Ferrari 296 LMGT3 to start from front row at 24 Hours of Le Mans

With a time of 3’53”085 set in Hyperpole 2, official Ferrari driver Alessio Rovera secured second place on the grid for the number 21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, which he shares with Simon Mann and François Heriau, ensuring a front-row start at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 

After François Heriau secured the team a spot among the top twelve in Wednesday’s qualifying, Simon Mann drove the number 21 car to sixth place in the first of the two Hyperpole sessions. This session was briefly red-flagged due to an off-track excursion by Francesco Castellacci in the sister car during his second flying lap. Consequently, Castellacci, who shares the car with Thomas Flohr and fellow factory driver Davide Rigon, will start from 12th on the grid. The number 193 Ferrari of Ziggo Sport Tempesta, piloted by Christopher Froggatt, Jonathan Hui, and Eddie Cheever III, will start ninth, having missed out on a place in Hyperpole 2 by less than seven-tenths of a second.

The decisive 15-minute Hyperpole session, reserved for the top eight qualifiers, took place with an air temperature of 26.5 degrees and a track temperature of 33 degrees. Alessio Rovera completed four laps of the French circuit, finishing just 0.298 seconds off the fastest time. The Italian, along with Simon Mann and François Heriau, will start in second place from the front row for the iconic race, which kicks off on Saturday at 4 p.m.