Qatar 182km Recap - Ferrari Dominates, Corvette Pulls It Out In 2025 WEC Opener
I mean come ONNNNNNN. What an insane way to submarine your race in absolute jaw-dropping fashion, which in turn kept the horrifying legend of The Gold Caddy alive and well. Was it Alex Lynn's fault for ramming into Jenson Button? Or was it Button's fault for gas-break-gassing it right as the yellow lights went out? Either way you slice it it was an 'OH MY GOD' for the record books and threw Jota's whole day into a blender. Both the No. 12 and No. 38 were set up to run the track for laps on end with that opportunity coming out of a safety car and it lasted all of what, 1.4 seconds? Not only did the #12 suffered front-end damage but they also received a drive-through penalty, a setback that they never really came back from when all was said and done. The #38 meanwhile eventually was put behind the wall with a throttle issue and fell multiple laps down. Be careful pinning all of this on just bad luck or a curse that spans multiple years now because that lets those in the moment with actual control of the matter off the hook. This wasn't all bad luck built off a demon-born curse, rather it was a giant fu*k up and it cost this new iteration of the V-Series.R a chance at finding their first WEC victory.
Hypercar Non-Winner Winners of the Day - No. 83 AF Corse Ferrari
Is it cheating a bit to call the No. 83 a privateer entry when they sure as hell have a lot of support from Big Ferrari? I mean yeah you can make the argument, but we're in the business of giving our privateer teams their due and with only two to pick from on the grid in 2024 there isn't much to choose from. Yes the 83 is de facto factory team, but you still have to go out and get the job done no matter who you are and the circumstances. The fact that the yellow-clad 499P ran a near-perfect race when essentially every other car on the grid struggled with either penalties or other mistakes makes it even more impressive, and beating out the likes of Cadillac, BMW and Alpine and just 2.348 seconds behind the No. 50 for the overall victory deserves a round of applause. You can hate on it all you want, but the more that the #83 performs the stronger it'll make the argument in the future for keeping privateer entries on the Hypercar grid in 2026 and beyond.
 |
| photo via autosport.com |
LMGT3 Moment of the Race - Corvette vs. McLaren in the last half hour
Once the final rounds of pit stops cycled through in the last hour of action we were left with a drag race scenario - Corvette vs. McLaren all the way to the finish line. Major credit goes to Daniel Juncadella in the No. 33 TF Sport Corvette for racing his ass off with Gregorie Saucy inside his tailpipes trying to get past him as the minutes came off the clock. The margins were THIN and there was Hypercar traffic sprinkled throughout the final laps that complicated matters for Juncadella and nearly gifted the victory to Saucy, but in the end the Spaniard is a Platinum-rated driver for a reason and he managed to keep that great looking yellow-liveried rocket out in front. The final gap was just 0.493 seconds ahead of the No. 59 after 10 hours of racing. Wilding.
 |
| photo via Sportscar365.com |
Accomplishment of the Day - No. 009 AMR Valkyrie Crosses the Finish Line
As we covered in our season preview - all we're looking for in this debut season for the Valkyrie is to see it cross the finish line wherever we happen to be racing that day. In the opening race of its adventures, we got half of our wish fulfilled. Both cars fell behind the pace pretty early and then eventually fell laps down hours into the contest as they went in and out of the garage for inspections. Ultimately #007 retired due to a transmission error after 181 laps logged, pour one out fellas. Yet on the other side of the coin, the #009 managed to navigate the conditions and avoided an early retirement, ultimately crossing the line P17 in class and 23 laps down from the race-winning No. 50. Either way, we don't really care - this maiden voyage for the V12 beast is all about development, testing, fine-tuning...and more testing, more development and even more fine-tuning. The project itself is such a massive undertaking that the growing pains will be worth it once the car begins to perform the way we all hope.
 |
| photo via astonmartinmedia.com |
Undisputed Champion of Catching On Fire - No. 77 Proton Mustang
There's something about these Ford Mustangs catching fire in the desert. Last year in the Bahrain season finale both the #77 and #88 caught fire on the track, and about 10 minutes into the first practice session of the Prologue last week the No. 77 melted down and was knocked out until qualifying Thursday. And wouldn't you know it, after 148 laps completed Friday the No. 77 caught fire AGAIN - knocking one of the two Proton Ford's out of contention. As far as we know the Mustang GT3 hasn't exploded anywhere else in the world, so there's something up with the Darkhorse Ponies succumbing to the heat or whatever when racing in the Middle East.
Sandbaggers (But Not Really Because They're the Champs) of the Day - Toyota Gazoo Racing
The comments coming from TGR leading into the race were exactly what we all expect now from the organization that has down-played their potential seemingly before every single race. 'Oh we're so far off the pace of the Cadillac's', or 'We'll be happy to come away with one car in the top 10' or any other sort of outrageous claim that Kamui Kobayashi and Co. manage to deliver to the media before the action starts on track. Well what do you know - the No. 7 and the No. 8 ran strong all day and managed to run near the front of the pack when things got tight late on, and ultimately finished P5 and P6 overall. It's comical to hear the multiple-time world champions play the 'woe is me' card before these races only for them to be right at the front of the heat turns up and they're fighting for a podium finish. At the same time you have give them their credit where it's due because when every other team on the grid made mistakes with drive-through penalties or by crashing into each other off a green flag restart, TGR have so much experience and pedigree to their name that they simply chug along lap after lap and put themselves in position to succeed every time out on track. Every other team should be ashamed of themselves for not taking advantage of a team that's never been more vulnerable and ripe for the picking in regards to the championship fight.
 |
| photo via toyotagazooracing.com |
Left Wanting A Whole Lot More Hypercar Version - BMW M Team WRT
The pace and ability showcased by the M Hybrid V8 in the Prologue, practice and qualifying didn't quite translate all the way into race day, and although it wasn't the end result that Team WRT would've ultimately wished for it was still a great showing for the team, drivers and car. Taking the good from the bad, the performance on the day was positive for a multitude of reasons - the first being that the No. 15 was the first non-Ferrari machine to cross the finish line in P3 (in the podium rankings for the factory cars) and the No. 20 managed to finish in the points as well in P6. Even though they'll leave the race having fallen short of a overall podium or victory, the fact that A) both cars scored points (and bonus points at that for it being a 10-hour race) B) both cars crossed the finish line and C) it mirrors the performance that Team RLL managed to put together at the Rolex 24 in January - they are all huge checkmarks in the 'Positive Program Building' column for the day.
 |
| photo via bmwpressgroup.com |
Left Wanting A Whole Lot More LMGT3 Version - LMGT3 Porsche's
Both the Iron Dames and Manthey 1st Phorm didn't have the kind of day they'd hoped in the opener and it was quite surprising to see both cars lack the pace on track the whole week. Both cars failed to make it to Hyperpole and both cars were outside of the top 10 in all three practice sessions leading into the race. It's a stark contrast to the success Manthey PureRxcing saw right out of the gate when the No. 92 claimed class victory last season at Lusail and the Porsche's on the grid finished 1/2 in the class standings when all was wrapped up. There's been a lot of shuffling around with the program from 2024 to this season - from driver lineups to the Dames moving back to the 911 GTR3 R and the Manthey pairing splitting from PureRxcing. It's clear both cars will need more time to develop their cars as we shift now to the 6 Hours of Imola to come on April 20 and hopefully it happens.
 |
| photo via almonitor.com |
Are We Blaming BOP or Just a Bad Day At the Track? - Porsche Penske Motorsport
Both Penske Porsche's missed out on Hyperpole and didn't have the pace that they showed all of last season, which came after an unfavorable BOP adjustment leading into things. Did the added weight hold back the 963 that much, or did they simply have a tough day at the track overall? The No. 5 finished P9 and the No. 6 came in right behind in P10 in factory points, far away from the kind of performance we saw in 2024. Coming out of things it's another chapter to the endless debate about the BOP process and how it totally bones top-performing teams that have found a groove with the development of their cars. I am in the camp of it being the necessary evil to operations and It Is What It Is. Expect the 499P to get bumped down and the 963 to be tweaked again with a weight reduction. leading into Imola.
 |
| photo via porsche.newsroom.com |
So there you have it - the first race recap of the season for the 2025 WEC season. We hope you enjoyed it - and we're now already counting down the days to the 6 hours of Imola.
Comments
Post a Comment