Qatar 8 Hour Report: No.6 Porsche still in control; LMGT3 sees tight battle between Porsche and Aston Martin

Hypercar

• Gap at the front stays stable and then extends as first Laurens Vanthoor and then Kevin Estre take the No.6 Porsche Penske 963 Hypercar to a 45-second lead over the No.93 Peugeot 9X8
• Nico Muller and then Mikkel Jensen take turns at the wheel of the rear-wing-less Hypercar in its final race in this configuration.
• While the top two positions remain static the battle for third intensifies throughout the seventh and eighth hours with the No.12 Hertz Team JOTA entry able to get some air between its competitors to make the place its own
• But it comes under serious threat from the No.5 Porsche Penske as polesitter Matt Campbell aims to make off-set pit-stop strategy work and take a podium position
• Campbell engages in titanic battle with Jenson Button in the No.38 Hertz Team JOTA which sees brief contact between the two after Campbell attempts dramatic around the outside manoeuvre
• But the move sticks two laps later when Campbell dives down the inside and takes what becomes third after the other No.12 Hertz Team JOTA pits
• Also in the mix for the third place is the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari as Robert Kubica completes impressive second double stint of the race that seems him the fastest of the three Ferrari 499P Hypercars during his second stints at the wheel
• As the clock ticks in to the ninth hour the order behind the leading Porsche and second placed Peugeot is the No.12 in third position ahead of the out of fuel synch No.2 Cadillac Racing V-Series R and the charging Campbell in the No.5 Porsche Penske
• The Cadillac had seen 10-seconds added to one of its pit-stops after Alex Lynn made contact with the No.31 Team WRT BMW M4 LMGT3
• Placing sixth is the No.83 AF Corse Ferrari 499P as Yifei Ye takes over from Kubica after his momentous stints.
• At eight hours the rest of the top 10 is filled out by: 7^th No.38 Hertz Team JOTA; 8^th No.7 Toyota; 9^th No.50 Ferrari AF Corse; 10^th No.99 Proton Porsche 

Racing into the Qatari sunset.

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LMGT3

• The No.92 Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 LMGT3 re-asserts its position at the front as Klaus Bachler catches the class leading Heart of Racing Aston Martin in the eighth hour
• Bachler’s mission is made slightly easier after Alex Riberas loses time with a spin and the Manthey PureRxcing Porsche 911 LMGT3 gets ahead
• Bachler hands over to teammate Joel Sturm who is able to stretch the lead out to 24 seconds over the now Daniel Mancinelli driven Heart of Racing Aston
• Team WRT place third and fourth with the No.46 BMW M4 heading the No.31 car. Valentino Rossi gets his second session at the wheel and is able maintain position and help put the car in to podium contention on his WEC debut
• Sean Gelael and Augusto Farfus complete double stints to place fourth and close on stablemate car for final two hours of the race
• The D’Station Aston Martin Vantage sits fifth ahead of the No.54 VISTA AF Corse Ferrari which loses momentum after challenging for the lead earlier in the race
• The top 10 is completed by: 7^th No.55 Vista AF Corse Ferrari; 8^th Iron Dames Lamborghini; 9^th No.88 Proton Ford Mustang; 10^th No.77 Proton Ford Mustang

Click HERE for the order after 8 Hours of racing in Qatar