Robert Kubica set the pace in a dramatically quicker second practice session for the FIA World Endurance Championship’s 6 Hours of Monza, although the conditions offered little useful preparation for the dry qualifying session and race expected to follow.

The AF Corse Ferrari 499P driver posted a 1:38.143 lap after teams switched to slick tires on a drying circuit. That was nearly eight seconds faster than Charles Milesi’s morning benchmark, underlining how quickly conditions changed across Friday’s two sessions. Both practices took place in wet conditions, leaving teams with limited data for the weekend’s most important running.

Ferrari faces a dry-weather setup gamble

Ferrari’s drivers could be entering qualifying with virtually no representative dry-weather experience. Alessandro Pier Guidi said some of the team’s drivers may reach the race without completing a single dry lap at Monza, creating an unusually uncertain setup challenge.

“It will be quite unknown,” Pier Guidi explained. Teams must choose aerodynamic balance, suspension settings and tire targets without knowing precisely how their cars will behave over a full fuel stint. A setup that works during a short qualifying run may not offer the same stability or tire life during six hours of traffic, changing temperatures and repeated pit-stop cycles.

Antonio Fuoco took a more straightforward view of the situation. With the lack of dry references affecting the entire field, he said drivers would simply have to “send it with no references.” That uncertainty could make qualifying particularly important: a small advantage in tire preparation or driver confidence may be worth more than the usual fine-tuning based on extensive practice data.

Why Monza presents a different Hypercar challenge

Monza’s smooth, relatively flat surface and limited curb usage may not play to Toyota’s traditional strengths. Ryo Hirakawa said those characteristics could allow rival Hypercars to extract more performance than Toyota, which has often benefited from circuits with more bumps and curb usage.

“It’s not really our strengths because many tracks have some bumps and curb usage, which is our strengths,” Hirakawa said. “Whereas this track is very smooth, flat and almost no curb usage so it feels like the others can gain some performance by this new surface and smooth track.”

The weekend is also strategically important for Toyota. Hirakawa leads the drivers’ championship by 17 points over Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi and Nyck de Vries in the sister car. Toyota has won four of the season’s seven races, but the championship will be decided by one final contest in Italy—and Conway is set to retire from top-level racing after the event.

Conway prepares for his final WEC race

Kobayashi paid tribute to Conway during Friday’s pre-event press conference, recalling that the pair have shared a car for 75 races across 12 seasons. He described Conway as a gentleman who remained calm through difficult periods and repeatedly returned strongly.

The retirement adds an emotional dimension to an already significant race. Conway, Kobayashi and de Vries must overcome a 17-point deficit, while Hirakawa and his No. 8 crew need to protect their advantage. With six-hour races vulnerable to safety-car periods, traffic and weather changes, the title may not be decided by outright pace alone.

Porsche’s LMGT3 title hopes survive an early problem

The No. 92 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo lost valuable track time in FP1 while the team investigated a drivetrain-related issue. The problem was resolved before the second session, allowing Riccardo Pera to complete enough running for ninth-fastest time in FP2.

The Porsche remains the closest title challenger to the No. 33 TF Sport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, driven by Jonny Edgar and his teammates. The limited practice running is not ideal, particularly with conditions changing rapidly, but the repair prevented a potentially much more damaging weekend for Manthey.

LMGT3 teams are also adapting to a rules clarification for 2027. Trophy points will be calculated by combining entries carrying the same competitor license. Teams can retain commercial partners in individual entry names, but the licensed competitor name must appear first. As a result, names such as “Racing Team Turkey by TF” would need to be reorganized into a form such as “TF Sport with Racing Team Turkey.”

Major 2027 programs take shape at Monza

Several future programs are adding significance to the WEC finale. Robert Shwartzman, who has signed with Peugeot for 2027, is expected to combine his endurance duties with a Formula E program. That would make him the third Peugeot WEC driver also competing in Formula E next year, alongside Nick Cassidy and Jean-Éric Vergne.

The arrangement could create a scheduling complication when the WEC’s 6 Hours of São Paulo conflicts with Formula E’s Shanghai double-header. Stellantis will need sufficient driver coverage for its two Peugeot 9X8 entries if the clash remains in place.

Ford is also moving toward its Hypercar debut. Seb Priaulx and Logan Sargeant, who are making their final scheduled WEC starts in the Mustang GT3 EVO before focusing on Ford’s prototype effort, took part in a recent Monza test alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Nick Yelloly. Ford’s next major test is planned at MotorLand Aragón, with the car’s formal reveal scheduled for November 26.

McLaren Endurance Racing is similarly close to completing its driver lineup. Executive director James Barclay said the sixth driver announcement is imminent, with Malthe Jakobsen widely expected to fill the seat. All six drivers are due to participate in a Portimão test later in the month, followed by another European test before the end of the year.

Monza finale brings championship pressure

The Italian venue provides the backdrop for a decisive WEC weekend, with changing weather adding another layer of difficulty. Friday provided limited dry data, Saturday morning’s FP3 is expected to remain wet, and qualifying and the race may be held on a dry track.

That leaves the field facing a rare endurance-racing scenario. Teams must prepare for the race using incomplete information, while drivers will need to build confidence quickly when the track finally becomes representative. For Toyota’s title contenders, Manthey’s LMGT3 campaign and Conway’s farewell, the uncertainty may make Monza’s finale as much a test of judgment as of speed.

Sources: Sportscar365; Endurance-Info; GT World Challenge Europe.