Qatar Tuesday Notebook

***The FIA World Endurance Championship’s two-day Prologue test at Lusail International Circuit came to an end following Tuesday’s fourth and final session, which was contested by the 28 cars that opted to sit out the opening session on Monday. Frederic Makowiecki set the best time of the final session and overall, a 1:40.404 in the No. 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963.

***In terms of lap count, the Hypercar entry that set the most laps across the test was the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari 499P with 292 laps set across the two days, followed by the two Toyota GR010 Hybrids, the No. 8 car completing 291 and the No. 7 car at 280. Completing the least mileage was the Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competizione on 153 laps.

***In LMGT3, the two Manthey Racing-run Porsche 911 GT3 Rs topped the lap count, with the No. 91 car leading on 258 laps from the No. 92 machine on 256. Best of the rest was the No. 46 WRT BMW M4 GT3 on 251 laps.

***Numerous drivers were hit with penalties for track limits abuse throughout Tuesday’s two sessions. Three drivers were hit with 10-minute stop-and-hold penalties: Marino Sato in the No. 95 United Autosports McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and two of the drivers of the No. 15 BMW M Hybrid V8, Raffaele Marciello and Marco Wittmann.

***Picking up five-minute penalties were Paul di Resta in the No. 94 Peugeot 9X8, Antonio Fuoco in the No. 50 Ferrari 499P, both Timur Boguslavskiy and Kelvin van der Linde in the No. 78 Akkodis ASP Lexus RC F GT3, Darren Leung in the No. 31 WRT BMW M4 GT3 and Giorgio Roda in the No. 88 Proton Competition Ford Mustang GT3.

***It’s understood the FIA and ACO’s evaluation of its new so-called ‘two-stage BoP’ was not performed as initially planned due to programming issues according to Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe technical director David Floury. “We were supposed to yesterday night but unfortunately it was not programmed correctly, I think for everyone,” he said. “It was not on our side at least. Eventually we didn’t test it.”

***Porsche Penske Motorsport managing director Jonathan Diuguid downplayed the team’s chart-topping performance at the Prologue will put them in prime position for victory in Saturday’s Qatar 1812km.

***Diuguid told Sportscar365: “I’m not sure. We can use the Prologue in Sebring as an example. I’m not going to read too much into the pace and things like that. To be honest, we know the times that people did during the test here [in late November]. I’m not going to say [they were] quicker but it’s a different order than it is now.”

***Neither of the factory Porsches attempted qualifying simulation runs, with the focus placed on tires and long runs according to Diuguid, who said they only experienced tire graining during their first session on Monday evening, unlike the December test which was plagued with graining from all Hypercar teams that took part.

***The No. 6 Porsche was the only known car to have hit the barriers over the course of the test, with Kevin Estre losing control over a curb at the exit of Turn 15 and nosing the car into the wall in the final session. “It just looked like some nose damage and rear,” Diuguid explained. “But we changed the nose and did a quick setup check and we went right back out.”

***Cadillac Racing’s No. 2 V-Series.R was the only Hypercar entry to feature in the top five in all three sessions in which it participated. Alex Lynn, who set the squad’s fastest time in the final session, commented: “On a whole, we’re pretty happy with how we’ve done in the Prologue. The car is working really well here in Qatar and I think in both (day and night) conditions we seem to be there.”

***Lynn added: “I think the car is in a really nice place at the moment. The car has had a great start to its life; Daytona in January was a strong showing as well. There is a bit more competition this year, but in general we’re pretty happy and look forward to the race weekend.”

***Peugeot driver Stoffel Vandoorne explained the difficulties facing the Hypercar field in terms of tire wear at Lusail, with medium and hard compound Michelins to choose from. “It’s a tough track, a lot of combined corners with high loads,” he said. “The medium at the moment seems quite tricky. There’s graining, but also wear. The wear on the hard is fairly low, but the medium suffers more.”

***The Belgian driver added: “It’s balancing out the positives and negatives, because the medium gives you a massive advantage on warm-up out of the box, but over the long run you’ll suffer. If you can make it somehow work, it’s probably good, but right now it seems unlikely.”

***Cadillac has a new strategy engineer working on the No. 2 car in the form of Elise Moury, who has experience of working for teams such as Prema Racing and Barwell Motorsport. She is married to another member of the Cadillac crew, Jonathan Moury.

***Team manager Stephen Mitas said: “The core of the team is the same and for good reason because the team did a fantastic job last year. That continuity helps. The more you learn each other the easier it is to operate together.”

***Ron Reichert believes that AF Corse could benefit from continuity in its LMGT3 lineup compared to its competitors, with Davide Rigon, Thomas Flohr and Francesco Castellacci remaining as a trio. “I think we are in a very good position,” he said. “On the No. 54 car, the lineup stays the same, and last year it was a very successful lineup, winning a race at Fuji and finishing as best Ferrari at Le Mans.

***On the lineup in the sister No. 55 car, Reichert added: “The other lineup is also has some experience because Alessio [Rovera] is coming from the No. 83 [Richard Mille AF Corse car], so honestly I’m feeling confident. Continuity is key, we have a lot of experience of ACO championships and WEC, so I’m confident we will be in a very good position.”

***A Ferrari spokesperson confirmed that Rovera and Rigon are on standby as reserve drivers for the AF Corse team in Hypercar.

John Dagys contributed to this report