![2025 FIA WEC Qatar 1812 km: Race Report and Ramblings [w/video]](https://i0.wp.com/doubleapex.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-FIA-WEC-Qatar-1812-km.webp?w=1500&resize=1500,900&ssl=1 "2025 FIA WEC Qatar 1812 km: Race Report and Ramblings [w/video]")
This 2025 FIA WEC Qatar 1812 km race report was compiled by regular endurance-racing correspondent and motorsport fundi, Dr Nick van der Meulen.
The opening round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship took place at Qatar…on a Friday. The 1812 km race comprises of 335 laps or 10 hours of racing, maximum. The circuit is MotoGP compliant, which means it has the MotoGP-style rumble strips. It can damage a racecar’s undertray, so running over them is not desirable. The circuit is fast and flowing with some slow corners, making it difficult to overtake. Teams made strategic pitstops to ensure better track position and lap times, as a result. The circuit is known to be gentle on tyre wear. This was demonstrated in the race, as teams ran more than one stint on a single set of tyres.
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Packed Field
Despite the FIA insisting that the Hypercar class run two cars per marque, there were 18 machines entered for the event. There have been some changes that one needs to note. Lamborghini withdrew from WEC to focus their single car on IMSA. Isotta Fraschini withdrew before the end of last season and the new rule did not encourage them to return.
Jota (celebrating 25 years in WEC) switched marques, becoming Cadillac’s works entry, while Aston Martin are new to the championship, finally debuting their Valkyrie. Ferrari and Porsche each have one “customer” machine entered. The LMGT3 class also fields 18 entries covering Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, McLaren, Lexus, Mercedes, Ford and Chevrolet. As with the Hypercar class, Lamborghini is missing from the LMGT3 lineup.
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Seeing Red… and Yellow
As Toyota’s Kamui Kobayashi predicted before the race, Ferrari dominated proceedings, finishing 1-2-3. This is Ferrari’s first podium lockout since Monza 1000 km in 1967. Ferrari #51 (Calado/Pier Guidi/Giovinazzi) and 50 (Fuoco/Melina/Nielsen) ran out front trouble free for the first hour, while the rest of the field was involved in frenetic battles for position. AF Corse #83 (Kubica/Hanson/Ye) began at the bottom end of the points-paying positions at the race start, dropping as low as 11. They did a superb job to finish second, after leading the race for some time, merely 2 seconds behind the victors, Ferrari #50.
#50 also had to come back from a spin after being tagged by BMW #15 (D. Vanthoor/Marciello/Magnussen). Pole sitter #51 was snapping at the heels of AF Corse #83 in third place at the fall of the chequered flag. It was felt #51 was a shoo-in for victory, but some driver-related errors (virtual safety car infringements, contact with BMW #20 (Rast/Frijns/S. van der Linde) etc.) compromised its potential.
Getting Quicker
BMW showed flashes of speed over the weekend and will be encouraged with their performance. BMW #15 suffered an electronic glitch at restart after a full course yellow (FCY) 45 minutes into the race, Kevin Magnussen losing third place and tumbling down the order outside the top 10. They recovered strongly to finish best of the rest in fourth place. Sister car #20 also ran in the points for the whole day and finished seventh.
Quiet Outing
Toyota had a low-key race, running quietly in mid-field (constructors champions, remember), but were running third and fourth by half distance!. The two Toyotas were chasing two Ferraris at one stage, but the final pit stop of the race determined the result. The Toyotas took on rubber (on the left side of their mounts), while their rivals opted to fuel only. They lost out to BMW #15 and #8 finished fifth ahead of their sister car in sixth.
American Challenge
The Jota Cadillacs looked very quick in Qatar, easily the second quickest marque and most likely to pressure Ferrari. Bamber in #38 (Bamber/Button/Bourdais) was bumped into a spin while battling for third place, tumbling down the order to 17th place and a lot of work to do. Stevens in #12 (Stevens/Lynn/Nato) jostled physically for position with his teammate on Lap 1, before being tagged into a spin by one of the Alpines. They recovered superbly and were running 1-2 under SC (Lap 71, because of #61 spinning into the gravel), benefitting from a Ferrari pit stop shortly before.
Alex Lynn in #12 barreled into the back of teammate Button behind the safety car, damaging both vehicles extensively. Button braked early just before the restart, catching Lynn out. Both cars peeled into the pits for repair, resulting in the Ferraris taking over at the front. While Lynn complained loudly about being brake tested in the incident, the stewards handed him a drive-through penalty for the contact. Despite being the stars of the show for many, #12 managed to finish eighth and after further mechanical issues.
Further down
Peugeot did a good job with their 9X8, with #93 (Vergne/Di Resta/Jensen) claiming points for ninth place. They are hoping for progress at Imola as they use one of their “jokers” and introduce an upgrade to their machine. Porsche looked out of place throughout the weekend: the world champion drivers in Penske Porsche #6 (Estre/L. Vanthoor/Campbell) did not score, while #5 (Andlauer/Christensen/Jaminet) managed to claim the final points position on offer after picked up a slow puncture early on.
Aston Martin struggled in their debut with the magnificent-sounding Valkyrie. Car 007 (Tincknell/Gamble/Gun) struggled with a misfire. #009 (Sorensen/Riberas/de Angelis) had its door fly open, it ripping it from its hinges on Lap 33. They lost four laps having it replaced, before rejoining the race.
LMGT3 Winners
Further down the grid in the LMGT3 class, the United Autosport McLarens locked out the front row of the grid. They featured at the front of the race in the initial stages, but only #59 (Saucy/Cottingham/Baud) managed to stay in contention in a closely fought race. The McLaren vied with Akkodis Lexus #78 (Robin/Gehrsitz/Barnicoat) for victory for two thirds of the race.
They had to give best to TF Sports Corvette #33 (Keating/Edgar/Juncadella), who snatched the lead in the dying minutes of the race. This, despite Keating running off the track at least twice in the early stages. Juncadella had to fend off Saucy for the final 30 minutes of the race, initially for second place. It became a battle for victory after BMW WRT #31 (Farfus/Shahin/Boguslavskiy) had to pit for a splash of fuel with less than 15 minutes remaining.
Saucy was compromised more than once when Hypercars interrupted their duel and had to be content with second place. BMW WRT #46 (Rossi/K. van der Linde/Al Harthy) also ran in the top three battle for the first half of the race, but penalties for track limits dropped the team out of the points. Akkodis Lexus #78 pipped Vista AF Ferrari #21 (Heriau/Mann/Rovera) for fourth place on the final lap of the race.
Fiery End
Proton Mustang #77 (Sousa/Tuck/Barker) charged up to the lead after running as low as 15th place. Unfortunately, it came to a fiery Eduardo Barichello (son of Rubens) made his WEC debut with #10 Racing Spirit of LeMan Aston Martin, the team finishing ninth in class.
Points Scored
The top ten finishers in each class score points. There are three points-scoring allocation forms, with different allocations for 6-hour, 8-10-hour and 24-hour events, respectively. In the Hypercar class, Molina/Fuoco/Nielsen lead the championship with 38 points, ahead of Kubica/Ye/Hanson with 27 points. The remaining 8 cars’ drivers claim 23, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 and 2 points, respectively. Keating/Edgar/Juncadella lead the KMGT3 class with 38 points, ahead of Saucy/Cottingham/Baud on 27 points. Farfus/Shahin/Boguslavskiy have 23 points each.
The second round of the World Endurance Championship takes place in Italy, with the 6 Hours of Imola on 20 April 2025.