WEC: KUBICA STROMS TO POLE; PEUGEOT DROPPED; PROTONS FIRST HYPERPOLE; MUSTANG LOCKS OUT FRONT ROW - Motorsportsclicks

WEC returned to Austin for Round 6 of the 2025 season, with teams battling for pole at the Circuit of the Americas. In wet conditions, the Hyperpole sessions delivered intense action as top contenders in both Hypercar and LMGT3 fought for grid positions ahead of Sunday’s Lone Star Le Mans.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 6: The #15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar of Raffaele Marciello and Kevin Magnussen in the pitlane at Circuit of The Americas for the FIA WEC Lonestar Le Mans race. September 6, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jakob Ebrey/LAT Images)

The first Hypercar qualifying session delivered a surprise as Nicolás Varrone, in the #99 Proton Competition Porsche 963, topped the timesheets with a lap of 1:58.155, securing the team’s first Hyperpole appearance of the season. Robert Kubica followed closely in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, just 0.250 seconds behind, while the #6 Porsche Penske secured third, +0.646 off the pace. Both factory Ferraris, the #51 and #50, finished the session in P4 and P5. Rounding out the Hyperpole top 10 were the #15 BMW WRT, #35 Alpine, #009 Aston Martin Valkyrie, #93 Peugeot, and the #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing.

Hyperpole

In the Hyperpole shootout, Robert Kubica stormed to pole position in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari, with a 1:57.655, delivering a dominant lap and securing the team’s first pole of the season.

The #51 Ferrari closely followed Kubica’s pace, securing P2, just 0.096 seconds behind the pole sitter. Meanwhile, Jean-Éric Vergne initially claimed third place in the #93 Peugeot, but the position was later revoked by race control, relegating the team to P18 on the starting grid.

Rounding out the top 10 were the #6 Porsche Penske in fourth, #50 Ferrari in fifth, and #99 Proton Competition in sixth, who celebrated their best qualifying result of the season. Also finishing in the top ten were the #35 Alpine, in seventh #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing in eight, #15 BMW WRT as ninth, and the #009 Aston Martin in tenth.

AUSTIN, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 6: The #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar of Robert Kubica, Yifei Ye and Philip Hanson celebrate pole position at Circuit of The Americas for the FIA WEC Lonestar Le Mans race. September 6, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jakob Ebrey/LAT Images)

LMGT3

The first LMGT3 qualifying session was dominated by the #32 The Bend WRT Team, who set the fastest lap with a time of 2:12.241. Close behind in second was the #46 Team WRT BMW, driven by Al Harthy, finishing 1.130 seconds off the pace. The #87 AKKODIS ASP Team Lexus secured third place.

The final seven Hyperpole spots were claimed by the #27 Heart of Racing, #59 United Autosports, #78 AKKODIS ASP Team, #33 TF Sport Corvette, #60 Iron Lynx, and #77 Proton Competition.

The current championship leader, #92 Manthey 1st Phorm, faced a tough session, qualifying only in P14, well outside the Hyperpole spots.

Hyperpole

The #88 Proton Competition Mustang claimed pole position with the fastest lap of 2:07.645. Originally excluded from the session, the team was reinstated just before the start, making their pole all the more impressive. Their sister car secured second place, giving Proton Competition a dominant double front-row lockout for the Mustangs.

In third place was the #95 United Autosports, followed by the #46 Team WRT BMW in fourth and the #33 TF Sport Corvette in fifth. The #59 United Autosports took sixth, with the #78 AKKODIS ASP Team in seventh. The top ten was rounded out by the #90 Iron Lynx in eighth, #31 The Bend WRT Team in ninth, and the #27 Heart of Racing in tenth.