Ferrari Leads Opening Qatar WEC Practice with Calado on Top
Ferrari topped the opening FIA World Endurance Championship practice session in Qatar, with James Calado's No. 51 499P setting a 1m42.123s lap time.
The Italian manufacturer made a strong start with both cars in the top three, as the No. 50 sister car finished third. Separating the Ferraris was the No. 38 Hertz Team JOTA Cadillac, with Sebastien Bourdais posting a 1m42.355s.
Ferrari F1 car on racetrack
Toyota's No. 8 car and Team WRT's BMW completed the top five, with all top 10 Hypercar entries within one second of each other. The session was briefly interrupted when the No. 009 Aston Martin THOR Team Valkyrie stopped at Turn 1 with suspected battery issues. Both Aston Martin Hypercars finished 17th and 18th, around 2.5 seconds off the pace.
In LMGT3, AKKODIS ASP's No. 78 Lexus led with Ben Barnicoat's 1m55.801s lap. TF Sport Corvettes claimed second and third, followed by The Bend Team WRT BMW and the No. 87 AKKODIS Lexus.
Notable absences included both Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG GT3s due to fuel docking compliance issues requiring a software update. Racing Spirit of Leman and Proton Competition successfully repaired their damaged cars, with the RSLM Vantage finishing sixth after 34 laps.
WEC driver championship standings
The second Free Practice session is scheduled for 4:50pm local time in Qatar.
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