WEC: Kubica fastest on the first day of the prologue in Qatar

      This weekend, Qatar hosts the so-called prologue, which precedes the start of the World Endurance Racing Championship – in fact, these are the last pre-season tests.

      Following the results of the first day of work on the track in Qatar, Robert Kubica showed the best time in the Ferrari 499P hypercar of the AF Corse team (not to be confused with the factory Ferrari AF Corse – formally these are different teams). The Polish veteran topped the record with a time of 1:47.67, completing a lap three tenths faster than Will Stevens, another former Formula 1 racer who now competes in the WEC for the Cadillac factory team.

      Overall, the results are very solid – the first six fit in one second, and so far the fastest are the drivers racing on the Ferrari, Cadillac and BMW sports prototypes. However, it cannot be said that during the prologue someone really gives their best and demonstrates their real speed. This is evidenced by the fact that last year's pole time in Qatar was about two seconds better than Kubica's result yesterday.

      Of course, the general attention was attracted by two Aston Martin hypercars with tail numbers 007 and 009, which took to the track for the first time. Both cars proved to be quite reliable: it was the debut session for the Aston Martin Thor Team, but the team's drivers drove more than a hundred laps, which is a good start.

      There were some incidents yesterday: the Proton Competition team's Ford Mustang No. 77 caught fire, and the fire was very serious. Ben Tuck, a young British racing driver who was working on the track at the time, was not injured, but the front of the car was noticeably damaged. Because of this incident, the races had to be interrupted with red flags for a long time.

      The FIA separately noted that during the 1812 km of Qatar race, the sons of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello will compete simultaneously on the same track for the first time. Exactly a quarter of a century ago, the Brazilian racer became Michael's team-mate, at that time already a two-time world champion, and that season, i.e. in 2000, Schumacher won his third title, and Ferrari once again won the Constructors' Cup.

      In the WEC, Mick Schumacher is competing for Alpine in the LMDh category, and Edoardo Barrichello will make his World Championship debut driving an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo from the French Racing Spirit of Leman team, meaning they are not even rivals, but the fact itself is interesting.

      Today is the second day of the prologue, and the race at the Losail International Circuit, which begins the WEC season, will take place a week later, on the last day of February.