WEC News: Porsche tops testing in Qatar
Porsche Penske Motorsport led the third and final test session of the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Prologue test in Qatar, with Kevin Estre setting the quickest time. Porsche also set the fastest overall time during the three test sessions.
In total, the Porsche 963 covered a distance of 4,504 kilometers on the Qatari Grand Prix circuit. The two Porsche Penske Motorsport race cars alone accounted for 3,350 kilometers, completing a total of 54 pit stops with 14 driver changes.
The fastest lap was set by Julien Andlauer in 1m39.873s minutes during a qualifying simulation on Friday evening. The Frenchman is new to the Porsche factory driver squad. He shares the number 5 car with Denmark’s Michael Christensen, while his compatriot Mathieu Jaminet joins him for the longer races of the season, such as in Qatar or at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In the number 6 sister car, the reigning drivers’ world champions Kévin Estre from France and Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium will be supported by Australian Matt Campbell. In the top category of the FIA WEC, eight different car manufacturers with a total of 18 prototypes are competing for overall victories this year.
Estre’s best time in the No. 6 Porsche 963, a 1m40.428s, topped the final test session.
A crash for Derek Deboer aboard the No. 10 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo just 15 minutes into the session left the barriers at Turn 5 damaged, and led to the session being suspended for over an hour while repair work was completed.
Estre’s best time was 0.251 seconds ahead of the No. 51 Ferrari 499P of Antonio Giovinazzi, who made a two late improvements to jump to second, while Antonio Fuoco posted a 1m40.722s at the very end to go third in the No. 50 car.
That demoted the No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari in which Robert Kubica had set the best time of 1m40.777s to fourth, while Jenson Button rounded out the top five aboard the quicker of the two Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA cars.
Porsche’s No. 5 entry was sixth-fastest in the hands of works team newcomer Julien Andlauer, while Alex Lynn’s best time aboard the No. 12 Cadillac put that car seventh.
Rounding out the top ten were the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8, the No. 36 Alpine A424 and the second of the BMWs, the No. 15 car.
“These were two productive days: we learnt a lot and took many tasks with us for the coming days until the first free practice session,” stresses Urs Kuratle, Head of Factory Motorsport LMDh. “This morning we were on top in the results list. We did not let ourselves go crazy in the evening, focused on preparing for the race and consistently worked through our long runs. Both Porsche 963 ran inconspicuously. The lap times are okay and definitely no drama. But we can also see that the competition is very, very strong – so we have to do everything right and analyze our data well.”
“After the prologue, we do not know where everybody stands, but I can tell you it is going to be very tight next Friday,” explains Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director Porsche Penske Motorsport. “All the manufacturers are really competitive. The Lusail International Circuit is a very demanding circuit with some high-speed corners. Porsche Penske Motorsport used the Prologue for what the Prologue is for: we worked through our test plan. Both Porsche 963 went through qualifying simulations, full race stints, different tire compounds, brake sets and things like that. We ticked a lot of boxes. We have a lot of good information to look at the next few days to make sure we are prepared for next week.”
The Race
The FIA WEC opener under the title “Qatar 1812 km” starts next Friday at 14:00 local time (12:00 CET). The 10-hour race is scheduled to cover 1,812 kilometers and this distance is a reference to the Qatari national holiday on 18 December. Due to the duration of the first race of the season, the normal WEC points are multiplied by a factor of 1.5. The 5.419-kilometer circuit includes 16 turns and is located in the north of the capital Doha.
Wednesday, February 26
12:00 – 13:30: Free Practice 1
17:30 – 19:00: Free Practice 2
Thursday, February 27
12:00 – 13:00: Free Practice 3
17:00 – 17:12: Qualifying LMGT3
17:20 – 17:30: Hyperpole LMGT3
17:40 – 17:52: Qualifying Hypercar
18:00 – 18:10: Hyperpole Hypercar
Friday, February 28
14:00 – 00:00: Race “Qatar 1812 km”