Ferrari still ahead as Cadillac challenge comes unstuck

Hypercar

• Privately-entered #83 AF Corse 499P just under 15 seconds clear of works #50 Ferrari after four hours of racing in Qatar
• Pole-sitting #51 Ferrari drops down the order to eighth – almost a minute adrift of the lead – after picking up a penalty for a Virtual Safety Car infringement
• Cadillac challenge comes unstuck when Alex Lynn and Jenson Button make contact at safety car re-start, with the two V-Series.R Hypercars running one-two at the time... Both tumble outside of the top ten, the #38 subsequently losing further ground due to a throttle issue
• Toyotas stealthily climbing the order, with Brendon Hartley up to third in the #8 GR010 Hybrid – from the back row of the grid – narrowly ahead of Kamui Kobayashi in the sister #7 machine
• Porsche Penske Motorsport – winner in Qatar last year – rises to fifth with its #5 963 Hypercar, heading a tight tussle with the #36 Alpine, #20 BMW and recovering #51 Ferrari
• Charles Milesi in the #35 Alpine suffers a spin after trying to squeeze his A424 between two LMGT3 cars
• Dries Vanthoor incurs a drive-through penalty in #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 after tipping Antonio Fuoco’s Ferrari into a spin

LMGT3

• Top five blanketed by seven seconds in ultra-close battle
• Finn Gehrsitz keeps Akkodis ASP Team’s #78 Lexus at the top of the pile after reclaiming the lead as the clock hits four hours
• United Autosports McLarens in close company in second and third, Sébastien Baud marginally ahead of pole-sitter Sean Gelael
• Ben Tuck sitting fourth in Proton Competition’s #77 Ford Mustang – which missed almost the entire pre-season ‘Prologue’ test due to a fire – after running at the front of the field for many laps during marathon stint
• Aston Martin and BMW similarly in the mix, in the hands of Zacharie Robichon for Heart of Racing Team and Valentino Rossi at Team WRT
• TF Sport clawing its way back into the fight with the sole surviving #33 Corvette

Live timing is available HERE