The opening of the 2024 Formula 1 season went practically unnoticed due to a scheduling conflict with the WEC opening. However, the Porsche Penske trio, composed of Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer, and Laurens Vanthoor, managed to steal the show with a dominant performance in the 1812 km Road to Le Mans Qatar season opener. This victory marked Porsche’s first win in the Hypercar era of the World Endurance Championship under Penske Motorsport.
In the second hour of the race, the number 6 trio took the lead and held their position throughout the race, despite a late scare when they needed to replace a numerical plate in the final hour. The battle for second place was equally intense, with the Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 trio, composed of Will Stevens, Callum Ilott, and Norman Nato, managing to fend off the Porsche Penske of Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, and Frank Makowiecki. The Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar of Jensen Müller Vergne Peugeot, which was struggling, ran out of fuel on the penultimate lap, allowing the Porsche team to secure a complete podium sweep with a one-two finish and a third place.
Porsche’s success extended to the LMGT3 class, where Klaus Bachler, Joel Sturm, and Aliaksandr Malykhin claimed their first victory in the Manthey Porsche 911 R LM3. They surpassed the Corvette of James-Mancinelli-Riberas and the Aston Martin of Mateu-Bastard-Sorensen to secure the top spot. In fifth place, the BMW team, composed of Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin, and Amhad Al Marthy, held off the Ferrari of Flohr-Castellacci-Rigon, while the second BMW of Leung-Galal-Farfus finished sixth.
Returning to Hypercar action, the Ferrari 499P number 51, driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi, made an impressive start by overtaking the Porsche from the front row and the Toyota Gazoo of Conway-Kobayashi-de Vries. The Cadillac collided with the second Porsche during the race, and the Ferrari faced challenges from slower traffic. Eventually, the Peugeot managed to overtake the Porsche for second place and then passed the Ferrari to take the lead. However, the winning Porsche seized an opportunity when the Peugeot slipped while overtaking a GT3 car, allowing them to regain the lead and hold it until the end. The Peugeot kept a close eye on the leading Porsche, with the Jota Porsches also in contention.
Despite facing a drive-through penalty early in the race for crossing the white line during their first pit stop, the Cadillac recovered and finished fourth. The new yellow car number 81, driven by Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, and Yifei Ye, secured fifth place for Ferrari, while the number 50 car encountered setbacks after losing its entire rear due to contact with a GT3 car and dropped to the back of the pack.
Surprisingly, Toyota, a team that has won the championship five times, was never a contender in the 1812 Qatar race. Their cars, which were heavy and had restricted power, clearly struggled throughout the event. In the end, car number 8, driven by Conway, Kobayashi, and de Vries, finished sixth, while the Ferrari of Fuoco, Molina, and Nielsen came in fifth.
The race took a turn for the worse for the Peugeot team when their car, number 93, was disqualified for not returning to the pits after running out of fuel. Despite crossing the finish line in seventh place, the Peugeot was excluded from the results.
This opened the way for Alpine, a newcomer in the Hypercar class, to secure seventh place. The team, composed of Chatin, Habsburg, and Milesi, was delighted with their performance.
The Toyota Gazoo, driven by Buemi, Hartley, and Hirakawa, finished eighth, while the Proton Porsche, driven by Tincknell, Jani, and Andlauer, finished ninth. The debut of the BMW Hypercar in the WEC saw van der Linde, Frijns, and Rast secure tenth place.
The second Alpine, driven by Mick Schumacher, Lapierre, and Vaxiviere, finished eleventh, followed by the recovering Ferrari 51 and the troublesome Lamborghini of Bortolotti, Mortara, and Kvyat.
The Vanthoor, Marciello, and Wittmann BMW had an even more problematic race, finishing sixteenth. The Peugeot of di Resta, Duval, and Vandoorne faced significant delays and had a disastrous race. The Isotta Fraschini of Serravalle, Bennett, and Vernay finished well behind the leaders.
The Qatar race covered the full distance of 1812 km, in honor of the country’s National Day on December 18. The winning Porsche team beat the 10-hour curfew by three minutes and secured a dominant 1-2-3 victory for Zuffenhausen. This victory not only marked Porsche’s first win in the WEC but also their third consecutive win in Hypercar, following their victories in the last IMSA race in the USA and the IMSA Daytona 24.
Porsche’s dominant performance establishes them as the new force in the Hypercar class. Their rivals, including Toyota, Ferrari, and others, will rely on the WEC’s Balance of Performance adjustments race by race to close the gap before the next stage at Ferrari’s home race, the 6 Hours of Imola, on April 21.
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