Qatar 6 Hour Report: Lotterer maintains Porsche lead; all change in LMGT3 as Vista AF Corse takes temporary lead

Hypercar

·      Andre Lotterer in the No.6 Porsche Penske 963 manages to maintain healthy lead at the front as six hours of racing is complete

·      The German trades times with Jean-Eric Vergne piloted Peugeot No.93 TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar in mid-phase of the race with Vergne able to claw back some time before handing over to Nico Muller

·      Lotterer hands over the cockpit to teammate Laurens Vanthoor after double stint and the lead over the Peugeot stands at 11-seconds

·      Fight for third place hots up as the No.12 Team Hertz JOTA, No.5 Porsche Penske and No.83 lap in close proximity

·      Michael Christensen gets his second go at the wheel of the No.5 Porsche Penske 963 and places third but is just six seconds ahead of a flying Will Stevens in the No.12 JOTA Porsche

·      The No.7 Toyota Gazoo Racing GR010 driven by Mike Conway overcomes the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 499 in sixth hour and grabs fifth but is off-set on strategy for pit stops

·      The No.38 Hertz Team JOTA completes the top six with Phil Hanson in the cockpit for the second time in the race just as dusk arrives

·      As the seventh hour arrives the rest of the top 10 is filled out by: 7^th No.83 AF Corse Ferrari; 8^th No.50 Ferrari AF Corse; 9^th No.2 Cadillac; 10^th No.99 Proton Porsche

·      No.94 Peugeot No.94 TotalEnergies 9X8 Hypercar hits issues in the fifth hour as it pits for almost 30-minutes for a battery change and drops to 18^th

·      The new manufacturers for 2024 see Alpine run 11^th and 15^th, BMW 13^th and 14^th and the Lamborghini SC63 Hypercar in 17^thposition.

·      The Isotta Fraschini Tipo6-C retires in the sixth hour on its WEC debut

Sunset. BMW Hypercar. René Rast. 🤩

Strap yourselves in and take a ride with the German driver in the No.20 BMW M Hybrid V8.

Watch LIVE on https://t.co/B3OAfJ9by7#WEC #Qatar1812KM @BMWMotorsport @ReneRastRacing pic.twitter.com/Hv5knyKMn4

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

LMGT3

·      LMGT3 category sees multiple leaders in mid-phase as No.92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 LMGT3 that dominated the early hours is superseded by first the Heart of Racing Aston Martin entry and then the No.54 Vista AF Corse Ferrari

·      Klaus Bachler able to grab the lead back in the sixth hour after a series of rapid laps from the experienced Austrian. But as the seventh hour arrives Bachler drops to third after a scheduled stop leaving Thomas Flohr leading in the VISTA AF Corse Ferrari albeit a stop shorter than the Porsche

·      But Flohr comes under intense pressure from Alex Riberas in the Heart of Racing Aston and the two end the hour just 0.2s apart in 1-2 but with Bachler set to inherit a clear lead in the Manthey PureRxcing Porsche

·      In fourth position is the No.46 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 after Valentino Rossi completes his first stints in the WEC before handing over to teammate Maxime Martin

·      Placing fifth and sixth is the No.55 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari with Francois Heriau in the cockpit. He fends off the No.31 Team WRT BMW driven by multiple WTCC champion Augusto Farfus

·      The top 10 is completed by: 7^th D’Station Aston; 8^th Iron Dames Lamborghini; 9^th No.82 TF Sport Corvette; 10^th No.77 Proton Ford Mustang

Click HERE for the order after 6 Hours of racing in Qatar