BMW M Team WRT had a strong start to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season in Qatar, finishing fourth in the top Hypercar prototype class and scoring a podium finish in LMGT3. This result is significant and shows the gains made in the Hypercar class since one year ago.
The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) series features more Hypercar entries than the IMSA GTP class in the United States. At the Qatar race, there were 18 Hypercar entries, compared to just 12 at the IMSA season opener in Daytona. The manufacturers competing in the FIA WEC series include Ferrari, Peugeot, Toyota, and Alpine, all of which have chosen not to participate in IMSA. On the other hand, BMW, Cadillac, Porsche, and Aston Martin run cars in both series; Aston Martin made its debut at Qatar and will also compete in the IMSA 12 Hours of Sebring.
Pit stop for the #20 M Hybrid V8, with Sheldon van der Linde turning it over.
Ferrari has three Hypercar entries in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and demonstrated their speed by securing the fastest qualifying time. Former F1 driver Antonio Giovinazzi achieved pole position in the #51 Ferrari 499P. BMW closely followed, with Dries Vanthoor driving the #15 M Hybrid V8 to a qualifying time just 0.136 seconds behind the pole sitter. Additionally, Robin Frijns piloted the #20 M Hybrid V8 to a strong sixth place on the grid, approximately six-tenths of a second behind Vanthoor.
In the LMGT3 qualifying session, the #46 M4 GT3 EVO advanced to the Hyperpole, which features the top ten cars from the initial qualifying round. Ahmad Al Harty secured sixth place, and Valentino Rossi subsequently improved the position to eighth during Hyperpole. The pole position in LMGT3 went to Sean Gelael, who drove a McLaren this season after racing a BMW last season. Additionally, the second #31 M4 GT3 qualified in fourteenth place.
The Qatar race covered 1,812km (1,125.9 miles), and Ferrari proved to be the car to beat from the start of the race. They were running at the front for most of the race, with the #15 BMW driven by Kevin Magnussen staying in third for the opening hour before slowing with an electronics issue, which was resolved but dropped the car back to ninth. Meanwhile, the #20 BMW driven by René Rast moved up to fourth. Attrition impacted both Cadillac Hypercars, as they ran into each other while running one-two at the time, which took those two cars out of contention.
At the halfway point, Ferrari was still running in first and second, and the #15 BMW was penalized for hitting the #50 Ferrari. The #20 BMW also had a drive-through penalty for an issue during a virtual safety car period but was still running in the top five around halfway through. Ultimately, Ferrari swept the podium in Hypercar, with the win going to the #50 car of Antonio Fuoco, Niklas Nielsen, and Miguel Molina. The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, and Kevin Magnussen followed the Ferraris in fourth, while the #20 M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde, René Rast, and Robin Frijns finished seventh.
Dries Vanthoor gets ready to race.
Having both BMWs in the top ten was a big improvement from the Qatar race in 2024 when neither BMW finished in the top ten. “After starting second, fourth place might not be the result we hoped for, but we didn’t have a flawless race – including from my side,” said Vanthoor. “Without these mistakes, we could probably have fought for third place, even though there was no way past the Ferraris this weekend. They were incredibly fast in every session, making it very difficult to beat them. I believe we can be proud of the progress we’ve made compared to last year. However, we are not there yet. It’s clear that we are not the fastest yet – so we need to keep working hard.”
In LMGT3, the #46 M4 GT3 EVO of Valentino Rossi, Kelvin van der Linde, and Ahmad Al Harthy seemed to be the best hope for a strong finish but had issues with their race pace and dropped back to finish eleventh. The #31 M4 GT3 EVO of Augusto Farfus, Timur Boguslavskiy, and Yasser Shahin ran a consistent race and stayed out of trouble to move up into third. “Considering where we started and where we finished the race – nobody would have predicted this,” said Farfus. “It shows what a great team we have behind us and what a strong driver lineup, as we executed it perfectly. Taking a podium home feels like a win.” The win in LMGT3 went to the #33 TF Sport Corvette.
Augusto Farfus (left), Timur Boguslavskiy (middle) and Yasser Shahin celebrate their podium finish.
Round two of the FIA WEC season takes place at the famous Monza circuit in Italy on April 20th, featuring a six-hour race.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy BMW]
