FIA World Endurance Championship: Porsche Penske Motorsport sweep podium in curtain-raising Qatar 1812km
Porsche Penske Motorsport earned its first FIA World Endurance Championship victory with their 963 with a brilliant performance at the Qatar 1812km.
The German team secured their first WEC victory since 2017 thanks to their No. 6 crew that consisted of Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer.
The victory was also the first ever in the series for an LMDh car.
Porsche came through a late emergency as Estre was forced into a late stop with his number plate urgently needing replacing in lap 328 of 335.
‘Peugeot is off the podium!’ – Porsche dominate in Qatar after dramatic finish
Estre held a comfortable lead on the race until the incident, with the No. 6 Porsche a lap ahead of the No. 93 Peugeot, before Estre, the Frenchman, collided with the Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3, driven by Takeshi Kimura, at Turn 3.
Estre’s car was dealt left-side bodywork damage, and lost its number plate on that side, forced Porsche to call Estre into the pits on lap 328 of 335.
‘What on earth?!’ – ‘Awful luck’ as Vergne’s Peugeot loses power on penultimate lap
However, Estre exited the pit lane still 40 seconds ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne’s No. 93 Peugeot, but the car fell away after medium tires were installed, undoing all of Nico Mueller’s good work that had given the French team an early lead.
Callum Ilott’s JOTA Porsche eventually overtook to snatch second, before the No. 5 Penske Porsche arrived in third just a second behind.
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