The data putting Porsche on the front foot for Qatar opener
The WEC hosted its annual two-day pre-season test at the Losail International Circuit on Monday and Tuesday, providing some hints about the competitive picture for the Qatar 1812Km race. The circumstances weren’t exactly usual, with the Prologue having to be delayed by two days due to the late arrival of sea freight amid the geopolitical […]
BMW confident of avoiding repeat of Daytona dramas on WEC LMDh debut
BMW is undertaking its biggest sportscar racing programme since the V12 LMR last raced at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1999, when it won the race outright with Yannick Dalmas, Pierluigi Martini and Joachim Winkelhock. But the German manufacturer heads into this weekend’s Qatar 1862km event on the back of a troubled showing in […]
Ferrari starts 2024 WEC season with no performance upgrades
The Italian manufacturer has confirmed that it has not taken any of the so-called evo jokers allowed to manufacturers competing in the Hypercar class ahead of this weekend’s WEC curtain-raiser in Qatar. Ferrari sportscar technical director Ferdinando Cannizzo said: “At the moment we have not used any jokers; we want to exploit the potential of […]
Heavy Toyota car «struggling a lot» with tyre woes in WEC Prologue
Kobayashi made the comments after the pair of Toyota GR010 HYBRID Le Mans Hypercars ended up 13th and 15th in the combined times from the four sessions of the Prologue test on Monday and Tuesday at the start of race week for the Qatar 1812Km WEC season-opener. He explained that Toyota struggled with graining of […]
Penske Porsche heads final pre-season test session
Makowiecki posted 1m40.404s in the #5 Porsche 963 LMDh just under an hour into the Tuesday afternoon session of the pre-season test ahead of this weekend’s series opener. The time from the factory Penske Porsche Motorsport driver gave him a margin of two tenths over second-placed Alex Lynn in the Ganassi-run Cadillac Racing entry. Lynn […]
Alpine rules out F1 test for Mick Schumacher
Schumacher has joined Alpine to race its A424 Hypercar this year, in a bid to get back to top-line competition after a season on the sidelines as Mercedes F1 reserve. While he is continuing those reserve duties when available in 2024, the partnership with Alpine has prompted suggestions that the German could get some running […]
Porsche leads Peugeot in third session
Frederic Makowiecki posted a lap of 1m41.223s in the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport-entered 963 LMDh with fewer than 30 minutes left on the clock, dislodging the #94 Peugeot 9X8 that had led the way since the early part of the session. The two factory Peugeot cars held the top spots for majority of the three-hour […]
Porsche delays plans to introduce revised 963 LMDh engine
The decision to delay an update centred on a new crankshaft for the 963’s 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8 has been made after discussions with WEC organisers the FIA and the Automobile Club l’Ouest and IMSA in North America, which jointly govern the LMDh category. The FIA and the ACO demanded that the engine had to come […]
Jota Porsche remains quickest in second session
Callum Ilott set the pace aboard the British team’s #12 Porsche 963 LMDh in the night session on Monday with a 1m40.541s laid down in the opening minutes of five hours running on the Losail International Circuit. The two privateer Jota cars hit the ground running in the second of four sessions of the two-day […]