News and Reports

Championship positions after Round 1 of the FIA WEC in Qatar: 1. Ferrari 66 pts., 2. BMW 35 pts., 3. Toyota 33 pts., 4. Cadillac 9 pts., 5. Peugeot 6 pts., 6. Porsche 5 pts., 7. Alpine 0 pts., 8. Aston Martin 0 pts.

1. Porsche 161 pts. - 2. Toyota 151 pts. - 3. Ferrari 134 pts. - 4. Alpine 52 pts. - 5. BMW 49 pts. - 6. Peugeot 34 pts. - 7. Cadillac 30 pts. - 8. Lamborghini 11 pts. - 9. Isotta Fraschini 0 pts.

For the first time this season, the manufacturers championship is led by Toyota, which moved so far all-season-leading Porsche to second. Toyota scored the most points for a second time in a row, despite it being a Ferrari that won the last race in Austin. Since only factory teams count towards the manufacturers championship, second place for Toyota was enough to score the full 25 points. Ferraris dominated the qualifying and early hours of the race, then both factory cars faded from the top spot. It was also the day, when Ferrari won the overall two FIA World Championships after an earlier victory in F1 the same day a few hours before. A notable performance was shown by Alpine. They finished 5th, with both cars on points, while BMW had an excellent start to the race, keeping positions 4th and 5th behind three Ferraris. While Porsches, Toyotas and a lone Cadillac continuously progressed during the race, the better of BMWs was still running 5th in the late stages of the race. But its effort was marred by a technical infringement penalty of 100 seconds, which cost them not only 5th position overall but also any points for the car no.20. Current standings: 1. Toyota 147 pts - 2. Porsche 136 pts. - 3. Ferrari 128 pts. - 4. Alpine 37 pts. - 5. BMW 31 pts. - 6. Cadillac 29 pts. - 7. Peugeot 22 pts. - 8. Lamborghini 11 pts. - 9. Isotta Fraschini 0 pts. Thus far, after 6 races, we have 6 different winners. Two of each of the leading manufacturers, Toyota, Porsche, and Ferrari, with two of the wins coming to a private entry.