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.