WEC (Prologue): Porsche and McLaren quickest off the mark

Here is finally a true good vision of the legendary WEC 2024 plateau: the Prologue, organized on Monday, February 27th and Tuesday 28th, was contested in three different sessions. In addition to the first one, which became optional with the program change, the three others revealed Porsches rather comfortable in Hypercar, McLaren as well in LMGT3.

Few informations were available regarding the quantities of gasoline loaded on board. But the lap times, as well as the number of laps completed, provide a good indication of the good and bad performers.

In the Hypercar class, Porsche simply took the best times from all three sessions where all cars were on track.

Session 1 was dominated by Porsche Jota No. 12 (1:40.541), ahead of Ferrari No. 50 (1:40.673). The official No. 5 from Stuttgart (Campbell/Christiensen/Makowiecki) then took the lead in the timings with a 1:41.223, ahead of Peugeot No. 94, which has the most advantageous BoP of all Hypercars (1:41.260). The 3rd and 4th places were occupied in the same order by Porsche and Peugeot (No. 6 and No. 93).

Finally, in the last session, Porsche N°5 put in the fastest lap of the entire Prologue: 1:40.404, ahead of Cadillac N°2 emerging from the woods (1:40.458)… and a trio of Ferraris. The only difference being that the two official Scuderia cars were beaten on the clock by the semi-official (or semi-private, depending on how you look at it) N°83, notably driven by Robert Kubica.

But one of the most important aspects was obviously the number of laps completed: in addition to performance, which is somewhat lacking in the newcomers, it was necessary to focus on the proper handling of the car.

And in this little game, the Toyota behemoth was the most productive, with 138 laps for car number 8 world champion on the S2, 84 on the S3 (like the Ferrari number 83). Ferrari regained the upper hand in this area in the last session, with 84 laps for car number 51, the reigning Le Mans champion.

Among the newcomers, BMW’s lap times are respectable overall, with a reference time of 1:41.661 set by car #15 in sector 4. Among the Italians, Lamborghini couldn’t break the 1:42.5 mark, likely focusing on long stints, while the former didn’t even run in sector 4. However, one could say that it will take time and effort to climb back up.

At Alpine, with car numbers 35 and 36, the day was certainly more focused on data collection than on performance. This did not prevent the trio Chatin/Habsbourg/Milesi (car number 35) from clocking a 1:42.448 in sector 4, but with only 54 laps completed (compared to 80 for car number 36).

The true judge of these 1812 km of Qatar will be the qualifications, which will take place on Friday, March 1st.

LMGT3: United and D’Station neck and neck

The first session was hardly representative, given the low number of volunteers, but the second session still revealed absolutely minimal differences from one car to another.

Just looking at the second session, the benchmark time set by the United Autosport McLaren is 1:54.480. You have to go all the way to eighth place to find a half-second gap (the Iron Lynx Lamborghini No. 60, in 1:55.031).

Aston Martin secured the top spots in the last two sessions, with car number 777 from D’Station Racing, clocking 1:54.791 and 1:54.778. However, they fell short by three tenths to beat the benchmark set by United Autosport in the Prologue.

Among the Iron Ladies (without any French stereotyping), the timed work placed their Lamborghini No. 85 somewhere in the middle of the pack. The pink car’s reference was set at 1:55.359 on the S2. Doriane Pin’s adjustment still needs to continue.

The young French drivers from Akkodis, with the Lexus No. 78 and No. 87, performed well overall on Stages 2 and 4, as they didn’t complete many laps on Stage 3. The team’s best time was set in the second session, with a time of 1:54.565 with the No. 78 car… the same one that is piloted by the multiple Hypercar/LMP1 world champion José Maria Lopez.

Finally, how can we not talk about one of the major attractions of this new category: Valentino Rossi! With the BMW logically sporting the No. 46, he did not have the honor of setting the best times. But on the S2, S3, and S4 sectors, he and his teammates Maxime Martin and Ahmad Al Harty completed 95, 74, and 82 laps… among the highest totals in the category.

There won’t be a long wait for Free Practice 1, as it starts on Thursday at 12 p.m. French time.