FIA World Endurance Championship | |
---|---|
Venue | Lusail International Circuit |
Location | Lusail, Qatar |
First race | 2024 |
Distance | 1,814.75 km (1,127.633 mi) |
Laps | 335 |
Duration | 10-hour time limit |
Most wins (driver) | Kévin Estre (1) André Lotterer (1) Laurens Vanthoor (1) |
Most wins (team) | Porsche Penske Motorsport (1) |
Most wins (manufacturer) | Porsche (1) |
The Qatar 1812 km is an endurance race for sports cars held at the Lusail International Circuit in Lusail, Qatar. It is the opening round of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
On 12 December 2022, it was announced that Lusail International Circuit would host the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2024 under a 6-year contract. [1] The race was announced as the 6 Hours of Qatar and was preceded by the Prologue, also set to take place at the circuit. [2]
At an Automobile Club de l'Ouest press conference ahead of the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans, the race name was changed to Qatar 1812 km. [3] The race length of 1812 km is derived from the date of Qatar National Day, 18 December, and it has a time limit of 10 hours. [4]
Year | Overall Winner(s) | Entrant | Car | Time | Laps | Distance/Duration | Championship | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Kévin Estre André Lotterer Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche Penske Motorsport | Porsche 963 | 9:55:51.926 | 335 | 1,814.75 km | FIA World Endurance Championship | Report |
The Bahrain International Circuit is a 5.412 km (3.363 mi) motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series, and the annual Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2004 Grand Prix was the first held in the Middle East. Beginning in 2006, Australian V8 Supercars raced at the BIC, with the event known as the Desert 400. However, the V8 Supercars did not return for the 2011 V8 Supercar season. 24 Hour endurance races are also hosted at BIC. The circuit has a FIA Grade 1 license. The circuit also has multiple layouts.
The Shanghai International Circuit, also called the SAIC Shanghai International Circuit for sponsorship purposes, is a motorsport race track, situated in the Jiading District, Shanghai, China. The circuit is best known as the venue for the annual Chinese Grand Prix which was hosted from 2004 to 2019, and from 2024.
The Circuito do Estoril or Autódromo do Estoril, officially known as Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva, is a motorsport race track on the Portuguese Riviera, outside of Lisbon, owned by state-run holding management company Parpública. Its length is 4.182 km (2.599 mi). It was the home of the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996. The circuit has an FIA Grade 1 license.
Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as Circuit de Valencia and officially named Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, is a 4.005 km (2.489 mi) motorsport race track located in Cheste and built in 1999. The track is named after Spanish, two-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle racer Ricardo Tormo (1952–1998), who died in 1998 of leukemia. It has a capacity of 165,000 and a main straight of 0.876 km (0.544 mi).
The Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans, also known as Circuit de la Sarthe located in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, is a semi-permanent motorsport race course, chiefly known as the venue for the 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race. Comprising private, race-specific sections of track in addition to public roads which remain accessible most of the year, its present configuration is 13.626 km (8.467 mi) long, making it one of the longest circuits in the world. The capacity of the race stadium, where the short Bugatti Circuit is situated, is 100,000. The Musée des 24 Heures du Mans is a motorsport museum located at the main entrance of the venue.
The Lusail International Circuit is a motor racing circuit located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha, Qatar. The track is 5.419 km (3.367 mi) in length, with a main straight of 1.068 km (0.664 mi). It is surrounded by artificial grass intended to stop the sand encroaching on the track.
The Algarve International Circuit, commonly referred to as Portimão Circuit, is a 4.653 km (2.891 mi) race circuit located in Portimão, Algarve region, Portugal. The development includes a karting track, off-road track, technology park, five-star hotel, sports complex and apartments.
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W Racing Team is a Belgian auto racing team founded in 2009 by engineer and former head of Volkswagen Motorsport René Verbist, racing driver Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. Between 2010 and 2022 the team campaigned Audi R8 LMSs in several international sports car series. In 2010 the team won the Belcar Drivers' and Teams' Championships, while in 2011 they won the Spa 24 Hours. After winning multiple titles in various GT championships, WRT is considered to be one of the best teams worldwide in GT racing. In 2019 and 2020 WRT ran two Audi RS5 Turbo DTMs in the highly competitive DTM championship. In 2021 WRT added a full time LMP2 program, by entering an Oreca 07 in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series, and won the LMP2 class of the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans. From 2023 on WRT switched their partnership in GT racing from Audi to BMW and will run the BMW M4 GT3. The team will also run two factory backed BMW M Hybrid V8s in the FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar category from 2024.
The 6 Hours of São Paulo is a sports car race held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil. It was created for the FIA World Endurance Championship, and was held for the first time on 15 September 2012 as the fifth round of the 2012 World Endurance Championship. The race was discontinued for 2015 as the Interlagos paddock buildings were undergoing renovations and a suitable date could not be secured. The race was originally set to return in 2020 as the 5th round of the 2019-20 FIA World Endurance Championship, but was subsequently cancelled, due to the event promoter failing to meet contractual obligations, and it was replaced by a round at the Circuit of the Americas.
The 8 Hours of Bahrain is a sports car race that is held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was created for the FIA World Endurance Championship, and was held for the first time on 29 September 2012 as the sixth round of the 2012 World Endurance Championship. The creation of the race led to controversy, as the date for the inaugural race clashed with the 2012 Petit Le Mans.
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Autoracing Club Bratislava, also known as ARC Bratislava, is an auto racing team based in Slovakia. The team is led by Miro Konôpka, who has been driving for the team since its inception. ARC Bratislava are currently known for competing in the Asian Le Mans Series and also the FIA World Endurance Championship, where they lasted for two seasons in the LMP2 Pro-Am class, joining the series in 2021. The team has competed in various FIA, ACO or SRO-sanctioned championships throughout its existence, using various prototypes or GT cars.
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The 2024 Qatar 1812 km was an endurance sportscar racing event, held on 2 March 2024, as the first of eight rounds of the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship. It was the inaugural running of the event.