WEC: Porsche unbeaten in first two free practice sessions in Qatar

Porsche Penske Motorsport topped both practice sessions during the inaugural day of running in the opening round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship season, Qatar 1812km, courtesy of Matt Campbell and Kévin Estre

Free Practice 1
Porsche Penske was classified 1-2 for the majority of the 90-minute-long first session of the day, but a late flyer from James Calado sees the #51 Ferrari AF Corse 499P pushed up into second position with a time of 1m42.561, just 0.075 off Campbell’s best.

Kévin Estre in #6 car set his best lap of 1:42.593 to place third at the chequered flag.

Porsche had swept the top positions with five cars in the top six positions

Nicolas Pino in the #95 McLaren 720S entered by United Autosports led the 18-car LMGT3 field.

His 1:55.824s best was just over 0.1s clear of the #55 AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, with the stablemate #54 in third place at the end of the session.

Davide Rigon and Alessio Rovera set the times for the Prancing Horse with the top three covered by just 0.21s.

Free Practice 2
Porsche maintained the advantage in the second session of the day as Kévin Estre became the first driver to go under the 100-second barrier with a fastest lap of 1:39.900s.

The #6 Porsche Penske 963 Hybrid Hypercar led the chasing packs by 0.782s from the #93 Peugeot TotalEnergies 9X8. Jean-Eric Vergne set best time of 1:40.772s.

Hertz Team JOTA grabbed the third position as Jenson Button lapped in 1:40.782s to maintain the impressive pace for the Porsche customer team.

Cadillac made it three manufacturers in the top four as Alex Lynn posted a 1:40.986s lap in the navy blue Cadillac V.Series R.

Vista AF Corse took a 1-2 formation at the top LMGT3 class, with the #55 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 heading the #54 machine by just under 0.3s

Simon Mann (1:55.190) and Francesco Castellacci (1:55.445) set the times as the Prancing Horse continues its consistently quick times in Qatar

Team WRT placed third with the #31 M4 LMGT3 car, as Sean Gelael made progress up the pecking order.