Porsche Penske Motorsport Triumphs at 2024 FIA WEC Season Opener
Porsche Penske Motorsport has started the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season on a high note with a win at the Qatar Airways Qatar 1812km. The No.6 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar, driven by Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor, and Kevin Estre, led the race for most of the time and finished 33.297s ahead of Hertz Team JOTA, who took the runners-up spot with Callum Ilott, Norman Nato, and Will Stevens. The second factory Porsche, No. 5, with Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, and Frederic Makowiecki, completed the podium, fighting back from car vibration issues earlier in the race. Porsche's podium lockout in Qatar marks the first for a manufacturer in the WEC since Audi at Spa in 2013.
Peugeot TotalEnergies had a heartbreak as Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Mikkel Jensen were set to claim the marque's best-ever WEC result with second place after a faultless performance in the No.93 Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar. However, a late issue for Vergne saw his car stop as it entered the final lap and limp over the line in seventh, and the team was later disqualified due to a technical regulation breach.
source: fiawec.com
Cadillac Racing finished fourth overall with Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber, and Sebastien Bourdais, making an epic comeback after an early race impact and front-left damage to the Cadillac V-Series.R. The No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P, making its debut with Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, and Yifei Ye, put in a strong performance and rounded out the top five.
The reigning World Champions, No. 7 Toyota Gazoo Racing, struggled for pace with the Ferrari 499P and finished sixth. The No. 50 Ferrari AF Corse, fighting back from an early drive-through-penalty, finished seventh. Alpine Endurance Team's No. 35 Alpine A424 drove a steady race to finish eighth, one spot ahead of the No. 8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar in ninth. Proton Competition bagged the last points in tenth place after a solid drive by its trio of drivers.
BMW M Team WRT finished 11th and 15th in its pair of BMW M Hybrid V8 cars, while Lamborghini Iron Lynx completed its first WEC race, finishing 14th. Isotta Fraschini retired from its first race after five hours into the race with mechanical issues.
The next race of the season will be held in Europe as the World Championship prepares for its first-ever WEC race at Imola in Italy (20-21 April).