Estre/Lotterer/Vanthoor win first Qatar 1812

WECHyperCar

Mar 3

Kévin Estre, André Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor crossed the finish line first at the wheel of the #6 Porsche 963. The Porsche 963 triumph is complete with #5 sister third and customer team Hertz Team Jota second.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Three Porsche 963 top Qatar 1812 race.

Porsche #6 took lead in early stage

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). #5 Porsche 963 with Lauren’s Vanthoor was 6th in T1 trying to find its way between Porsche #12, Ferrari #51 and Peugeot #93.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). #6 Porsche 963 was eighth the first 5 laps after which Vanthoor passed th Toyota #7 for P7.

Laurens Vanthoor quickly worked his way into the lead at the wheel of Porsche #6 after around 90 minutes, from lap 54 for the remaining 282 laps.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). #6 Porsche 963.

Kévin Estre (Porsche 963 #6): “I’m incredibly proud that we all achieved this together. Our car was extremely strong today and the team worked flawlessly. Still, it wasn’t nearly as easy as it might have looked from the outside – definitely not! We encountered many tricky situations and we also had some contact with other cars. Two hours before the flag, a collision caused significant damage. But even with a less-than-ideal car, we did it. Thanks to everyone in the team and my teammates.”
André Lotterer (Porsche 963 #6): “I’ve waited a long time for this. Finally my first victory for Porsche! Today we had three No. 6 drivers on top of the podium. This triumph is thanks to every single person in the team. Everyone worked incredibly hard and improved so many things for the new season. It works perfectly. We also experienced some nail-biting moments in the race but we kept out cool and brought home the win. We’d be happy to continue like this.”
Laurens Vanthoor (Porsche 963 #6): “I’m absolutely delighted. I’ve dreamed of this day for a long time! It’s simply incredible to see how much we’ve progressed compared to the start of the last season. We’ve improved significantly in all areas. It’s great to be a part of it. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved and I will remember this moment for many years to come.” Source: Porsche

Hertz Team Jota celebrates first Hypercar podium

Callum Ilott, Will Stevens and Norman Nato delivered a flawless drive at the wheel of the #12 car crossing the finish line in second place, also winning the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams standings.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). #12 Porsche 963.

Norman Nato (Porsche 963 #12): “Before the start of the race weekend, it was difficult to judge how we’d stack up against the others in the Hypercar class. Did we expect to finish on the podium? Probably not – but we did it. How great is that! I can’t wait for the next race.”

Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche #5 third

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Michael Christensen lost the lead from pole position on the first lap in the #5 Porsche.

The #5 Porsche 963 consistently matched the pace with the leading vehicle. However, misfortune plagued Campbell/Christensen/Makowiecki, with the car having to unexpectedly pit twice due to tyre damage. In a last-ditch effort, Daytona winner Matt Campbell made an impressive comeback, propelling the team to the final podium spot. Admittedly, the team also benefited from Peugeot’s bad luck. The rival car had been running in second place for a long stretch only to be hampered in the final laps by a technical defect.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). #5 Porsche 963.

Frédéric Makowiecki (Porsche 963 #5): “What a tremendous start to the new WEC year with a victory for the sister car and third place for our Porsche 963. After a few setbacks, we pulled out all the stops to get back to the top. Okay, it wasn’t entirely successful but at least we were all on the podium together. Now we’ll celebrate today’s victory as a team. It’s fantastic to kick of the year like this after the difficult 2023 season.”

#2 Cadillac V-Series.R finished ahead of Toyota and Ferrari

The #2 Cadillac V-Series.R, which finished ahead of the Toyota and Ferrari entries that combined to win the seven races in 2023, topped the time sheet in one of the three free practices and was the lone Hypercar entry in the top four of each session leading into qualifications.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Lynn in the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R with front right temporarily fixed.

A contact in Turn 1 of Lap 1 dropped the No. 2 Cadillac V-Series.R from its starting spot of seventh to 15th.

The incident necessitated a nose assembly change on the Lap 33 first pit stop. Lynn was able to pick up the pace in his next stint, matching the lead pack in lap times, despite a damaged wing assembly that was swapped out on the ensuing service stop on Lap 67.

Bamber-Bourdais-Lynn kept the Cadillac in the top five as the sun faded over the peninsula, with Bourdais then getting four fresh Michelins and full energy replacement on Lap 269. The four-time IndyCar champion made the final service stop on Lap 302 and closed out the 335-lap race in P4.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). Bourdais hand over the #2 Cadillac V-Series.R to Bamber.

Sebastien Bourdais: “We found ourselves in a hole at the beginning and we played the long game. That was really the plan going into the race. We stuck to the plan and soon we saw that guys were getting away from the 10-stint strategy. And we said if we can stick with it then that could be a really good result, and that’s exactly what happened. Really happy for the team and I had a lot of fun in the car. It’s a cool place to drive and a fun race. (Up next for Bourdais is IMSA race at Sebring): “We have a couple of overdos, so hopefully we can finally put some strong points on the board and get the team the result it deserves.”

Alex Lynn: "The start was chaotic. We knew we had good pace in the car this weekend. Considering first race of the year and the way the race started, I think we’ll definitely take the result. It’s our best since Le Mans last year, so pretty good way to start the season.”

Earl Bamber: “To start the season here with a fourth place is sort of where we kicked off last season. I think it gives us great momentum. The team did an amazing job and on the strategy they did a solid job to pull us all the way back up. If you would have said at the beginning of the day that we would get a fourth place, I think we would have taken that comfortably. It’s something that we can build on going to Imola and Spa and the rest of the season.” Source: Cadillac Racing

AF Corse team’s 499P #83 fifth

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P

The AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P crossed the chequered flag in fifth after completing 334 laps, with the Prancing Horse official drivers Yifei Ye and Robert Shwartzman – both making their World Endurance Championship debuts with the Maranello manufacturer – with Robert Kubica. With this result, the yellow liveried Ferrari Hypercar took second place in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams standings, and the three drivers celebrated by climbing the podium. The result earned the number 83 crew 15 points for the Drivers’ standings and 27 points for the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams. Source: Ferrari 📷 © Luc Warnotte at Lusail (Qatar). AF Corse #83 Ferrari 499P

Hypercars post race classification