From the department of last-gasp heroics: Antonio Giovinazzi snatched WEC Imola pole with the final flying lap of the Hyperpole session, planting the Ferrari 499P #51 on top with a 1:30.127. He pipped Hirakawa right at the buzzer — a nervy, knife-edge effort that will have had the Maranello endurance squad punching the air. After Friday's practice picture (where Alpine looked genuinely quick and the 499Ps were solid but not dominant), this is a meaningful psychological reset going into Sunday's race.

So the defending hypercar champions will start from the front at their home circuit, which is exactly the script Ferrari wanted. Whether they can convert it into a race result is the open question — the WEC field in 2026 is not making things easy — but pole at Imola, in front of the tifosi, with Giovinazzi delivering at the absolute last moment? That's the kind of theatre that reminds you why endurance racing is worth following.