Born before 1900, Bibendum, the famous Michelin logo, has aged well. It should be noted he has undergone several makeovers during the 20th century, from the disappearance of the politically incorrect cigar to the decrease in his curves. The Clermont manufacturer has racked up wins at Le Mans without interruption since 1998.

Twelve months ago at Imola, Ferrari’s Antonio Giovinazzi grabbed pole position by more than three-quarters-of-a-second. The reigning world champion secured the top spot on the starting grid again today, but he had to dig deep during the closest Hyperpole shootout in Hypercar history.

As it bids to get its title defence off to a winning start on home soil, Ferrari topped four of the five testing and practice sessions around the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, but when it came to qualifying for tomorrow&rsquo;s FIA World Endurance Championship curtain-raising contest, the Prancing Horse&rsquo;s rivals applied some serious pressure.

Ferrari&rsquo;s all-conquering 499P was still firmly in the mix &ndash; courtesy of Giovinazzi and countryman Antonio Fuoco &ndash; but so too were Toyota and Peugeot. Rising star Malthe Jakobsen produced a stellar effort in Team Peugeot TotalEnergies&rsquo; #94 9X8, but as the clock ticked down towards zero, Ryō Hirakawa stormed to the summit of the standings in TOYOTA RACING&rsquo;S heavily-updated TR010 Hybrid.&nbsp;

That looked to be that, but Giovinazzi had other ideas. On the very last lap of the session, the Italian thrilled the thousands of tifosi packing the circuit grandstands to snatch pole position by the tiniest of margins, with the leading quartet blanketed by a miniscule 0.073 seconds...

In LMGT3, Garage 59 made a grand entrance into the championship as rising star &ndash; and FIA WEC rookie &ndash; Tom Fleming produced a sensational performance. For much of the session, the young Brit looked untouchable, and while the opposition &ndash; led by Lexus &ndash; narrowed the gap later on, ultimately, nobody could hold a candle to the McLaren racer.&nbsp;

The 6 Hours of Imola will get underway at 13:00 CEST tomorrow (Sunday, 19 April).

Qualifying results <a href="https://www.fiawec.com/en/page/resultats-1" target="_blank">HERE</a>.

Follow all of the action live on <a href="https://plus.fiawec.com/fr" target="_blank">FIAWEC+</a>

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FIA WEC : Ferrari on pole at Imola as Giovinazzi tops scintillating shootout

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO), the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and Bosch are pleased to announce the extension of their partnership for a further two seasons. For the 2026–2027 period, Bosch will continue as both a Premium Partner and a Technical Partner of the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, reaffirming its long-term commitment to endurance racing and technological innovation at the highest level.

A major force in motorsport for more than 120 years, Bosch plays a key role in the evolution of endurance racing technologies, particularly in electrification, hybrid systems and advanced vehicle control solutions. Through this renewed agreement, Bosch will maintain strong brand visibility across FIA WEC events and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, supported by on-site activation, digital content and media exposure, while continuing to contribute its technical expertise to the championship&rsquo;s leading categories. 
 
Within the Hypercar era, Bosch is a central technical partner of the platform, supplying key elements of the standardized hybrid system used by manufacturers. Bosch Motorsport provides critical components including the electric motor (MGU), inverter and hybrid control unit, ensuring a reliable, high-performance and cost-controlled hybrid architecture. 
 
Ingo Mauel, Head of Bosch Motorsport, said:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&quot;We are delighted to continue our successful partnership with the FIA World Endurance Championship for the 2026&ndash;2027 seasons. This collaboration is driven by our deep passion for developing pioneering technologies and underlines our shared ambition with the FIA WEC and the ACO to shape the future of endurance racing. The championship is the ultimate proving ground for our advanced hybrid systems, allowing us to push the boundaries of performance and efficiency under the most demanding conditions. We are proud to continue transferring this pioneering spirit from the racetrack to the road.&rdquo; 
 
Pierre Fillon, President of the Automobile Club de l&rsquo;Ouest, commented:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&quot;Bosch is much more than a partner &mdash; they are a cornerstone of the Hypercar era. Their engineering expertise, particularly in hybrid technology, has been instrumental in shaping a competitive, efficient and cost-controlled framework that benefits the entire grid. Renewing this partnership for 2026 and 2027 is a natural step, and a strong signal that the most innovative industrial players see the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans as the ultimate arena to demonstrate what technology can achieve.&quot; 
 
Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Lequien, FIA WEC CEO, added:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
&ldquo;Bosch has been a loyal and long-standing partner to the FIA World Endurance Championship, and we are delighted and proud to be extending that relationship for at least another two years. As a global leader in the realm of automotive equipment, Bosch is always at the cutting-edge of technology and engineering, and as such, is a vital partner to have by our side as we drive FIA WEC forward into an ever-brighter and more innovative future.&rdquo; 
 
The extension of this partnership for 2026&ndash;2027 reinforces Bosch&rsquo;s strategic presence in world-class endurance racing and underlines the shared ambition of Bosch, the FIA WEC and the ACO to continue pushing the boundaries of performance, efficiency and sustainable technology.

Bosch extends Partnership with the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 2026–2027

A red flag interrupted 4 Hours of Barcelona saw the #29 Forestier Racing by Panis Oreca-Gibson take a dramatic win, with reigning LMP2 champions Esteban Masson and Oliver Gray joined by new teammate Louis Rousset on the top step of the podium to get their title defence off to a great start.

Esteban Masson&nbsp;took the chequered flag 13 seconds ahead of the #34&nbsp;Inter Europol Competition&nbsp;of&nbsp;Reshad De Gerus, with&nbsp;Ben Hanley&nbsp;in the #22&nbsp;United Autosports&nbsp;claiming the final podium position.

Algarve Pro Racing&nbsp;took the victory in the&nbsp;LMP2 Pro/Am&nbsp;category, with last year&rsquo;s winners&nbsp;AF Corse&nbsp;in second and Duqueine Team in third.&nbsp; 
The&nbsp;LMP3&nbsp;victory was claimed by&nbsp;Rinaldi Racing&nbsp;after a great class battle with the #85&nbsp;R-ace GP Duqueine, the #13&nbsp;Inter Europol Competition Ligier&nbsp;and the #11&nbsp;Eurointernational Ligier-Toyota.

Proton Competition&nbsp;took the win in the&nbsp;LMGT3&nbsp;class with&nbsp;Tom Sargent&nbsp;crossing the line in the #75&nbsp;Porsche 911&nbsp;to take the victory in a car whose livery is celebrating Porsche&rsquo;s first class win at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/porsche-at-le-mans-the-early-days-1951-1952-22759" target="_blank">24 Hours of Le Mans in 1951</a>.&nbsp;The #23&nbsp;United Autosports McLaren 720S&nbsp;was second, 3 seconds behind the Porsche, with the #57&nbsp;Kessel Racing Ferrari&nbsp;in third.

<a href="https://www.europeanlemansseries.com/en/race/4-hours-of-barcelona-2026" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a>&nbsp;for the provisional result from the 4 Hours of Barcelona.

The next race will be the&nbsp;4 Hours of Le Castellet&nbsp;on&nbsp;Sunday 3 May 2026.

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ELMS : Victory in Barcelona for Forestier Racing by Panis

A combination of raw horsepower and aerial ballet. A rare encounter between Ferrari and the Frecce Tricolori develops as much speed and adrenaline on the tarmac as in the air. An ethereal moment at the crossroads of two exceptional worlds.

A few weeks before the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship begins with the 8 Hours of Imola (18-19 April 2026), the Ferrari-AF Corse squad experienced a moment suspended in time. The legendary Ferrari&ndash;AF Corse team met up with Italy&rsquo;s national aerobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori, at the Rivolto air base. An encounter between two figures of Italian excellence united by a single obsession: to drive back the boundaries of performance.

<h2>An encounter between two worlds with the same quest for perfection</h2>

On 26 February, the Ferrari 499P hypercar showed off its taut lines alongside the slender silhouette of the Italian Air Force&rsquo;s Aermacchi MB-339. Two machines, two different playgrounds, but with a shared profile: precision, rigour and audacity.

On the ground, James Calado proceeded along the runway in the #51 499P under the watchful gaze of Miguel Molina who helped coordinate operations. In the air, the Frecce Tricolori displayed their high-speed choreography, producing figures with slide-rule accuracy. 
The excitement reached a crescendo when the aircraft and the hypercar appeared to engage in dialogue as they moved in formation. A rare communion between the sky and the tarmac where every action counts, where every trajectory tells its own story.

<h2>The Ferrari-AF Corse squad takes off</h2>

The aim of the exercise, however, was not just to put on a show. It was also a fascinating experience.

Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen, Alessandro Pier Guidi and Antonio Giovinazzi swapped their hypercar&rsquo;s cockpit for that of the MB-339. An immersion into another world of velocity, where points of reference are very different but where the demands are the same.

In a military aircraft, sensations are raw and immediate. The Ferrari drivers, used to the long straights of the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, sampled another, three-dimensional form of adrenaline. 
A rare, almost intimate moment that offers a reminder that every performance conceals a unique passion: mastering a machine and feeling each vibration, each variation, each fraction of a second.

<h2>Continuing to make history</h2>

This encounter goes beyond the simple scope of an event. It incarnates the vision of a brand that continually reinvents itself while remaining loyal to its very essence.

As the 2026 FIA WEC season approaches and, with it, the 94th 24 Hours of Le Mans (10-14 June), Ferrari portrays its ambition more than ever. The objective for the 499P, winner of the last three editions of the French endurance classic, is clear: to continue making history. And what greater inspiration could there be than to share this quest with other masters of precision and excellence?

Whether it be on the ground or in the air, Ferrari and the Frecce Tricolori have reminded us of an obvious fact: performance is never just about speed. Emotion, synchronisation and passion all have a part to play.

When track meets air | The Ferrari Hypercar team and the Frecce Tricolori

Quand la piste rencontre l'air : L'équipe Ferrari Hypercar et les Frecce Tricolori

Ferrari and Frecce Tricolori: Italian style and elegance on the track and in the air

Would you like to know how Bibendum came to be? &nbsp;Voted &quot;logo of the century&quot; by an international jury in 2000, this silent cartoon from 1935 will give you a much more poetic response than the reality...

	<img class="imgVideo" id="3072" src="/wpphpFichiers/video/3072-michelin-the-story-of-bibendum-or-the-michelin-tyre-man-1935.jpg" />

	Thierry Arman &amp; C&eacute;cile Bonardel / ACO - Translation by Nikki Ehrhardt / ACO

24H LE MANS

24 Hours of Le Mans - The birth of the Michelin Man (Bibendum) in silent film (video)!

Related News

FIA WEC : Ferrari on pole at Imola as Giovinazzi tops scintillating shootout

Bosch extends Partnership with the FIA WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 2026–2027

ELMS : Victory in Barcelona for Forestier Racing by Panis

Ferrari and Frecce Tricolori: Italian style and elegance on the track and in the air

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