Written and Updated by Owen Bradley
Credit: FIA WEC Social Media
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LIVE Updates for the Opening round of the 2024 World Endurance Championship, the Qatar 1812km. An exciting season ahead, with BMW making their glorious return to the WEC, as well as Lamborghini entering WEC too. Many famous names from across the world will be racing, such as: Valentino Rossi, Jenson Button, Mick Schumacher, Robert Kubica, Daniil Kvyat, Antonio Giovinazzi, Brendon Hartley, Stoffel Vandoorne, Kamui Kobayashi, Sebastien Buemi, Nyck De Vries and many, many more. This is the pinnacle of Endurance racing, this is the World Endurance Championship 2024.
Times in this article are in UK Time - GMT
Current Track Condition -
World Endurance Championship R1 - QATAR 1812km LIVE UPDATES
Qatar 1812km Results - Top 5 in class
Hypercar
1st #6 Porsche
2nd #12 Jota Porsche
3rd #5 Porsche
4th #2 Cadillac
5th #83 Ferrari
LMGT3
1st #92 Porsche
2nd #27 Aston Martin
3rd #777 Aston Martin
4th #46 BMW
5th #54 Ferrari
It was Porsche Domination at the 1812km across both Hypercar and LMGT3 classes, Valentino Rossi and the #46 team ended their debut race in the World Endurance Championship only a few seconds from the podium, a P4 finish on their debut is nothing to be disappointed with, a great result with a lot of thrilling moments surely to come later this year in the 2024 World Endurance Championship.
17:58 - #5 Porsche does not quite manage to get past the #12 Jota Porsche - the story of the day, Porsche have dominated the WEC Qatar 1812km
17:56 - #6 PORSCHE WINS THE QATAR 1812km WEC Round 1
17:55 - FINAL LAP
17:54 - PEUGEOT #93 SLOWS FROM P2, Porsche cars now take the podium places.
17:53 - #5 Porsche runs onto the gravel, losing a lot of time as #12 now gets slowed by traffic with just 2 laps remaining.
17:51 - Campbell #5 Porsche and the Ilott #12 Jota Porsche have both caught right up to the back of 2nd place #93 Peugeot, it's a three way fight for the podium places.
17:47 - Matt Campbell #5 Porsche is trying to catch Callum Ilott's #12 Jota Porsche for the final podium spot in Hypercar
17:47 - 5 LAPS REMAINING
17:43 - #6 Porsche comes in from the lead, a very quick stop.
17:43 - #46 BMW are beginning to close in for the podium, the gap is 12 seconds with only a handful of laps remaining.
17:41 - #6 Porsche will come into the pits to try and fix their car with just 8 laps to go, their racing number had been removed after a crash and therefore needs to be fixed. They will stick a new number on the car, with a 90-second lead tensions are extremely high.
17:36 - 10 LAPS REMAINING
17:35 - Maxime Martin #46 BMW is just 2 seconds away from the #777 Aston Martin with 10 laps remaining for a potential first ever WEC podium finish for Valentino Rossi on his debut.
17:31 - Trouble for the #36 Alpine, running wide onto the gravel that has collected itself on the edge of the circuit.
17:29 - 15 LAPS REMAINING
17:26 - Peugeot #93 come into the pits, still attempting to try and win this race, and fight the #12 Porsche Jota as well.
17:24 - Jota #38 Porsche still stationary, with suspected electrical problems. Rasmussen jumps out of the car being cautious of grounding or earthing himself.
17:20 - Porsche #6 does lead but there could be potential penalties on the way, which could give the Peugeot #93 a real chance with these last 20 laps
17:19 - Not long remaining, the #777 Aston Martin has managed to jump the #46 BMW in the pits, separated by only a few seconds the race is certainly on for the final podium place in LMGT3
17:15 - #38 Jota Porsche stationary in the pit lane, the car is driven by Jenson Button and now drops well outside the Top 10
17:01 - Huge damage to our leader! #6 Porsche has damage on one of the side panels, meaning that the car will be called back into the pit lane. This would give the lead to the #5 Porsche driven by Matt Campbell.
16:57 - #99 Porsche and #51 Ferrari battle extremely hard, pushing one another against the edges of the circuit through Turns 1 and 2.
16:49 - Potential penalty for our race leader, the #6 Porsche after pushing the #87 Lexus off the circuit.
16:32 - Matt Campbell #5 Porsche moves into 2nd place, as the #93 Peugeot has a slow stop and will need to make another stop as well.
16:28 - Rossi finishes his final stint, handing the car back to Maxime Martin who will finish this race. Rossi drove the car into P3, they will be fighting with everything they have to achieve this podium finish.
16:25 - 50 LAPS REMAINING
16:20 - #777 Aston Martin now pits, we await to see where the #46 BMW will come out when they decide to pit.
16:12 - #50 Ferrari in more trouble, the car extremely slow as it gets overtaken by an LMGT3 car.
16:06 - Matt Campbell #6 Porsche runs off the circuit, kicking a load of gravel back onto the circuit losing a lot of time to the Top 3.
16:02 - #777 Aston Martin driven by Erwan Bastard now does get past the #31 BMW, a good 30 seconds from the #46 BMW driven by Valentino Rossi, with the fight for P3 back on now.
15:51 - Major blow for the #777 Aston Martin crew who were potentially on course for a LMGT3 podium, they have a fuel issue. The BMW's #46 and #31 are now the teams fighting for the podium spot in LMGT3 and separated by roughly 20 seconds.
15:49 - Porsche #6 still leading, the gap to the #93 Peugeot around one minute long. The main draw of the race at this stage, is the LMGT3 battle for P3 against Valentino Rossi.
15:43 - Valentino Rossi and the #46 have managed to re-take P3 after their pit stop, with 70 laps remaining.
15:38 - #6 Porsche comes into the pits, the front brakes smoking, the gap between the two leaders now roughly half a minute.
15:31 - The #38 Porsche Jota and #5 Porsche come to blows, as the #5 Porsche runs the #38 off the circuit on the exit of the long and slow left hander.
15:23 - #777 Aston Martin LMGT3 does manage to get past the #46 BMW of Valentino Rossi for P3, a huge blow for the Italian who does hope to take a podium on his WEC debut.
15:18 - Mick Schumacher #36 Alpine struggling for grip, cuts across the gravel as the temperatures are starting to settle down.
15:16 - #93 Peugeot comes into the pits from 2nd place, as the #777 Aston Martin is bumper-to-bumper with Rossi's BMW.
15:12 - Valentino Rossi #46 BMW now being pressurised by the #777 Aston Martin behind for 3rd place, the BMW #46 crew will fight extremely hard to maintain their podium place.
15:00 - 100 Laps remaining
14:58 - VALENTINO ROSSI, Aboard the #46 BMW As the team attempt a charge on the leading pair. Rossi in 3rd.
14:51 - #31 BMW and the #78 Lexus make heavy contact, the Lexus has smoke pouring from the rear left.
14:45 - Mick Schumacher #36 Alpine comes in for his stop, they look to try and jump the #8 Toyota as they continuously fight for the Top 10
14:42 - #6 Porsche comes back in for another stop, the gap between the Top 2 in Hypercar now to 20 seconds.
14:34 - #46 BMW are roughly one pit stop behind the leaders of LMGT3, with the #46 still running P3 and their sister car of the #31 following them a bit down the road.
14:32 - #31 BMW LMGT3 comes in for a stop, tyre changes for most cars now as the previous set of tyres began to drastically cool down and create an unpredictable way of driving.
14:28 - Aston Martin #27 LMGT3 leaders come in for their stop, a driver change and tyre change which they certainly needed after that spin. Temperatures are cooling down and therefore cars are starting to understeer.
14:25 - #27 Aston Martin, the leading LMGT3 car has spun around and is now being pressured from the #92 Porsche, with the #46 BMW starting to catch back up. All LMGT3 cars are starting to lose grip.
14:24 - LMGT3 battle between the #31 BMW and #54 Ferrari for P4-P5 with both BMW LMGT3 cars really starting to come alive now, the #46 BMW driven by Rossi and Martin is currently closing the gap to the Top 2, and holds their podium place.
14:23 - #50 Ferrari now comes back in for a stop, changing their tyres as Miguel Molina still drives the car into what they hope, will be a Top 10 finish.
14:19 - #5 Porsche comes in for their stop, currently fighting for the podium in the Hypercar class. Elsewhere, Robert Kubica is back into the #83 Ferrari as he attempts to drive the Ferrari into the Top 5. Mick Schumacher is back aboard the #36 Alpine as he desperately attempts a Top 10 finish against Toyota's Sebastien Buemi. Over 100 laps remaining.
14:17 - Over 7,000 overtakes have happened in the Hypercar class so far in this race, with close to 500 overtakes in LMGT3, this track has been very effective at good racing for Hypercars and GT cars.
14:15 - #63 Lamborghini has a gear selector issue and driveshaft issue, removing the rear bodywork from the car as their debut gets a bit more disappointing.
14:11 - #46 BMW, Valentino Rossi's team currently being driven by Maxime Martin now run in 3rd position in LMGT3, after starting from 9th.
14:10 - #2 Cadillac and the #31 BMW LMGT3 make heavy contact, with the Cadillac sending a move slightly too late on the inside of a fast right-hander. Somehow neither spin off.
14:02 - 10 Seconds is the gap between the leaders in Hypercar, the gap has come down exponentially over the last hour.
13:57 - #46 BMW comes into the pit lane for new tyres and fuel. The #46 squad in LMGT3 have been running very strong as they try to seal a podium from this race.
13:55 - Aston Martin #27 sends it down the inside into the final corner, taking the lead of the race for LMGT3 class/
13:54 - Huge battle between the #54 Ferrari and #27 Aston Martin who both lead 1-2 in LMGT3, defensive at every single corner is bringing the #92 Porsche and #46 BMW right back into the leading battle.
13:51 - LMGT3 battle between the Top 3, now the BMW #46 driven by Maxime Martin is getting a chance to close in on the podium places.
13:49 - Sebastien Buemi climbs aboard the #8 Toyota, a tough day for that team so far with just under 140 laps remaining.
13:46 - #6 Porsche Andre Lotterer comes into the pits from the lead of the race, a slightly slower stop as the Peugeot #93 team do close that gap.
13:40 - #93 Peugeot is ultra low on fuel, as are a lot of other cars, with all the Hypercars now due their stop
13:38 - VIDEO - Valentino Rossi shares his thoughts on joining the WEC post-stint No.1
13:36 - Lots of gravel has been kicked up on the outside of some low speed corners, with some drivers losing grip and starting to slide off - therefore then kicking more gravel onto the circuit.
13:35 - Kamui Kobayashi #7 Toyota has managed to catch right back up to the Top 5 as the gaps get shorter between the Top 10 in Hypercar.
13:32 - #87 Lexus LMGT3 has an unsafe rejoin after running wide into the gravel, nearly hitting the sister Lexus.
13:31 - Peugeot #94 has had a battery change and has now re-joined the race after a while in their pit box, extraordinary job from their pit crew to get a battery change done in such a short time.
13:29 - Ferrari #50 comes in for their stop, a tricky day for them so far as they attempt to climb inside the Top 10 after penalties and incidents throughout the last 5 hours.
13:25 - #83 Ferrari is now fighting to defend P5 from the #38 Jota Porsche, meaning we will have another battle between Ex-F1 legends Jenson Button and Robert Kubica.
13:19 - #5 and #12 Porsche now fighting away between themselves, giving the #93 Peugeot a chance to open the gap.
13:16 - It's a 3-way fight for 2nd between the Porsche's of #12 driven by Callum Ilott and the #5 Porsche against the #93 Peugeot.
13:09 - Valentino Rossi #46 BMW hands the car over to Maxime Martin, Rossi will be back in the car towards the end of this race as Martin is about to lay down his blistering pace, having been a Spa 24 Hours winner in the past and the fastest of the trio in that #46, Martin will hope to close the gap to the Top 3.
13:07 - Peugeot #93 are now being caught by the #5 Porsche team, as gaps are starting to come down between the Top 10 in Hypercar
12:58 - #11 Hypercar in major trouble, crawling around the circuit and being wheeled back into the garage.
12:57 - HALF DISTANCE COMPLETED
12:53 - Very slow pit stop for the #8 Toyota crew, the left rear tyre not detaching costing them even more time to the battling #83 Ferrari
12:49 - #6 Leading Porsche comes into the pits for a tyre change and refuel, the gap to the #93 Peugeot was just over 25 seconds and is now roughly the same after pit stops.
12:43 - Hypercars pit, BMW Hypercars and #99 Porsche.
12:43 - Battle between the #31 BMW and #777 Aston Martin, with the BMW diving up the inside and finalising the move at the penultimate corner.
12:40 - #83 Ferrari has a bit of damage on the front left of the car, with many Hypercars now coming in for another stop, as the #12 Jota Porsche follows them in.
12:37 - #6 Porsche still leads by over 25 seconds to the chasing #93 Peugeot. This is the lead battle, the Porsche and Peugeot seem to hold decent race pace whereas the Ferrari's and Toyota's are struggling to keep up.
12:35 - LMGT3 leaders fight, the #27 Aston Martin dives up the inside of the #92 Porsche in the final corner
12:32 - GREEN FLAG
12:30 - FULL COURSE YELLOW - Debris
12:28 - Debris on circuit, a potential Full Course Yellow may be inbound, it is on the edge of the racing line
12:26 - VIDEO - Valentino Rossi climbs aboard his #46 BMW and makes his WEC debut:
12:20 - #50 Ferrari Hypercar closes to the #8 Toyota, a huge advantage on tyre life for the Ferrari, as the #50 Ferrari goes a lap down. It's been a tough race so far for the Ferrari team, and Toyota as well.
12:18 - #46 BMW of Valentino Rossi comes into the pits for some more fuel, no tyres. Meanwhile, Iron Dames change drivers to Sarah Bovy.
12:16 - Potential issues for the leading hypercar #6 Porsche, with complaints about tyre wear and greasy, sliding tyres from Andrew Lotterer. The gap is starting to come down considerably to the Peugeot #93 before.
12:15 - 5,824 overtakes throughout this race so far.
12:05 - Valentino Rossi #46 BMW LMGT3 makes a great move for 4th place, up the inside into the penultimate corner.
12:00 - 4 HOURS GONE - TOP 5 IN EACH CLASS UPDATE
Hypercar - Top 5
1st #6 Porsche Penske - Andre Lotterer
2nd #93 Peugeot - Jean-Eric Vergne
3rd #12 Jota Porsche - Norman Nato
4th #5 Porsche Penske - Frederic Makowiecki
5th #83 Ferrari AF Corse - Robert Shwartzman
LMGT3 - TOP 5
1st #92 Porsche - Aliaksandr Malykhin
2nd #54 Ferrari - Davide Rigon
3rd #55 Ferrari - Alessio Rovera
4th #91 Porsche - Yasser Shahin
5th #46 BMW - Valentino Rossi
11:57 - #7 Toyota squeezes the #83 Ferrari right up to the pit wall down the straight, with the Ferrari just coming out on top down the inside into Turn 1.
11:55 - #7 Toyota of Kamui Kobayashi now in battle with the #83 Ferrari of Robert Shwartzman and the Robert Kubica car. They are fighting over P7
11:51 - #88 Mustang to serve a DRIVE-THROUGH penalty for track limits
11:47 - #46 BMW of Rossi overtakes the sister #31 BMW car which seems to be struggling for pace as Rossi gets settled in to his stint.
11:42 - #31 BMW and the #55 Ferrari battle in LMGT3, with the #46 BMW driven by Valentino Rossi catching up
11:38 - Mick Schumacher aboard the #36 Alpine, pushing hard as some drivers begin to get their track limits warnings. Schumacher currently runs P9 in Hypercar on his debut.
11:31 - #11 Hypercar given a 200-second penalty
11:27 - #46 BMW LMGT3 - VALENTINO ROSSI IN THE CAR FOR HIS WEC DEBUT
11:17 - 1/3 RACE DISTANCE COMPLETED
11:15 - Lamborghini #63 and Ferrari #51 battling at the back of the pack, we're approaching LMGT3 pit stops.
11:03 -LMGT3 #77 Ford Mustang seemingly had a left rear puncture, nursing it into the pit lane.
10:59 - 100 LAPS GONE
10:55 - #6 Porsche that leads the race, comes into the pits, maintaining the lead.
10:48 - Robert Kubica #83 Ferrari AF Corse is now in the pits with a driver change, as Sebastien Bourdais still hounds the #8 Toyota of Brendon Hartley.
10:35 - #81 Corvette is stopped in the pit lane, as the Ex-F1 drivers of Sebastien Bourdais and Brendon Hartley
10:31 - Mick Schumacher dives down the inside of the #50 Ferrari at the final corner, unfortunately running too deep on the brakes but he has made up some places and is fighting his way through the pack on his WEC Debut.
10:22 - #81 Corvette LMGT3 caught into a spin from the Top 10, now dropping to well outside of the Top 10.
10:16 - BMW Hypercar problems as the data telemetry screen goes black aboard the #15 BMW, meaning they have limited data knowledge going forwards now.
10:02 - 2 HOURS GONE - Summary of the Top 5 in each class
Hypercar:
1st #6 Porsche Penske - Kevin Estre
2nd #12 Hertz Team Jota Porsche - Callum Ilott
3rd #93 Peugeot TE - Mikkel Jensen
4th #38 Hertz Team Jota - Matt Campbell, Jenson Button
5th #5 Porsche Penske - Oliver Rasmussen
LMGT3
1st #92 Porsche - Joel Sturm
2nd #91 Porsche - Morris Schuring
3rd #27 Aston Martin - Ian James
4th #46 BMW - Ahmad Al Harthy, Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi
5th #54 Ferrari - Francesco Castellacci
09:51 - #46 BMW Ahmad Al Harthy stays in the car to do a Triple stint and finish his entire drive time, he will eventually hand over to the iconic duo of Valentino Rossi and Maxime Martin who had many GT podiums in 2023.
09:45 - Porsche #6 leads from the #93 Peugeot in P2, #12 Porsche Jota and #38 Porsche Jota running in 3rd and 4th, with Robert Kubica's #83 Ferrari now rounding out the Top 5, with the Toyota's closing down the leaders.
09:44 - After a short Full Course Yellow period - we're back to Green flag running
09:38 - Upon review of the incident, there was contact between the Ferrari #51 and one of the LMGT3's which disjointed the rear of the car and gave the #51 Ferrari a puncture too. Alessandro Pier Guidi is now driving the #51
09:37 -
09:37 - FULL COURSE YELLOW - Debris
09:37 - Ferrari #51 has lost it's entire rear end of the car, a Full Course Yellow is now out on circuit, the rear of the car just jumped off the back of the car.
09:29 - #94 Peugeot of Paul Di Resta is going for a Triple stint, staying in the car again after the earlier contact and spin which forced the Peugeot into the pits after Lap 1.
09:17 - Jenson Button #38 Jota Porsche is up to 5th place, challenging the other sister Porsche cars.
09:16 - Lamborghini #63 driven by Daniil Kvyat have managed to make steady progress from 19th to now 14th after just over one hour gone
09:05 - #50 Ferrari has a penalty for crossing the white line at pit entry, a Drive-Through penalty for the challenging #50 Ferrari squad
09:02 - Will Stevens out of the Team Jota Porsche #12 handing over to the 2009 F1 Champion, Jenson Button.
08:56 - #46 BMW LMGT3 of Valentino Rossi has now moved to 4th in class, after starting from 9th and still closing on the podium positions.
08:51 - LMGT3's are all coming in to serve their pit stops, with the Iron Dames having a very slow stop.
08:48 - #50 Ferrari Hypercar comes into the pits from 2nd place, an early stop which gets their penalty out of the way for the rest of the race.
08:45 - Hypercars trying to unlap themselves as the LMGT3 BMW #46 of Rossi tries to overtake the Iron Dames once again, the Dames managing to stay in front for a number of laps despite having damage and certainly being slower.
08:39 - Robert Kubica #83 Ferrari may be taking a scrubbed set of tyres on the left hand side, this circuit does punish and put some strain on the left side tyres, with there being a lot of slow right hand corners.
08:33 - #93 Peugeot is now starting to break away from the chasing #50 Ferrari, with the gap opening to roughly 5 seconds now.
08:28 - #27 Aston Martin LMGT3 makes contact with the Corvette #81 on the exit of the tight Turn1-2 section.
08:27 - #93 Peugeot goes around the outside of the #50 Ferrari at Turn 1, holding an inside line for Turn 2 and snatching the lead.
08:23 - LMGT3 has a huge battle going on from positions 3rd to 8th in this fight for the current final step on the podium.
08:18 - #777 LMGT3 gets into 2nd place after a daring dive up the inside of the #81 Corvette into Turn 6
08:15 - #93 Peugeot manages to overtake the Porsche #5 after the Porsche was running onto dirt trying to get past the lapped traffic of the LMGT3's
08:10 - #46 LMGT3 makes contact with the Iron Dames, the #46 started from P9 and is now fighting with a lot of cars for P5.
08:06 - #50 Ferrari leads with the #5 Porsche dropping back to 2nd place but in hot pursuit of the Ferrari. The Peugeout #93 is in 3rd with the gap already starting to open after 5 laps gone.
08:00 - GREEN FLAG
07:58 - #11 Peugeout is stopped at the side of the circuit during the formation laps. managing to get return to the pack before the Green Flag.