Historic pole position and superb first stint highlight Lilou Wadoux's pace despite unrewarded Road America IMSA result
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Lilou Wadoux claimed her first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position and executed a superb opening part of the race, before a string of penalties and untimely incidents denied the AF Corse Ferrari crew the result their front-running pace deserved at Road America.
Lilou Wadoux claimed her first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position and executed a superb opening part of the race, before a string of penalties and untimely incidents denied the AF Corse Ferrari crew the result their front-running pace deserved at Road America.
After securing her third IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory at the 2026 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring earlier this year in March, Ferrari factory driver Lilou Wadoux returned to the series at Road America looking to continue her remarkable run in North American endurance racing. Sharing the #21 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3 with Simon Mann and Antonio Fuoco, Wadoux had played a decisive role in a dramatic Sebring victory as the trio recovered from multiple penalties before sealing the win with a sensational final-lap overtake.
The triumph added to her previous IMSA victories at the 2024 Six Hours of The Glen and the 2025 Motul Petit Le Mans, further cementing the reigning IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup champion's status as one of GT racing's brightest endurance stars. After missing this year's Six Hours of The Glen due to a scheduling clash with her European commitments - as she contests multiple programs in the European Le Mans Series and GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup - Wadoux returned behind the wheel for the six-hour race at Road America, making her debut at the iconic Wisconsin circuit.
The weekend immediately showed encouraging signs for the Ferrari squad. Antonio Fuoco set the team's benchmark in the opening practice session with a lap of 2:06.4, placing the Ferrari just outside the GTD top ten and less than a second away from the pace-setters. The biggest step forward, however, came during a rain-soaked second practice session, where Wadoux immediately adapted to the wet conditions. The Frenchwoman posted a best lap of 2:22.098, the fastest of the three AF Corse drivers, to finish third quickest in the GTD class.
Qualifying itself took place on a damp circuit after earlier rain, with slick tyres proving the correct choice as the track continued to dry. Entrusted with qualifying duties, Wadoux wasted no time announcing herself.
Immediately producing the fastest opening sector of the session, she first climbed to fourth with a lap of 2:05.451 before delivering a great second run of 2:04.688, moving the #21 Ferrari onto provisional pole by 0.167 seconds with less than two minutes remaining.
Her rivals had no answer: Russell Ward couldn't match her, while Zach Robichon was also unable to improve sufficiently on his final lap. When the chequered flag fell, Wadoux had secured the first IMSA pole position of her career, doing so on her very first visit to Road America.
It was a remarkable achievement for the Frenchwoman, who not only had she claimed a sensational maiden IMSA pole position aboard the AF Corse Ferrari, but she also became the first woman to start from pole position in an IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race in eight years.
Sunday's six-hour contest began beneath grey Wisconsin skies, though the circuit remained dry as the green flag waved. Wadoux converted pole perfectly; making a superb getaway, she immediately established a small advantage over the rest of the GTD field while even inserting herself into the battle among the faster GTD Pro entries. Displaying exceptional confidence, she overtook Hawksworth, Barker and Mies during the opening laps, comfortably holding the class lead while racing among the Pro class factory entries.
The opening phase was soon interrupted by the first incident. Sheena Monk's Mustang was hit by an LMP2 prototype entering the fearsome Kink, resulting in a heavy impact with the barriers that triggered the first Full Course Yellow.
Although Wadoux retained the GTD lead, the caution erased the advantage she had begun to establish over her direct rivals. At the restart, she immediately resumed her impressive pace. Only Zachary Robichon's Heart of Racing Aston Martin could consistently match her speed, with the pair the only GTD competitors regularly dipping beneath the 2:07 barrier.
However, another major LMP2 accident involving John Field's Intersport Racing Oreca quickly brought out another caution. Shortly before the neutralization, Robichon had managed to edge ahead of Wadoux in the fight for the class lead as the pair had begun pulling clear of the remainder of the GTD field.
When pit lane opened, AF Corse serviced the Ferrari, but the timing of the stop allowed both Robichon and Russell Ward to jump ahead, relegating Wadoux to third in class.
The Frenchwoman fought back; delivering another excellent restart, she once again sliced through several GTD Pro cars before setting the fastest GTD lap of the race to that point with a 2:06.770. Passing additional GTD Pro machinery, she quickly closed back onto the leading GTD battle, with only Jack Hawksworth's GTD Pro Lexus separating her from Robichon and Ward.
As soon as the Lexus peeled into the pits, Wadoux again had clear air ahead to resume her pursuit of the class leader. Unfortunately, the race then took a dramatic turn. On lap 32, race control issued the #21 Ferrari a drive-through penalty for a powertrain parameter infringement.
The penalty proved costly around the long Road America pit lane. Despite serving it immediately, Wadoux dropped all the way to eleventh in GTD. She immediately launched into recovery mode.
Still among the quickest drivers on circuit, she dispatched Adelson before passing Bechtolsheimer's Gradient Racing Mustang.
Another personal best of 2:06.724 allowed her to erase an eight-second deficit to the Conquest Racing Ferrari before overtaking Megennis to climb into eighth position.
After an outstanding opening double stint lasting almost exactly two hours, Wadoux handed the Ferrari over to Simon Mann in eighth place.
Although the track position on paper no longer reflected her pace, it had been another hugely impressive display, with Wadoux once again among the fastest GTD drivers throughout her entire stint.
Mann's run, however, quickly became considerably more difficult. On cold tyres, he briefly ran off into the gravel at the Carousel shortly after taking over, rejoining without damage but dropping several positions to 15th.
After recovering one place, another setback followed when Riccardo Pera forced him wide while battling through traffic. Mann managed to avoid the barriers, although he slipped back again before the Porsche was subsequently penalized with a drive-through.
Further cautions offered AF Corse opportunities to recover, and clever strategy briefly elevated Mann into the GTD lead when the team elected to remain on track while many rivals pitted.
Although running on an offset fuel strategy eventually caused him to fall back to 6th, the decision positioned AF Corse well.
After 92 laps, Mann completed the team's fourth service stop and handed over to Antonio Fuoco with just over two hours remaining. Rejoining 16th, Fuoco immediately demonstrated good speed.
His opening flying lap of 2:06.054 became the fastest GTD lap of the race, and several more low-2:06 laps confirmed the Ferrari still possessed race-winning pace.
Another Full Course Yellow soon brought the field back together, allowing AF Corse to abandon the alternate strategy with a quick fuel stop and rejoin sixth once the remaining GTD competitors had also pitted.
Just as another comeback appeared possible, further misfortune struck: following contact with the #80 Lone Star Racing Mercedes, Fuoco received a drive-through penalty after officials deemed him responsible for the incident. As if that were not enough, a speeding infringement while serving the penalty resulted in a second drive-through, dropping the Ferrari to 15th with barely an hour remaining.
An additional fuel stop left AF Corse almost two minutes adrift and effectively last among the GTD runners.
A series of late cautions - including incidents for Tom Sargent's Porsche, Meyer Shank Racing's Acura, United Autosports' LMP2 Oreca, and the dramatic collision between Jack Aitken and Kevin Estre while fighting for second overall - kept the field compressed.
Critically, Fuoco had managed to remain on the lead lap, and each restart saw him immediately regain positions, overtaking Joey Hand and Trent Hindman while also benefiting from a penalty for Schuring.
However, the succession of cautions left almost no green-flag racing during the final 40 minutes.
With every restart quickly followed by another neutralization, Fuoco simply ran out of time to complete the recovery. The race ultimately finished behind the Safety Car.
After a very incident-filled GTD contest, AF Corse crossed the finish line P13 before later being promoted to eleventh in class.
The final classification scarcely reflected the pace shown by the Ferrari throughout the weekend.
Wadoux had delivered one of the highlight stints of the event after securing a maiden IMSA pole position on her Road America debut, before leading the opening stages, battling among GTD Pro competitors and repeatedly setting some of the fastest laps in class.
Ultimately, a combination of drive-through penalties, unfortunate race circumstances and repeated interruptions denied the #21 crew the opportunity to translate that pace into another podium challenge.
Nevertheless, Wadoux left Road America with another milestone in her sportscar career, claiming her first pole position.
Lilou, Mann and Fuoco will return to the championship for the season-ending endurance classic, the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.