Nico Muller, aboard the #93 Peugeot 9X8, leads in the first hour of the Qatar 1812km, after starting sixth on the grid.
The Swiss driver got a good start as the flag waved to open the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship, moving up to third. Meanwhile, Miguel Molina, in the #50 Ferrari 499P, jumped up to take the lead from pole-sitting Michael Christensen, behind the wheel of the #5 Porsche 963.
The #7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Mike Conway, meanwhile, dropped back to seventh from the front row of the grid.
Muller, though, was able to hang on to the back of Christensen’s 963. Midway through the first hour, as the leading Hypercars were making their way through the LMGT3 traffic for the first time in the race, Muller took an opportunity offered to him and took second off the Danish driver.
He then began to hunt down Molina in the lead. It didn’t take him long, catching and then passing the Spaniard to take the lead of the race in what is the Peugeot 9X8’s last race without a rear wing, before the ‘new’ car is introduced at Imola.
Molina pitted earlier than most and, from second, dropped to sixth. With the pitstop cycle complete, Laurens Vanthoor sits second in the #6 Porsche 963, around five seconds back from Muller, with Christensen third. The two JOTA cars are fourth and fifth, with Jenson Button in the #38 JOTA Porsche 963 fourth and Norman Nato, in the sister #12 car, fifth.
In LMGT3, Alex Malykhin leads in the #92 Manthey Pure Rxcing Porsche 911 GT3.R. Ian James is second in the €27 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, and Thomas Flohr is third in the #54 AF Corse Ferrari 296 GT3. Polesitter Tom van Rompuy is sixth in the #81 TF Sport Corvette Z06 GT3.R, having lost spots at the start.
Van Rompuy kept the lead from pole at the start, but early on it was clear the cars behind him, in particular Malykhin and Mateu, were quicker. They duly got past him, using the Hypercar traffic passing the GTs to find a way through.
Malykhin, after being released from behind the Dutchman, has since opened a 20 second gap to James behind, with the American around six seconds ahead of Flohr. In fourth is Ahmad Al Harthy in the #46 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, while Yasser Shahin is fifth in the #91 Manthey EMA Porsche.
