules Gounon in the high-profile #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing<\/strong> entry. With four Ferrari 296 GT3s successfully locking themselves into the top eight positions overall, the Italian marque holds an ironclad strategic advantage heading into the 24-hour marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storm Clouds Brewing:<\/strong> While the teams celebrate their grid positions, team strategists are already glued to the radar. A dramatic cold front is forecasted to hit the circuit just as the race gets underway on Saturday afternoon, threatening to bring severe thunderstorms to the Ardennes and throw the hard-earned grid order into total disarray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RESULTS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ferrari\u2019s absolute dominance at the 2026 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa showed zero signs of slowing down during Friday\u2019s high-stakes shootout. In a high-octane spectacle under the scorching Ardennes sun, Alessio Rovera put on a driving masterclass to secure pole position for the #51 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. The victory marks an emotional, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35,87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-endurance","category-gt-world-challenge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1661,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1658\/revisions\/1661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/giornalemotori.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}