Aitken leads opening hour at Monza after early safety car

Jack Aitken led the opening hour of the 6 Hours of Monza, which ran behind the safety car following a three-car LMGT3 incident. Aitken, who is on baby watch and expected to leave the circuit after his double stint, took the lead on lap 8, having passed Dani Juncadella's Genesis GMR-001.

Juncadella had led the opening laps after a side-by-side battle with pole-sitter Miguel Molina at the start, a move deemed a violation of the race director's instructions for Turns 1-2. Juncadella was still due a separate five-second stop-and-hold penalty. Antonio Giovanazzi passed him for second at the 42-minute mark, just before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed for Antares Au's spin into the gravel trap.

In LMGT3, Petru Umbrarescu's Akkodis ASP-Team Lexus emerged as leader after the first round of stops under the VSC, with Proton Competition's Ford Mustang GT3 EVOs of Stefano Gattuso and Eric Powell in the battle behind.