The Qatar Prologue has concluded at Lusail Circuit with BMW emerging as the front runners in the World Endurance Championship. As practice progressed and the track rubbered in the BMWs seemed to ignite pace that the rest of the field had no answer for. The team offered their comments on the progress made ahead of the Qatar 1812km.
From BMW
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “Our goals for our second FIA WEC season are ambitious. We aim to build on the clear upward trend from the second half of the 2024 season and be in a position to consistently compete for podium places with our BMW M Hybrid V8. This applies to the entire season, but especially for the major highlight at Le Mans. Here in Qatar, we want to start the year with good results.
During the prologue, we focused on running through our intensive test programme and gathering important information. Finishing with the fastest time is always nice, and we’re heading into race week with a positive mindset. In the LMGT3 class, we are looking forward to the debut of the new BMW M4 GT3 EVO. The car has won its first two races, demonstrating its great potential. The clear season goal is to contend for the World Championship title and a victory at Le Mans.”
Vincent Vosse (Team Principal BMW M Team WRT): “So far, I think, we have a good working base. We gathered good and important information. I am quite happy. We did not have any major issues with the cars. Of course, there is still some work to be done but overall, we are quite satisfied.”
Kevin Magnussen (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8): “We were following the plan. I got many laps but of course it’s testing and you never know how competitive you are so we were just focusing on the programme. Things are running according to plan and we keep working. Now I’m looking forward to the race.”
Robin Frijns (BMW M Team WRT, #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8): “I think it went alright. We had a test programme before arriving at Qatar, we followed it pretty much and everything feels fine. Now we need to put the puzzle together and prepare ourselves for the race which is a bit different. As we don’t drive at night during FP1 and FP2, Saturday was our only opportunity so that was quite important for us. Now it’s all about discussions and see how we can improve the package we have for the race.”
Fastest Combined Hypercar Times
1. Robin Frijns BMW M Team WRT 1m38.971s
2. Sébastien Bourdais Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA +0.145s
3. Robert Kubica AF Corse +0.170s
4. Dries Vanthoor BMW M Team WRT +0.282s
5. Alex Lynn Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA +0.325s
6. Antonio Fuoco Ferrari AF Corse +0.396s
7. Mick Schumacher Alpine Endurance Team +0.534s
8. Nyck de Vries TOYOTA GAZOO Racing +0.578s
9. Antonio Giovinazzi Ferrari AF Corse +0.597s
10. Julien Andlauer Porsche Penske Motorsport +0.902s
Fastest Combined LMGT3 Times
1. Simon Mann Vista AF Corse 1m54.790s
2. Francesco Castellacci Vista AF Corse +0.020s
3. Zacharie Robichon Heart of Racing Team +0.149s
4. Jonny Edgar TF Sport +0.167s
5. José María López Akkodis ASP Team +0.169s
6. Finn Gehrsitz Akkodis ASP Team +0.197s
7. Grégoire Saucy United Autosports +0.285s
8. Charlie Eastwood TF Sport +0.384s
9. Marino Sato United Autosports +0.409s
10. Augusto Farfus The Bend Team WRT +0.473s
LOSAIL INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT, QATAR – FEBRUARY 19: The #21 Vista AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3 of Francois Heriau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera at Losail International Circuit on Wednesday February 19, 2025 in Losail, Qatar. (Photo by JEP / LAT Images)