Gounon set for further WEC race outing with Alpine
Jules Gounon is set to graduate from his role as Alpine’s official World Endurance Championship reserve to take a race seat at Bahrain in November for a second consecutive weekend. The move is part of the same plan, put in place at the beginning of the season, that resulted in Gounon replacing Paul-Loup Chatin in […]
F1 champion Jenson Button expresses doubt about WEC future
Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button is refusing to commit to staying in the World Endurance Championship in 2025, as he hasn’t decided how long he wants to compete professionally in motorsport. The comments mark a change in stance from the Jota driver, who previously stated he saw WEC as a two-season programme after returning […]
BMW confident it can fight for wins in WEC after podium breakthrough
BMW now has the “pace to fight for wins” in the World Endurance Championship with its M Hybrid V8 LMDh, WRT team boss Vincent Vosse believes. Vosse made the statement after the #15 WRT BMW shared by Marco Wittmann, Raffaele Marciello and Dries Vanthoor took M Hybrid’s first WEC Hypercar class podium with second place […]
Peugeot’s WEC pace still “not brilliant” despite best result of the year
Peugeot says a double points finish in the Fuji World Endurance Championship round doesn’t mean it has made a breakthrough, as the 9X8 2024 is still “not brilliant” on pure pace. A strong final stint on fresh tyres propelled the #93 Peugeot 9X8 Le Mans Hypercar of Mikkel Jensen, Nico Muller and Jean-Eric Vergne to […]
Ferrari and Toyota concede WEC drivers’ title to Porsche
Ferrari and Toyota have conceded the World Endurance Championship drivers’ title to Porsche with one race left to run after Sunday’s Fuji round. The two manufacturers chasing the German marque in the Hypercar classification have admitted that their chances of taking the crown at November’s Bahrain finale are over after points leaders Lauren Vanthoor, Andre […]
Hirakawa was ‘blocking me everywhere’ in Fuji despite blue flags
Porsche’s Kevin Estre felt Toyota rival Ryo Hirakawa was “blocking me everywhere” despite being shown blue flags on an outlap in Sunday’s Fuji WEC race. Long-time race leader Estre encountered the #8 Toyota GR010 HYBRID of Hirakawa at the beginning of the sixth hour after the Japanese driver came into the pits relatively early for […]
Kobayashi takes blame for Porsche clash as Toyota exits WEC drivers’ title race
Kamui Kobayashi has accepted blame for the clash with Porsche’s Matt Campbell at the Fuji 6 Hours that effectively removed Toyota from contention in the World Endurance Championship drivers’ title race. The Japanese told Motorsport.com after the penultimate round of the 2024 WEC on Sunday that “the penalty came to me, so obviously it was […]
Alpine got Fuji podium despite starting weekend with “worst car”
Mick Schumacher has hailed Alpine for improving a car that he felt was at its “worst” this year in order to clinch a maiden podium in the World Endurance Championship at Fuji. During an impressive final stint, Schumacher snatched third place in the #36 Alpine A424 LMDh he shares with Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere, […]
Ferrari bracing for ‘race of survival’ after tough Fuji qualifying
Antonio Giovinazzi believes Ferrari can best hope to “survive” in Sunday’s World Endurance Championship race at Fuji after a tough qualifying for the two factory crews. Giovinazzi struggled to 12th in the #51 Ferrari 499P Le Mans Hypercar in the opening segment of qualifying on Saturday, lapping almost seven tenths off the pace set by […]