Friday’s second Free Practice session for the FIA World Endurance Championship at Monza produced notably slower times than FP1 as teams mounted slick tyres for the first time this weekend. Robert Kubica’s 1:38.143 lap in the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P led the session, nearly eight seconds quicker than Charles Milesi’s morning pace.
Although both sessions were run in wet conditions, and FP3 on Saturday is also forecast to be wet, indications are that qualifying and the race could be dry. Ferrari’s Alessandro Pier Guidi therefore warned that drivers will head into qualifying “blind.”
He said: “Most probably two of us will go into the race without any dry laps to rely on. It will be quite unknown. It’s a bit of a gamble in terms of setup because there hasn’t been much dry work — sometimes you’re lucky and you have a good base, other times you have to work harder. It will be quite challenging for sure.”
Fellow factory Ferrari driver Antonio Fuoco is looking forward to the challenge, commenting: “You just have to go for it with no references and it’s the same for everyone.”
Fuoco will also race a Ferrari 499P in the new Hypercar class of the Asian Le Mans Series this winter, and says the Monza weekend will prove useful for preparation. “For the next couple of months I will have quite similar conditions!” he added. “In the Asian LMS we’ll have tyre heaters, so the first two or three laps will be a bit easier.”
The No. 92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo, the closest title contender to Jonny Edgar’s No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette C8 GT3.R in LMGT3, completed only a handful of laps in FP1 after diagnosing and addressing a drivetrain issue. The car ended FP2 as the ninth-quickest with Riccardo Pera on board.
The recently announced 2027 rules change, which will determine LMGT3 trophy points by combining entries under the same competitor license, has been clarified. Teams will still be allowed to retain commercial partners in individual entry names, but those partnerships must appear after the name as written on the competitor license.
This means a team name such as “Racing Team Turkey by TF” would have to be reformatted to something like “TF Sport with Racing Team Turkey,” with “The Bend Manthey” becoming “Manthey The Bend” among current examples.
Toyota Gazoo Racing’s WEC team principal Kamui Kobayashi paid tribute to Mike Conway during Friday’s pre-event press conference, ahead of the Briton’s retirement from top-level racing after Monza. The two have shared a car for 75 races across 12 seasons.
Kobayashi described Conway as a “gentleman” and someone he has “huge respect for,” adding: “There were moments of difficulty, but he always stayed calm and would bounce back strongly.” He said Conway’s greatest achievement was earning the respect of everyone in the team, and he hopes to share a car with him again in a local race for fun in the future.
With Conway’s retirement approaching, only one more WEC race remains to determine which Toyota outfit claims the drivers’ world championship. However, Ryo Hirakawa, who leads the standings in the No. 8 Toyota TR010 Hybrid by 17 points over Conway, Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries’s sister car, expects a tough Monza for the manufacturer, which has won four of the seven rounds so far.
Hirakawa said: “This track isn’t really our strength because many circuits feature bumps and heavy curb usage, which is more in our wheelhouse. Monza is very smooth, flat, and uses almost no curb, so it seems others could gain performance from this new surface and seamless layout.”
Richard Lietz, who is slated to make his 100th WEC start this weekend, revealed that his Porsche contract expires at year’s end. He signed a two-year deal in 2024 with an option for a one-year extension, which was exercised at the start of the LMGT3 era.
The Austrian told Sportscar365: “We need to talk. I want to continue if the program is strong. They want to continue. The team has to want to continue. In the end, it doesn’t look too bad, but we’ll see. Nothing is signed yet, but I feel confident. Yes, at some point it will end. I hope not right now.”
New Peugeot signing Robert Shwartzman disclosed that he will have a double program next year, with Lola set to confirm him for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship as well. It would mark the third Peugeot WEC driver to also race in FE next year, joining Nick Cassidy and Jean-Eric Vergne.
At present, it remains unclear how Stellantis will manage the single WEC/FE clash next year between the 6 Hours of Sao Paulo and Shanghai double-header in July, which will require at least four drivers across its two 9X8s.
Shwartzman drove Peugeot’s heavily updated 2027-spec 9X8, which awaits final approval from the FIA and ACO for a special Evo joker dispensation, for the first time at Portimão in September as part of an endurance test. “When I tried the Peugeot at Portimão, it had been more than a year and 15 days since I last sat in a race car,” he said.
Seb Priaulx and Logan Sargeant, who both make their final scheduled starts in the Ford Mustang GT3 EVO before switching to Ford Racing’s Hypercar program full time, were part of the most recent LMDh-based car test at Monza on Oct. 27–30. They were joined by Mike Rockenfeller and Nick Yelloly.
Priaulx said the test with the Ford Hypercar was “really positive,” and it was a valuable opportunity to reacquaint himself with the circuit ahead of the WEC season finale. “With its long straights and high-speed corners, Monza should play more to the Ford Mustang GT3’s strengths than some of the tracks we’ve raced on recently.”
The next major milestone for the Hypercar program will be its first endurance test at Motorland Aragon in two weeks’ time. The car is due to be officially unveiled on Nov. 26, along with further details of the program.
Sargeant will be one of 12 Ford Racing drivers taking part in the manufacturer’s inaugural “Proud To Serve: Veterans Day Classic” at Daytona International Speedway on Nov. 11. He will join NASCAR Cup Series competitor Ryan Preece to represent the U.S. Navy, with six two-car teams of Ford Mustang Dark Horse Rs representing each U.S. military branch.
Ben Tuck isn’t worried about his FIA driver rating moving from Silver to Gold for next year during the “dreaded time of year for us Silvers.” He said he should be fine and is close to finalising a 2027 program. “I’m confident it shouldn’t hold me back too much,” he told Sportscar365. “A couple of years ago I would’ve been worried but I feel like now is the right time — I feel ready to take the step and try to be Gold somewhere.”
Tuck, who pilots the No. 77 Proton Competition-entered Mustang alongside Priaulx and Eric Powell, has only managed a best finish of fifth in the WEC this year, the first season for the updated car.
He added: “We’re somewhere near the bottom of the championship, but it doesn’t feel right. We haven’t really done anything majorly wrong; it’s just that the entire grid has accelerated as has the Mustang, so that’s made it tougher. The key is tightening up the final bit of execution in the race and we’ll be OK.”
McLaren Endurance Racing executive director James Barclay confirmed that the sixth and final driver for its Hypercar program will be announced “pretty imminent.” Sportscar365 believes the choice could be made as soon as Monday, with Malthe Jakobsen widely expected to be officially named but previously unable to due to terms in his Peugeot contract.
Barclay said all six drivers will participate in the next scheduled test, at Portimão later this month, plus one more test in Europe before year’s end. He added that the British manufacturer is keeping options open for early 2027 running, having previously signalled plans to test in the Middle East, where the geopolitical situation remains fluid.
Saturday’s track action will begin with Free Practice 3 at 10:30 a.m. CET (4:30 a.m. ET) followed by qualifying and Hyperpole that gets underway at 2:20 p.m. CET (8:20 a.m. ET). Both will be streamed live on FIAWEC+.
Stephen Lickorish contributed to this report
