WEC Round One: Qatar - March 2nd, 2024

[Ferrari333SP]

Discuss the race here

https://www.fiawec.com/

Timing link: https://fiawec.tv/sportitem/65d5f7546fc17008967aab88

[Ferrari333SP]

Wonder if IF will improve at all

[tomcug]

Sandbags removed and surprise surprise, Toyota on pace!

[Ferrari333SP]

Corvette on GT3 pole

[veeten]

Hyperpole GT done...

Now, it's Hypercar's turn...

[v8supes]

Tyre warmers will be back by Le Mans…

[veeten]

Oh, this is fun...

[Ferrari333SP]

Penske on pole at the last second, Toyota in 2nd

[Simmi]

Awesome session. New format really worked.

[veeten]

Toyota: Back on top...

Matt Campbell: ...hold my Gatorade.

[tomcug]

Very close fight for pole, Matt Campbell is a great addition to the 5 car.

[kartman24]

Sand bags finally came off the Toyota then..............

[tomcug]

Originally Posted by kartman24

Sand bags finally came off the Toyota then..............

Not surprising at all
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...ints-in-qatar/
That didn't age well...

[Bentley03]

Terrific, absolutely terrific, and they've struck gold with this qualifying format. Perfect!!!

[GregoryDG]

Originally Posted by tomcug

Not surprising at all
https://sportscar365.com/lemans/wec/...ints-in-qatar/
That didn't age well...

Let's hope karma exists.

[Truckosaurus]

I might be being dull, but why is the race 1812km in length?

It doesn't seem to convert to a round number of miles, and 1812 isn't a year with relevance in the history of Qatar (as per a brief glance at wikipedia). It was a busy year in the Napoleonic Wars though, but I don't think that has any relevance to this race.

[KlBD]

I'm not so convinced it was sandbagging by Toyota or Ferrari. My guess is they believe managing the tire performance over the 10 hours and developing their race strategy around that was the priority this weekend over outright pace. The comments to the media obviously sound a bit outlandish to us, but the intent seems reasonable - in a field with 19 cars (~10 contenders), a lot of things could happen during a long race, so it's as Ben Keating said: when there are a lot of high quality contenders, technically any individual car is a bit of a long shot.

However, I was very happy to see some of the younger generation of pros like Matt Campbell and Nyck de Vries really shine this session. Hopefully they are the basis of many exciting years of competition to come.

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

I might be being dull, but why is the race 1812km in length?

It doesn't seem to convert to a round number of miles, and 1812 isn't a year with relevance in the history of Qatar (as per a brief glance at wikipedia). It was a busy year in the Napoleonic Wars though, but I don't think that has any relevance to this race.

The wiki page for the race itself says apparently it's in reference to Qatar's national day being on December 18, I guess that is the reason.

[XtC24]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

I might be being dull, but why is the race 1812km in length?

It doesn't seem to convert to a round number of miles, and 1812 isn't a year with relevance in the history of Qatar (as per a brief glance at wikipedia). It was a busy year in the Napoleonic Wars though, but I don't think that has any relevance to this race.

It does


Regarding Toyota, i think if its about extra weight and graining, I think they will probably suffer in race pace a lot more.

And the biggest difference in qualy is between 1 and second i think.

Porsche is miles ahead...

[tomcug]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvm_kef0JE0
They posted partial replay fast!

[joeb]

Originally Posted by Ferrari333SP

Corvette on GT3 pole

Any word on why the 2nd Mustang didn't qualify?


Also, how good has Ilott been in the Porsche? Amazing times.

[Mike E]

Originally Posted by Truckosaurus

I might be being dull, but why is the race 1812km in length?

It doesn't seem to convert to a round number of miles, and 1812 isn't a year with relevance in the history of Qatar (as per a brief glance at wikipedia). It was a busy year in the Napoleonic Wars though, but I don't think that has any relevance to this race.

'Covering around 1812 km and lasting under 10 hours, the race is named after the date of Qatar National Day, a pillar of celebration every year on 18 December (18/12).'

[Truckosaurus]

I wasn't clever enough to spot the 18th December link when looking at their history, was just looking at the years things happened in the 19th C.

[kartman24]

Enjoyed the Hyperpole shoot out, hopefully confirming what we are all hoping, the days of ultra competitive Sportscar racing are back after an abscence of a few years (excepting Le Mans last year.)

[Bentley03]

Has anyone seen or heard any news yet regarding the 5 cars under investigation in relation to refuelling procedures between qualifying and hyperpole?

Or any comment from Toyota (after Brendan Hartley was comically dragged away from the interview on the pit apron before he had a chance to open his mouth) regarding the #8's lack of pace during qualifying?

[Akrapovic]

I really really enjoyed that qualifying session