FIA WEC – Qatar 1812km – Ferrari still ahead as Cadillac challenge comes unstuck
The Italian brand maintains a one-two four hours into the Qatar 1812km, but the pole-sitting #51 – the early race leader – has slipped down the order to eighth while Cadillac’s challenge has been scuppered by a collision…
Hypercar
Privately-entered #83 AF Corse 499P just under 15 seconds clear of works #50 Ferrari after four hours of racing in Qatar
Pole-sitting #51 Ferrari drops down the order to eighth – almost a minute adrift of the lead – after picking up a penalty for a Virtual Safety Car infringement
Cadillac challenge comes unstuck when Alex Lynn and Jenson Button make contact at safety car re-start, with the two V-Series.R Hypercars running one-two at the time… Both tumble outside of the top ten, the #38 subsequently losing further ground due to a throttle issue
Toyotas stealthily climbing the order, with Brendon Hartley up to third in the #8 GR010 Hybrid – from the back row of the grid – narrowly ahead of Kamui Kobayashi in the sister #7 machine
Porsche Penske Motorsport – winner in Qatar last year – rises to fifth with its #5 963 Hypercar, heading a tight tussle with the #36 Alpine, #20 BMW and recovering #51 Ferrari
Charles Milesi in the #35 Alpine suffers a spin after trying to squeeze his A424 between two LMGT3 cars
Dries Vanthoor incurs a drive-through penalty in #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 after tipping Antonio Fuoco’s Ferrari into a spin
LMGT3
Top five blanketed by seven seconds in ultra-close battle
Finn Gehrsitz keeps Akkodis ASP Team’s #78 Lexus at the top of the pile after reclaiming the lead as the clock hits four hours
United Autosports McLarens in close company in second and third, Sébastien Baud marginally ahead of pole-sitter Sean Gelael
Ben Tuck sitting fourth in Proton Competition’s #77 Ford Mustang – which missed almost the entire pre-season ‘Prologue’ test due to a fire – after running at the front of the field for many laps during marathon stint
Aston Martin and BMW similarly in the mix, in the hands of Zacharie Robichon for Heart of Racing Team and Valentino Rossi at Team WRT
TF Sport clawing its way back into the fight with the sole surviving #33 Corvette
Fonte: www.fiawec.com
