Peugeot’s Nick Cassidy Tops Final Free Practice in Wet Conditions at Monza
Monza, Italy – Nick Cassidy of Peugeot TotalEnergies set the fastest time in the final Free Practice session of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Cassidy recorded a lap of 1:42.706 in the #93 9X8, edging Victor Martins of the #36 Alpine Endurance Team by just 0.040 seconds.
Persistent overnight rain created challenging conditions, leading to a wet track throughout the 60-minute session. While the drying trajectory suggested a potential transition to slick tires, only a few LMGT3 teams opted for dry setups.
Cassidy’s performance was underscored by a rapidly evolving leaderboard, with Robert Kubica finishing third in the #83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P. The Polish driver experienced a notable incident when contact with Tom Gamble in the #007 Aston Martin at Parabolica resulted in both vehicles spinning; Gamble received a 10-second stop-go penalty for being at fault, as determined by the Stewards.
Sheldon van der Linde in the #20 BMW M Team WRT Hybrid V8 secured fourth, while Antonio Fuoco and Daniel Juncadella rounded out the top five. The top ten included the #35 Alpine, #15 BMW, #17 Genesis, and #7 Toyota Racing TR010 Hybrid, though Cadillacs and Aston Martins slipped down the order as the session progressed. Notably, the #51 Ferrari had a challenging day, spending 47 minutes in the pits due to a brake issue before completing a single lap shortly before the session concluded.
In the LMGT3 category, Alessio Rovera led with a time of 1:56.089 in the #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo, finishing just over one second clear at one point, ultimately tapering off to a 0.282-second margin. Maxime Martin followed in the #61 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG, with Lin Hodenius’s #79 AMG, Jonny Edgar’s #33 TF Sport Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R, and Parker Thompson’s #69 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 Evo rounding out the top five.
Amid challenging conditions, multiple cars faced off-track incidents, including Peter Dempsey’s #34 Racing Team Turkey Corvette, which suffered a spin at Ascari. The #78 Akkodis ASP Team Lexus served a stop-go penalty following a previous incident, while the #19 Genesis had faced its own penalties in earlier practice sessions.
Qualifying for the final round of the championship is scheduled for 14:20 CEST this afternoon, with uncertainties regarding track conditions as the event unfolds.
