The 2024 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship is upon us and this weekend the protagonists of the series will battle for the 1812 Km of Qatar.
On the Lusail International Circuit, the anticipation for the start of the competition is inevitable, not only for the 37 cars entered in the championship promoted by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, but also for the sea of high-sounding names on the grid.
In the Hypercar Class the spotlight is clearly all on the reigning Toyota Champion, which will certainly have to contend with a Ferrari that has not hidden its world championship ambitions and which this year also presents itself with the private 499P #83 of AF Corse to join the officers #50 and #51.
#83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P: Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, Yifei Ye
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
Peugeot will finally try to be competitive when the 9X8 arrives with wing and various updates, but in the meantime in the Middle East it will present itself with the old model, counting on a favorable Balance of Performance.
There is also anticipation for the LMDhs of Porsche and Cadillac, which have grown so much over the past season and are ready to take advantage of the progress made in the winter to enter the duel with the Hypercars.
And then there are the innovations represented by Alpine, BMW, Isotta Fraschini and Lamborghini, who will not be outdone and will want to have their say in a very close battle already on paper due to the weight and history that all the brands in the category have.
The debut of the brand new LMGT3 Class is also curious, among which important manufacturers also stand out. However, the name that everyone is waiting to see in action is that of Valentino Rossi, making his debut with the BMW M4 #46 of Team WRT.
There are the newborn Ford Mustang and Corvette Z06 among the 18 vehicles registered, going to cross arms against Ferrari, Lexus, Porsche, Lamborghini, McLaren and Aston Martin.
#54 View AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3: Thomas Flohr, Francesco Castellacci, Davide Rigon
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
The program
After the collective tests of the Prologue we begin to think about the race weekend with the two Free Practice sessions on Thursday, to which will be added the third on Friday, a starter for Qualifying.
The timed trials to define the starting grid will have the novelty of the two sessions: in the first the best 10 of the Hypercar and LMGT3 Classes will be promoted, who in the following will attack the Hyperpole.
The 1812 Km will start on Saturday and will last 10 hours in total. Taking into account the 2 hour time difference that separates us from Lusail, let's see what the program is according to Italian timetables.
Thursday 29 February
Free Practice 1: 10.20-11.50
Free Practice 2: 3.30pm-5.00pm
Friday 1 March
Free Practice 3: 9:00-10:00
LMGT3 qualifications: 14:00-14:12
Hypercar qualifying: 14;20-14;32
Hyperpole LMGT3: 14;40-14;50
Hyperpole Hypercar: 14;58-15;08
Saturday 2 March
Race: 9am-7pm (10h – 1812km)
#85 Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 Evo2: Sarah Bovy, Doriane Pin, Michelle Gatting
Photo by: Shameem Fahath
FIA WEC 2024: how can I watch the 1812 Km of Qatar
This year the entire World Endurance Championship is visible on Eurosport – Sky channel 211 – and the related application or website, plus Discovery+ and on the fiawec.tv website (also available via application) where the Live Timingwhich can also be consulted on the timekeeper's official website AlKamel.
As always happens with the FIA WEC sessions, Free Practice 1 and 2 will not be broadcast live on TV, but can be followed via the official timing.
Live coverage begins with Free Practice 3 on the WEC's official YouTube channel. Following will be the Qualifying covered by Eurosport 2 and Discovery+ starting at 1.50 pm (comment by Nicola Villani and Marco Petrini).
The race will start on Sunday with full live broadcast on Discovery+, while Eurosport 2 will cover the 8.30-12.00 and 17.15-19.30 slots (commentary by Nicola Villani, Marco Petrini, Daniele Galbiati and Fabio Magnani). Here is a summary of where and how we can follow the activities on the track:
Thursday 29 February
Free Practice 1: 10.20-11.50 (Livetiming only)
Free Practice 2: 3.30pm-5.00pm (Livetiming only)
Friday 1 March
Free Practice 3: 9:00-10:00
Qualifying: from 1.50pm (Livetiming, live on Eurosport 2, Eurosport app, Discovery+ app, FIA WEC YouTube channel and fiawec.tv)
Saturday 2 March
Race: 9.00am-7.00pm (Livetiming, live on Eurosport 2, Eurosport app, Discovery+ app and fiawec.tv)
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