Qatar 2 Hour Report: Estre leads for Porsche; Manthey PureRxcing Porsche heads LMGT3

Hypercar

·      The start of the race sees drama as several cars run wide at first corner including the front-row starting No.7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar driven by Mike Conway

·      Contact between the No.2 Cadillac of Alex Lynn and the No.93 Peugeot 9X8 driven by Paul di Resta. Cadillac is damaged in incident while di Resta spins to tail of Hypercar field

·      Opening fights sees action galore as No.50 Ferrari driven by Miguel Molina sprints in to early lead from polesitter Michael Christensen.

·      Nico Muller stars for Peugeot TotalEnergies in opening hours in Qatar after Swiss ace seizes the lead from pole-sitting Porsche Penske with audacious around the outside move at Turn 1

·      Muller’s heroics sees Peugeot push to the front ahead of the No.6 and No.5 Porsche Penske 963 Hybrid Hypercars. But Laurens Vanthoor hunts down Muller and applies huge pressure in middle of second hour.

·      Vanthoor has concerted look at Turn 1 and the pair make brief contact as battle rages until second pit stop.

·      Cloud also hung over the No.93 as it was placed under investigation for an alleged technical infringement in the opening phase of the race. That though is quickly dismissed and No.93 continues in lead in second hour.

·      After 95 minutes Muller gets caught out when lapping LMGT3 traffic at Turn 1 and Vanthoor slips through to take the lead

·      Vanthoor then hands over to teammate Kevin Estre as the third hour arrives and leads race by 9seconds

·      Behind the top two, the Team Hertz JOTA Porsches run nose-to-tail in fourth and fifth for much of opening stages as Will Stevens and Phil Hanson star.

·      JOTA elect to change drivers as first Norman Nato and Jenson Button climb aboard and complete a single stint before they in turn hand over to Callum IIlott and Oliver Rasmussen.

·      In fifth position the new No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P being driven by Robert Kubica heads the recovering No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 Hybrid Hypercar in sixth.

·      The No.50 Ferrari AF Corse of Miguel Molina drops back down the field after getting a drive-through penalty for crossing pit entry white line.

·      There is drama for the sister No.51 Ferrari AF Corse too as James Calado watches in shock as his entire rear bodywork section detaches after contact with traffic in the second hour causing first Full Course Yellow of the race.

·      Calado hands over to Alessandro PierGuidi but the delay falls to back and runs 18^th in Hypercar

·      Behind the top six the rest of the top 10 is filled out by: 7^th No.8 Toyota (Buemi); 8^th No.35 Alpine (Habsburg); No.99 Proton Porsche (Jani) and 10^th No.36 Alpine (Lapierre).

What a start to the race for the Peugeot 9X8 @peugeotsport No.93 and Nico Müller who is now P2 behind the Ferrari No.50.#WEC #Qatar1812KM pic.twitter.com/Sf9LaBNkct

— FIA World Endurance Championship (@FIAWEC) March 2, 2024

LMGT3

·      The TF Sport run No.81 Corvette driven by Tom van Rompuy converts pole position to lead in early phase but is soon overtaken by a flying Aliaksander Malykhin in the No.92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 LMGT3

·      Malykhin builds impressive lead over the Heart of Racing Aston Martin driven by Ian James who puts several manoeuvres on rivals to gain track position early on

·      Running third after two hours is the Manthey EMA entry driven by youngest driver on the grid Morris Schuring.

·      No.46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 is fourth as Ahmad Al Harthy undertakes a triple stint. Omani driver has major battle with Iron Dames Lambo that sees brief contact between them

·      Iron Dames place fifth as Michelle Gatting takes over from starter and qualifier Sarah Bovy at first pit-stop

·      Completing the top six is the No.54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari as Thomas Flohr completes solid double stint to leave car in good position for Davide Rigon and Francesco Castellacci to come

·      Drama for the No.59 United Autosports McLaren LMGT3 on the opening lap when Nicolas Costa is hit by the Iron Dames Lamborghini Huracan and suffers damage that drops the car to the rear of the field

·      The remaining positions after 2 hours are: 7^th No.81 TF Sport Corvette; 8^th No.87 Akkodis ASP Lexus; 9^th No.55 VISTA AF Corse; 10^th No.31 Team WRT BMW

Click HERE for the order after 2 Hours of racing in Qatar