WEC
Toyota Back on Top! WEC 6H of Imola
The 2024 WEC 6 Hours of Imola delivered a dramatic and action-packed race, solidifying its place as a highlight of the endurance championship.
Practice
Three practice sessions are scheduled before the race starts on Sunday. With two practice sessions on Friday, and one on Saturday. The sessions on Friday took place in the afternoon and evening and lasted for 90 minutes each. The final session on Saturday morning lasted for 60 minutes.
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During the practice sessions, the Ferraris performed exceptionally well in the Hypercar class. They dominated all of the sessions and looked very strong to take the pole position. In the LMGT3 class, the pace of the cars was very close to each other, making it an interesting competition to watch.
Qualifying
As expected, all Ferrari Hypercars were contenders for the top spots at their home race. They achieved a dominant 1-2-3 finish in front of their home crowd, with No.50 Ferrari taking the pole position with a time of 1.29.466. The AF Corse No.83 and No.51 Ferrari followed closely behind. However, the Peugeots had a disappointing qualifying session, with both cars qualifying in 14th and 15th positions, respectively, and lagging about 1.5 seconds off the pace. This weekend marked their new Hypercar debut.
In the LMGT3 class, the Porsche of MantheyPureRxcing secured pole position with an impressive time of 1:42.365. They were almost seven-tenths of a second ahead of the second-place Aston Martin of Heart of Racing, with the BMWs of Team WRT taking the third and fourth spots. Valentino Rossi set to start the race from third position in the GT cars class.
Race
Race
The 2024 WEC 6 Hours of Imola delivered a dramatic and action-packed race, solidifying its place as a highlight of the endurance championship. Here’s a look back at the key moments:
Toyota Gazoo Racing Reigns Supreme: The No.7 GR010 Hybrid, driven by the trio of Mike Conway, Kamui Kobayashi, and Nyck de Vries, emerged victorious after a strategic masterclass. Their flawless driving and intelligent pit stops under changing weather conditions proved decisive marking their first win of the season.
Early Race Chaos: A multi-car collision at the start sent shockwaves through the field. The No.11 Issota made contact with the Alpine ahead which hit the BMW, and was among those affected, several GT3 cars were also involved in the incident which hampered BMW’s race as they suffered from damage having to pit for repairs.
Dramatic Weather Shifts and Ferrari’s Strategic Mistake: The Ferrari were leading a 1-2 but as the race progressed they battled each other allowing the Porsche behind to close in. The race saw a turning point with a shift to wet tires. Toyota’s gamble on switching early paid off handsomely when Ferrari decided to stay out and wait longer hoping that rain wouldn’t last long but were proven wrong, allowing Toyota to build a significant lead as rivals struggled on slicks. This mistake put the Ferraris out of contention for the podium and cost them in the championship in front of their home crowd.
Porsche Pushes Hard: Though ultimately falling short, Porsche provided fierce competition. The No.7 Toyota car, driven by Kamui Kobayashi was under pressure the in final stints. With Kevin Estre having to navigate through the traffic, he failed to overtake the Toyota on old tires.
LMGT3 Battles: While the Hypercars stole the show, the LMGT3 category provided its share of thrilling battles. The Lexus RC F GT3 and the No.77 D Station Racing Aston Martin fiercely fought for class supremacy. The BMWs took an impressive 1-2 finish with a huge lead scoring their first Podium of the season capitalizing on the weather change and outsmarting their rival’s strategy.
Championship Standings
The 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship heads to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the 2024 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps from May 9-11, this weekend will be crucial because this track is set to reveal the true performance of the cars ahead of the 24 hours of LeMans.
WEC
Qatar 1812KM: Ferrari and Corvette emerge on top at the WEC curtain raiser
Ferrari dominates with a historic 1-2-3, Corvette storms through the LMGT3 field, and drama unfolds across both classes in a thrilling start to the 2025 World Endurance Championship at the Qatar 1812KM.
The 2025 World Endurance Championship (WEC) began its season under the desert sun at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar with the Qatar 1812KM. Ferrari entered the weekend as favourites following their strong showing in pre-season testing, known as the Prologue, and the Italian manufacturer lived up to expectations by securing both pole position and victory, albeit with two different cars.
In the LMGT3 class, it was Corvette Racing that stole the spotlight. The American squad jumped the McLarens of United Autosports, who had locked out the front row, to take the category win in Qatar.
Giovinazzi Takes Pole for Ferrari in WEC Season Opener
If the practice sessions were anything to go by, two things were clear heading into qualifying: it was going to be tight, and Ferrari were the team to beat.
Qualifying did not go as planned for the #8 Toyota as Brendon Hartley spun on his fast lap, failing to advance to hyperpole. It was also a rough qualifying for newcomers Aston Martin, as both their cars were at the back of the grid. Another shocker was that none of the Porsches made it to Hyperpole, the manufacturer last year locked out the podium in Qatar. Advancing to Hyperpole were all the Ferraris, Cadillacs, and BMWs, along with the lone #35 Alpine, #93 Peugeot, and #7 Toyota.
BMW M Team WRT’s Dries Vanthoor was looking quick in Hyperpole, going quickest by nearly half a second with just a little over 2 minutes left on the clock. Alex Lynn then closed the gap to the top, going up to second in the time sheets in his #12 Cadillac Hertz Team Jota. But it was the #51 Ferrari that ultimately went fastest, setting a 1:38.359, just 0.136s ahead of the BMW in second. The #50 Ferrari followed in third, ahead of both Cadillacs in fourth and fifth. The second BMW qualified in 6th ahead of #7 Toyota. #83 customer Ferrari, #35 Alpine and #93 Peugeot completed the top 10.
Sean Geleal leads United Autosports to consecutive 1-2 in Qualifying
In LMGT3, United Autosports picked up right where they left off, locking out the front row in the season opener, just as they did at last year’s race in Bahrain.
Qualifying got underway, and LMGT3 too saw a newcomer as Mercedes returned to WEC, partnering up with Iron Lynx. The newcomers failed to impress as both Mercedes failed to advance to the Hyperpole, finishing at the bottom of the time sheets.
Joining them in the elimination were the Porsches, another shocker as the German manufacturers were the winners in Qatar last time around. Meanwhile, both the McLarens, Lexus’ and Ferraris advanced to the Hyperpole, joining them were #46 BMW of Team WRT, #27 Aston Martin, #81 Corvette and #88 Mustang of Proton.
Sean Gelael put everything together on his push lap to set the benchmark time of 1:54.239 in the #95 United Autosports McLaren. The sister McLaren closed the gap but couldn’t snatch the top spot, settling for second, just 0.239s behind. The Akkodis ASP Lexus pair were split by the Vista AF Corse Ferraris. Valentino Rossi qualified his #46 BMW in eighth, just behind the #27 Aston Martin. The American entries, the #81 Corvette and #88 Ford Mustang, rounded out the top 10.
Ferrari Wins WEC Opener in Commanding Fashion
Ferrari left nothing on the table as the Italian manufacturer kicked off its 2025 World Endurance Championship campaign with a dominant 1-2-3 finish at the Qatar 1812KM.
The #51 Ferrari, which started from pole, successfully fended off a charging #50 Ferrari, which had launched from the second row, into Turn 1, holding on to the race lead. From there, the two factory Ferraris began to pull away from the rest of the field. By Lap 21, the #51 led the #50 by five seconds, with both cars over nine seconds clear of the chasing pack.
Further back, the two Aston Martins, which had started from the rear of the grid, were steadily making their way through the field. However, drama struck when the #009 Aston Martin was forced into an unscheduled pit stop after the car’s door flew off mid-race.
Things took a dramatic turn around Lap 70 when a full-course safety car was deployed. At the restart, Hertz Team Jota, who had remarkably moved into a 1-2 position, suffered a nightmare scenario—their two cars collided with each other. This handed the race lead back to Ferrari, with the two factory entries ahead of the #83 AF Corse privateer Ferrari.
The #51’s race then took a hit when it was handed a drive-through penalty for a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) infringement, dropping it to the tail end of the top 10. That promoted the #50 Ferrari into the lead, until it was spun by the #15 BMW, handing control of the race to the #83 Ferrari.
What followed was a thrilling duel between the #50 and the #83, as both Ferraris battled for the race lead in the final hours.
In the closing stages, Antonio Fuoco delivered a phenomenal stint in the #50 Ferrari, overtaking Robert Kubica in the #83 to reclaim the lead. Behind them, Alessandro Pier Guidi had brought the penalised #51 Ferrari all the way back into podium contention. With fresh tyres, he mounted a late charge on Kubica for second place, but the Polish driver held his ground, finishing just three-tenths of a second ahead to secure second.
Pier Guidi crossed the line in third, completing a historic Ferrari 1-2-3—their first in top-level endurance racing since the 1,000 Kilometres of Österreichring in 1972.
“First of all, I’d like to thank the whole team for everybody’s work over the winter,” the winner reflected. “We prepared really well and while we had some ups-and-downs in the race, in the end, it obviously worked out well.”
Despite the #15 BMW falling down the order due to a pit speed limiter issue and a clash with an LMGT3 car, it recovered to finish a solid fourth, securing valuable points for the team. The sister car, #20 BMW, crossed the line in seventh. Toyota delivered a strong recovery drive to claim fifth and sixth, with the #8 car leading the charge after starting from the back of the grid.
Cadillac, which at one point was leading the race, could only salvage eighth place for their #12 entry after a costly collision between both of their cars while running at the front.
The #35 Alpine and the #5 Porsche rounded out the top 10. Alpine, despite showing early pace, dropped down the order as the race progressed, while Porsche lacked overall competitiveness throughout the weekend.
Corvette Climbs from the Seventh Row to Win in Qatar
The #33 TF Sport Corvette delivered a stunning comeback drive to win the LMGT3 class at the Qatar 1812KM, fending off the #59 McLaren of United Autosports after starting all the way back in 13th.
United Autosports had locked out the front row in qualifying and got off to a strong start. But it wasn’t long before the #78 Lexus of Akkodis ASP Team overtook them, igniting a fierce four-way battle at the front that included the Lexus, both McLarens, and the #46 BMW—which had climbed up to second after starting eighth on the grid.
Over four hours into the race, the fight at the front was still intense, with the top five covered by just seven seconds. The #78 Lexus continued to lead, closely shadowed by the two United Autosports McLarens. Meanwhile, the #33 Corvette had begun quietly working its way up the order, picking off cars and gaining momentum as the race wore on.
As the battle continued into the final stages, the LMGT3 podium remained wide open. With the pace and pressure ramping up, the #33 Corvette emerged as a real contender.
By the end of hour 8, the Corvette had climbed into a podium position, and just one hour later, it took control of the race. The closing laps saw an all-out sprint to the line, but the Corvette held firm, crossing the chequered flag just half a second ahead of the charging #59 McLaren.
Behind them, the #31 BMW of The Bend Team WRT completed the podium after a strong performance throughout the race.
Up Next
After an intense weekend of racing in Qatar, the WEC paddock moves to Ferrari’s home turf for the 6 Hours of Imola from 18th to 20th of April 2025.
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Endurance/Sports car racing
WEC Qatar 1812KM: Epic Battle Begins as Porsche, Toyota, and Ferrari Face Fierce Hypercar Rivals
The 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) is set to commence with the Qatar 1812km at Lusail International Circuit from February 26 to 28. This season opener promises intense competition, featuring 36 entries across two categories: 18 in Hypercar and 18 in LMGT3. With big names like Toyota, Porsche, Ferrari, Cadillac, Alpine, Peugeot, BMW, and the debuting Aston Martin fielding at least 2 cars in the top class of Endurance racing, this season is promised to be one of the most intense in recent times.
Porsche’s Title Defense and Aspirations
Porsche enters the season having won 4 out of the 5 titles that were on offer last year. They won the Hypercar World Endurance Drivers’ Championship with their #6 Porsche 963, the LMGT3 Drivers and Teams Championship through Manthey PureRxing fielding their Porsche 911 GT3 R, and lastly, the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams through their customer team, Hertz Team Jota.
Porsche has had a good start to the year courtesy of their win in the 24 Hours of Daytona. They will be looking to build on this in Losail, a circuit they dominated last year locking out all 3 spots of the podium in Hypercar and taking the top step in GT3. If things go their way, Porsche can do a clean sweep and take all the five titles WEC has to offer this year.
Key challengers: Toyota and Ferrari
Toyota, who had been the dominant force for the past few years in the top class of endurance racing were dethroned by Porsche in 2024. They did however manage to put their hands on the Manufacturers’ Championship. For 2025, Toyota will once again field its proven GR010 HYBRID package, which has undergone no significant changes and will enter its fifth season of competition.
Ferrari joined the hypercar class in 2023, debuting in the season opener 1000 Miles of Sebring. In their first year, Ferrari won the gruelling and prestigious 24h of Le Mans, they repeated this feat again in 2024 with their sister car. Expectations have been high from Ferrari ever since they joined the grid 2 years back but they have not well and truly been the championship contenders. Ferrari would hope that going into their third year in the competition they can constantly fight at the top.
New kids on the WEC block: Aston Martin and Mercedes
The wait is over, the Aston Martin Valkyrie will finally be a part of the WEC grid in 2025. Set to compete in the Hypercar class for the 2025 season, the British manufacturer’s entry turned heads with its unmistakable growl, courtesy of its naturally aspirated V12 engine. The Valkyries are being run by THOR (The Heart of Racing) bearing numbers #007 and #009. The team is very realistic in terms of their approach, they know being outright competitive is difficult, which is why it’s their long-term goal to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans and challenging constantly for wins in WEC. Meanwhile, in the short term, the learning process continues.
Mercedes is the newest manufacturer to join the GT3 grid in WEC, returning to Le Mans after 26 years. The German manufacturer has teamed up with Iron Lynx who will run two Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the championship. It’s a steep learning curve for the manufacturer and team as Iron Lynx is making a switch from the Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 EVO2s and it should not come as a surprise that they completed a staggering 1,500 kilometres for both their #60 and #61 LMGT3 participants.
Rossi Returns: The Doctor is back in the BMW
A nine-time world champion on two wheels, Valentino Rossi will return for a second season in the FIA World Endurance Championship, after the Italian was confirmed in the Team WRT line-up for 2025. Rossi enjoyed a positive first-year campaign in the series’ fiercely-disputed LMGT3 category. He finished just shy of the podium on his debut in Qatar, before missing out on the top step of the podium on home soil at Imola. Following a starring turn in the lead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a second rostrum result was achieved at Fuji, as the Doctor secured sixth spot in the final championship standings in his #46 BMW M4 LMGT3 with his teammates.
“I’m very happy to continue my experience in FIA WEC, as last year was a strong debut season,” Rossi remarked. “We had some good races, and we want to try to be stronger and faster. We will work hard together with BMW to improve our performance and be more competitive in every race.
Where to Watch and Schedule
The 2025 Qatar 1812KM kicks off at 4:30 PM Indian Standard Time. You can watch all the sessions live on WEC’s Official Streaming Service. You can see the full schedule for the weekend below.
Read more: Mahaveer Ragunathan on his ambitions to join WEC.
After wrapping up the series’ biggest race in Le Mans, the WEC paddock heads south to the Autódromo José Carlos Pace. The last time time WEC still held the 6 Hours of São Paulo was back in 2014. Now a decade later, WEC heads back to South America to start the second part of the season. In the both the classes, the competition is close as ever. Thus, there is a lot to look forward to. Here is the DRC preview for the 6 Hours of São Paulo.
The Title fight – Porsche X Ferarri X Toyota
Perhaps the biggest point heading into São Paulo is just how close the championship is at halfway through the season. In the manufacturers, Porsche is sitting at 108 points, 9 ahead of Ferrari (99), who themselves are 3 ahead of Toyota (96). Ferrari had a strong showing the last time out in France. (Click here to read our Le Mans report.) But the Italian brand is yet to win a race outside of La Saarthe. In order to win the overall championship, they would surely be looking to win on Brazilian soil.
Porsche had qualified at pole for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but they struggled keep up with the pace come the race end. Porsche has had success at this track, in a very different car nevertheless. With a total of 104 points still up for grabs in the 2024 season, its anyone’s championship for the taking.
TOYOTA-Conway returns to #7
Mike Conway, the regular driver of the no. 7 Toyota hypercar was forced to sit out the 24 Hours of Le Mans after a cycling incident. Now, nearly a month later, He is completely fit and ready to jump back in the #7. His crew of the no. 7 car is still in the competetion for the drivers championship, and he will be working this weekend to get closer to that trophy.
The other Toyota, #8 was robbed of a podium finish in Le Mans after the #51 Ferrari nudged them into a spin in the closing stages of the races. This weekend, they would surely be looking to do themsselves one better and top the leaderboards.
BOP changes incoming for Brazil
Incoming this weekend is BOP changes. In the Hypercar category, the Isotta Fraschini has shed the most weight while teams like Ferrari and Toyota have taken up weight. However, when you take into account the ‘Power Gain’ system used by WEC to manage power beyond 250Kph, Ferrari and Toyota have managed to enter into increased power figures overall.
Ferrari and Toyota have gained 1.8% and 2.8% respectively. Meanwhile, Lamborghini, Alpine and Cadillac have each lost 1%, 1.3% and 1.5% after the threshold of 250kph. Isotta, Porsche and BMW have 0 gain or loss after 250 kph.
LMGT3 – Championship fight in full swing
If the Hypercar category is showing a close championship, the LMGT3 is not behind either. The top two teams (Manthey EMA and Mathey PureRXcing) sit on the exact no. of points, 75. The third placed team is Team WRT #31 placed just 2 points behind the table toppers.
The other team under Team WRT is the no. 46 BMW piloted by Ahmed Al Harthy, Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi. They had a particularly difficult Le Mans as they crashed out in the Dunlop Chicane. They were showing good pace until the crash and surely they would be hoping to replicate atleast their racepace here in Brazil.
The other fan favourite team, Iron Dames is in good form as well. They have recently won in class at the 4 Hours of Imola in European Le Mans Series (ELMS) held durng 5-7 July.
At Interlagos, a track which is comparitively narrow for multiclass racing, it will be very thrilling for us fans to watch how different races unfold amongst different classes.
The Track
The Autódromo José Carlos Pace, or Interlagos as it is known amongst fans, is a track that tests every aspect of a car. The first 3 corners flows one into another effectively tugging at the downforce of the car. Coming immediately after is a straight that will be the hotspot for clearing backmarker traffic. Interlagos is a track where every corner flows into another, and with modern machines capable of eye watering speeds, the drivers will hardly get any time to rest. Setting up a car for this track will also be a workload as it requires both downforce and low drag conditions for the best performance. Hitting that sweet spot between the two will be important for the best results.
When and where to watch
In India, Eurosport will be broadcasting the races on TV.
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