United States Grand Prix · Debrief
Ferrari leads both classes in Barcelona WEC FP1
Robert Kubica and Alessio Rovera put Ferrari on top in Hypercar and LMGT3 during first practice for the 6 Hours of Barcelona.
Ferrari set the pace in both categories in first practice for the 6 Hours of Barcelona, with Robert Kubica quickest in Hypercar and Alessio Rovera leading LMGT3. The 90-minute session took place on Friday, 16 October, ahead of the penultimate round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship season.
Warm, sunny conditions greeted the 35-car field at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which hosted its first 6 Hours of Barcelona presented by Visit Qatar. The opening session ran largely uninterrupted, with only a brief procedural Full Course Yellow.
Kubica edges Aston Martin in the Hypercar class
Kubica, returning to a circuit where he raced eight times in Formula 1, posted a best time of 1m31.891s in the yellow #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. That put him 0.107s clear of the #009 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie, whose fastest lap came from Barcelona-born Alex Riberas.
The factory Ferrari entries filled the next two places. The #51 car narrowly beat the #50 by 0.013s to take third, while the #007 Aston Martin was fifth. The championship-leading #8 TOYOTA RACING entry completed the top six, with Sébastien Buemi, Ryō Hirakawa and Brendon Hartley sharing the car.
The sister Toyota finished 11th. The #38 Cadillac, #36 Alpine, #12 Cadillac and #19 Genesis took seventh through 10th respectively. The Barcelona weekend could prove significant in the title fight, with WEC championships potentially on the line.
Rovera leads a Ferrari one-two in LMGT3
Ferrari also controlled the top of the LMGT3 timesheets. Rovera, driving the #21 VISTA AF Corse 296 Evo with François Hériau and Simon Mann, led the sister #54 by 0.431s. Thomas Flohr, Davide Rigon and Francesco Castellacci shared the second-placed car.
Racing Team Turkey by TF was third, as Corvette pursued a third win of the season. Garage 59’s #10 McLaren finished fourth, ahead of the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG. Akkodis ASP Team’s #78 Lexus was sixth.
Championship-leading TF Sport ended the session 10th. Jonny Edgar is pursuing the 2026 LMGT3 Drivers’ title, with team-mates Ben Keating and Nicky Catsburg having missed races earlier in the season. The Barcelona title-battle preview outlines the stakes across both classes.
The second free practice session was scheduled for 16:30 local time.