Ilott tops opening day of WEC Prologue for JOTA

Callum Ilott of the #12 JOTA Porsche 963 set the fastest lap time from the opening day of the Prologue for the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.

After the delays to some teams receiving their shipping cargo which contained their race cars, Qatar’s Losail International Circuit hosted its first track action for the WEC and the Prologue pre-season test.

Ilott set a 1:40.541 as the quickest time of the day for JOTA in the second of two sessions.

The first session hosted just nine cars representing five teams, whilst the second saw a regular theme of LMGT3 track limits violations repeat throughout the only five-hour session of the Prologue.

A total of eight hours of running took place today as teams were offered between either participating in Session 1 or Session 4, in addition to Sessions 2 and 3.

Only JOTA and Isotta Fraschini in Hypercar, and Iron Lynx, TF Sport and United Autosports from LMGT3 chose to participate in Session 1.

Unsurprisingly, the two JOTA Porsche 963 Hypercars were fastest in Session 1, initially giving equal track time for each of the #38 and the #12 drivers, before they proceeded further into their programmes.

After an undramatic and quiet opening session, Frenchman Norman Nato set the fastest lap time for the #12 JOTA 963 at 1:41.822, after completing 29 laps.

In second place was the #38 after former F1 World Champion Jenson Button put a 1:43.206 to mark his WEC return, followed by the #11 Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6-C in third.

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Jean-Karl Vernay set the fastest lap time in the #11 with a 1.45.928, as only Antonio Serravalle did not drive out of the trio.

For the second session at five hours in duration, it hosted the full 37-car field for the first time as the day transitioned from evening to nighttime.

There was a red flag early on in proceedings, Loic Duval of the #94 Peugeot 9X8 and the #95 McLaren of Joshua Caygill both made contact in between Turns 8-10, although were not further investigated.

However, Duval and Caygill were given warnings shortly afterwards in relation to breaching track limits, as the latter driver was awarded a drive-through penalty for such a matter.

Both Toyota GR010 Hybrids set the benchmark from the opening of Session 2, as a long session of productive running awaited the reigning Hypercar champions.

After 1 hour and 15 minutes, the #11 Isotta briefly stopped in the pit lane with Serravalle, and oil was quickly reported.

Further on, the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) procedure was first tested out, before a full Safety Car was deployed in order for the marshals to clear the gravel at Turns 8-9 esses.

Approximately halfway through the session, a second red flag was declared after Harry Tincknell of the #99 Proton Competition 963 was stuck in the gravel at Turn 2.

With 1 hour and 40 minutes remaining, a second VSC before another red flag was briefly declared after multiple cats were spotted at the Turn 10 left-hander.

Within the final 20 minutes, Duval of the #94 Peugeot was awarded a drive-through penalty for track limits violations.

Ilott set the fastest lap of Session 2 – and thus in the Prologue so far – amidst his 38 laps in the #12 Porsche 963.

Ferrari AF Corse’s #50 499P was second fastest in Session 2, with a 1:40.673 set by last year’s Centenary Le Mans Hyperpole-sitter Antonio Fuoco.

The sibling #38 JOTA 963 finished third fastest with a 1:40.950 set by Button.

It was the #8 Toyota GR010 Hybrid which set the most laps in the session at 138, followed by the #51 Ferrari 499P on 127, and the #38 on 124.

LMGT3 began with TF Sport’s #82 Corvette Z06 leading the times in Session 1, as the British outfit set out on its new partnership with the General Motors manufacturer.

By the end of it, United Autosports’ #59 McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo was quickest with a 1:56.583 lap set by Nicolas Costa.

In second was the #81 TF Sport Z06 from a 1:56.634 set by Charlie Eastwood, and the other United Autosports #95 720S placed in third after Nico Pino set a 1:56.679.

TF Sport’s #82 Z06 completed 79 laps in Session 1, the most out of all nine cars.

The second session started in drama concerning the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 LMGT3, after Thomas Flohr stopped at the exit of Turn 2, and so a brief red flag was declared in order to retrieve the car.

Multiple LMGT3 drivers found themselves with warnings after exceeding track limits, implying that they were exploring what was possible on their runs.

Augusto Farfus in the #31 WRT BMW M4 LMGT3 was the second driver to receive a drive-through.

The 2023-24 Asian Le Mans Series GT champion Alex Malykhin was summoned to the race director, having already earned a five-minute Stop-and-Go penalty beforehand for track limits violations in the #92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Further penalties were awarded relating to track limits violations, as the #82 TF Sport’s Hiroshi Koizumi took on a drive-through, followed later by teammate Daniel Juncadella’s stop-and-go penalty, and the #85 Iron Dames’ Michelle Gatting with a drive-through – before also receiving a stop-and-go.

Closely before the session ended, Matteo Cressoni in the #60 Iron Lynx Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3 EVO2 was awarded a five-minute stop-and-go, which will likely be served at the beginning of Session 3.

Gregoire Saucy was fastest in Session 2 for United Autosports in the #59 McLaren, after he set a 1:54.480 ahead of the #54 AF Corse driver of Davide Rigon’s 1:54.542.

Esteban Masson finished the LMGT3 top-three in Akkodis ASP Team’s #87 Lexus RC F.

The Prologue will conclude tomorrow with two three-hour sessions, one from 7am GMT and the final from 11am GMT.