The 2024 season of the FIA World Endurance Championship has officially begun with the first two hours of the 1812 km of Qatar going into the archives already providing several emotions.
At the start, a great Miguel Molina got off to a great start from fourth place, putting the Ferrari ahead of everyone, followed by Porsche and Peugeot, while a contact between the Cadillac and the second 9X8 sent the French LMH into a spin.
This did not bring any penalties to the V-Series.R, but Alex Lynn was forced to change the nose at the first stop, losing time, while a great battle for the lead started up front with a wild Nico Muller who first overtook Michael's Porsche Christensen and then Molina's 499P taking the lead with the 9X8 #93.
At Ferrari, the Spaniard in the #50 caused the first trouble by cutting the white line at the pit entrance during the first stop, being punished with a Drive Through.
Worse went to Alessandro Pier Guidi, who replaced James Calado for the second hour of the race, who suffered a small hit on the rear from a cornering McLaren; albeit slight, the contact uprooted the rear wing of the #51, which returned to the pits to reassemble the part and also change the bonnet, losing a lot of time.
The Full Course Yellow decreed to recover the piece of the 499P by the stewards saw those who were about to make the second stop extend their stint, while others found themselves behind having already returned.
In the second hour the Porsches showed their claws and Muller found himself followed by Laurens Vanthoor, who got into the 963 #6 of Team Penske and was able to take the lead after a couple of failed attempts and also a contact with the team's LMH. Swiss.
Weissach's LMDhs are showing an excellent state of form in this first part under the sun where the management of tire degradation plays a fundamental role in view of the second part of the race in the dark.
In third place is Christensen with the 963 #5 of Team Penske, complaining of boring vibrations, followed by the privates of Jota #12 and #38, separated by about twenty seconds, while the #83 of AF Corse occupies sixth place behind the golden Porsche in which Jenson Button is riding.
Paul Di Resta is making a good recovery with the Peugeot #94, also trying to anticipate the moment of the pit stop compared to the others, the Toyota is currently struggling on the pace as expected, burdened by an enormous weight which relegates the # 7 ninth and #8 13th.
The Alpine and BMW are further back, ahead of the Porsche #99 of Proton Competition and the official 499P – separated from the Lamborghini SC63 and dropped to the bottom of the ranking, closed by Isotta Fraschini, who after a small problem had on the opening lap is now concentrating on Accumulate laps trying to slowly improve your pace.
#92 Manthey Purerxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3: Aliaksandr Malykhin, Joel Sturm, Klaus Bachler
Photo by: JEP / Motorsport Images
In the LMGT3 Class, the Bronze drivers found themselves arriving behind the LMH-LMDh cars after 7 laps, which also led to moments of apprehension during lapping, causing the groups to split up or restart battles.
Tom Van Rompuy's good start in the #81 Corvette from Pole saw the TF Sport Z06 collapse towards the end of the first hour, with the #92 and #91 Porsches of Manthey Pure Rxcing and Manthey EMA taking the lead over the Aston Martin #27 by Heart of Racing.
The BMW #46 of Team WRT moved up to fourth with Ahmad Al Harthy still at the wheel, waiting to see Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin. Behind him is the #54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 threatening to defend the Top5, which is aimed at by the #85 Lamborghini of the Iron Dames, followed by the #81 Corvette.
The Lexus #87 of Akkodis-ASP, its twin #78, ended up at the back due to a Drive Through imposed due to a contact at the start.
The #55 Ferrari of Vista AF Corse, the #31 BMW of WRT and the #777 Aston Martin of D'Station Racing complete the Top10.
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