In an exciting race that marked the start of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) season, Porsche Penske Motorsport claimed victory at the Qatar Airways Qatar 1812km. The Porsche Penske 963 car number 6, driven by Andre Lotterer, Laurens Vanthoor, and Kevin Estre, crossed the finish line with a 33.297-second lead over the Hertz Team JOTA, who secured second place. Callum Ilott, Norman Nato, and Will Stevens took turns behind the wheel for the runner-up team.
Estre's team faced a tense moment towards the end when their Porsche 963 collided with an LMGT3 car, damaging the vehicle's side panel. This forced the team to make critical repairs with just 15 minutes left in the race. Despite this, they managed to maintain their lead and secure victory.
The third place went to the second factory Porsche, car number 5, driven by Matt Campbell, Michael Christensen, and Frederic Makowiecki. This team recovered from car vibration issues earlier in the race. This complete podium for Porsche in Qatar is the first for a manufacturer in the WEC since Audi achieved it at Spa in 2013.
For Peugeot TotalEnergies, the race ended in disappointment. Nico Muller, Jean-Eric Vergne, and Mikkel Jensen were on track to achieve Peugeot's best-ever result in the WEC, holding second place with their Peugeot 9X8 Hypercar number 93. However, a problem on the last lap with Vergne's car forced him to cross the finish line in seventh place, and later, the team was disqualified due to a technical regulation breach.
Cadillac Racing showed resilience by finishing in fourth place with Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber, and Sebastien Bourdais, after a spectacular comeback following an early race impact and damage to the front left part of their Cadillac V-Series.R.
The debut of the AF Corse Ferrari 499P, with drivers Robert Kubica, Robert Shwartzman, and Yifei Ye, was impressive, finishing in fifth place. The defending World Champions, Toyota Gazoo Racing, struggled and finished in sixth place with the Ferrari 499P, followed by the Ferrari AF Corse number 50 in seventh, after recovering from an early drive-through penalty.
The Alpine Endurance Team finished in eighth place with their Alpine A424, while the Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar came in ninth.
Proton Competition secured the tenth place, while BMW M Team WRT faced challenges, finishing in 11th and 15th place with their BMW M Hybrid V8 cars. Lamborghini Iron Lynx completed its first race in the WEC, finishing in 14th place. Isotta Fraschini, on the other hand, retired five hours into the race due to mechanical issues.
The next race of the season takes the championship to Imola, Italy, from April 20-21, marking the first time the WEC will be raced on this historic track.
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